Dogs are often considered to be man's best friend, and for a peek into the life
of some remarkable assistance dogs and their trainers, make a date from 10
a.m. - 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, on the front plaza of OMSI, 1945 SE Water
Avenue in Portland, and celebrate International Assistance Dog Week. This
free event features assistance and rescue dogs and their trainers from Autism
Service Dogs of America (ASDA), Paws Assisting Veterans, Summit Assistance
Dogs (SAD), The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs and more organizations.

Assistance dogs are highly trained to aid and help transform the lives of
individuals with a disability in many ways by serving as their companion, aide,
helper, best friend and loyal member of the family. During their training the
dogs learn unique tasks to assist their human partners, often allowing that
individual to increase their everyday activities and independence they might
not otherwise be able to enjoy. They also provide a devoted, loving
companionship and a sense of security. Assistance dogs may be trained to
help the blind or vision impaired, deaf or hearing impaired, persons with
mobility or psychiatric issues, and there are also dogs that are trained to
locate lost and missing persons.

ASDA provides specially trained service dogs to autistic persons. A service dog
accompanying an autistic child to school often provides a calming presence by
assisting with activities and changing locations and can frequently minimize or
eliminate emotional outbursts. Due to the presence of a service dog
accompanying an autistic child, it will make a family feel more secure out in
the community and will often increase opportunities for an autistic child to
develop social language skills with others.

SAD are specially trained for people with mobility issues by opening and
closing doors, turning lights on and off, retrieving dropped items and helping
with many tasks to assist with daily living. Their dogs are also trained to meet
specific needs of an individual.

For more information, visit www.omsi.org.