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McHenry County Non-Profit Hopes To Train Assistance Dogs

dogsonthego.us

A new McHenry County non-profit seeks to provide affordable assistance dogs to people with physical and mental health disabilities.

Dogs On the Go is starting off by training hearing dogs for residents of Illinois and Wisconsin. In the future, the organization will look to expand into support for post-traumatic stress disorder.

All of the assistance dogs trained through Dogs On the Go are rescues from local animal shelters. The organization provides training for the dogs free of charge. The only cost to recipients is the adoption fee and general costs associated with owning a dog.

Anna Evans is President of the Dogs On the Go. She says volunteers are needed to help the organization develop out of its infancy.

“We needs lots of help with things like administration and marketing and producing short videos for YouTube or helping with our website or Facebook page,” Evans said. “We also need to get out into the community and make ourselves more available and accessible.”

According to Evans, the organization hopes to place their first dogs in spring of 2018.

A volunteer orientation for Dogs On the Go takes place Jan. 6 at the Woodstock Veterinary Clinic.

Dogs On the Go will also offer an 8-week pet grief support group this winter, with all proceeds directly supporting the training and placement of assistance dogs.

“It’s a type of grief that often other people dismiss or just plain don’t understand,” said Evans, a licensed therapist.  “They think we should just move on and get another pet. A lot of the time, our pets are family, so it can be devastating to lose a pet.”

More information is available on Dogs On the Go’s website.