The university program through 4 Paws for Ability does just this, from educating the public about service dogs and their rights to the socializing and basic training of these dogs, 4 Paws for Ability at Ohio State gives college students a unique way to give back to others.
4 Paws for Ability is a Non-Profit Organization based out of Xenia, Ohio that focuses on enriching the lives of others by training and placing quality task-trained service dogs to families in need.
The founder and CEO of 4 Paws for Ability, Karen Shirk is alive today because of her service dog.
4 Paws for Ability was founded in 1998, after Karen struggled with obtaining her own service dog. She was on a ventilator after a major battle with her newly diagnosed Myasthenia Gravis. Agency after agency turned her …show more content…
Eighteen months later they called to tell her they had a match, and they sent a woman out to see what tasks the dog would need to learn. Two weeks later she received a letter in the mail:
"We are sorry," it said, "but our agency guidelines prohibit the placement of service dogs with people who use ventilators."
Prior to that meeting Karen had allowed herself to feel a little hope. The future with a service dog was exciting to think about for Karen, but when that letter came, she gave up hope. Karen, with the prompting and sometimes pushing of a friend and nurse who refused to watch Karen die from her extreme depression and trying desperately to get her to find that hope and dream she once held within her. Karen obtained her own dog and trained him with the help student trainer.
"I'm not sure what happened the wonderful day that my service dog entered my life, but when I spotted him and he looked at me from the back of his pen, the magic began". 1996, Karen returned to work, with Ben right at her side! Every day that passed was a struggle, but Karen was able to gain more confidence in living her everyday
4 Paws for Ability is a Non-Profit Organization based out of Xenia, Ohio that focuses on enriching the lives of others by training and placing quality task-trained service dogs to families in need.
The founder and CEO of 4 Paws for Ability, Karen Shirk is alive today because of her service dog.
4 Paws for Ability was founded in 1998, after Karen struggled with obtaining her own service dog. She was on a ventilator after a major battle with her newly diagnosed Myasthenia Gravis. Agency after agency turned her …show more content…
Eighteen months later they called to tell her they had a match, and they sent a woman out to see what tasks the dog would need to learn. Two weeks later she received a letter in the mail:
"We are sorry," it said, "but our agency guidelines prohibit the placement of service dogs with people who use ventilators."
Prior to that meeting Karen had allowed herself to feel a little hope. The future with a service dog was exciting to think about for Karen, but when that letter came, she gave up hope. Karen, with the prompting and sometimes pushing of a friend and nurse who refused to watch Karen die from her extreme depression and trying desperately to get her to find that hope and dream she once held within her. Karen obtained her own dog and trained him with the help student trainer.
"I'm not sure what happened the wonderful day that my service dog entered my life, but when I spotted him and he looked at me from the back of his pen, the magic began". 1996, Karen returned to work, with Ben right at her side! Every day that passed was a struggle, but Karen was able to gain more confidence in living her everyday