EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY By Brodie Cowburn
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t’s well established that dogs are a man’s best friend, but for some, they act as much more than just a best mate. Katie Hunter is training dogs on the peninsula to change lives.
Katie was working as a guide dog trainer, observing every day the positive effects that canine companions can have on those in need. Having witnessed the changes that dogs can have on the lives of others, Katie decided to take on a new career path and work on making these animals more accessible for people with a wide range of disabilities. In 2012 she took the step of founding a charity, Dogs for Kids with Disabilities. “Dogs for Kids with Disabilities, or DKD for short, has been around since 2012, and the idea was formed about 18 months before that. What DKD does is it raises and trains dogs to go on to become therapy dogs and assistance dogs for children with a variety of disabilities,” said Katie. “It’s for any child with a disability. Our clients could be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, we have children that are physically disabled, intellectually disabled, and we have children that have rare genetic conditions that aren’t diagnosed. It could be a multitude of things; it could even be multiple disabilities, because often if you have one diagnosis you can have a couple.”
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When working as a guide dog trainer, Katie couldn’t help but think about the effects that the animals she was working with could have on people with a diverse range of disabilities. From experiences with other families through her work and from her personal experiences with disabilities in her own family, Katie knew that it was vital to bring these assistance dogs into the lives of others. “My background has been as a guide dog trainer, and I also have links with disabilities through my family. I’ve had cousins with disabilities and I’ve seen the power that a dog can have in a family setting through difficult times. I’ve seen how much a dog can motivate someone to continue fighting on,” Katie said. “When I was working for 'Guide Dogs' I was able to work with some families and place some dogs out that didn’t quite make the grade as guide dogs. My first exposure with them was seeing a family go for a walk with their dog without having to hold their child's hand in fear of them running away. After seeing that, it made me want to do more and really change lives of these kids. “For kids it can help them to build a bridge to the outside world they may have struggled to reach. It can help them to build friendships. It helps them to make life a little bit easier; there’s the unconditional love and companionship that a dog provides to a child, and that’s why it all started. It’s there to change lives, make a difference, and make lives better for kids who are struggling.” continued next page...
August July 2018 2018