Dog Trainers Workshop partnership with The Service Dog Institute produces 25+ service dogs

Over the past four years a partnership between The Service Dog Institute and Dog Trainers Workshop, a full-service dog training and boarding facility founded by Connie Cleveland and based in Fountain Inn, SC, has produced more than twenty-five service dogs for those in need. The Service Dog Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Melissa Yetter and “dedicated to enriching the lives of children/adults with special needs by providing trained service dogs that help boost confidence, improve self sufficiency, provide companionship and perform skilled tasks that enable them to lead more independent lives.” The partnership between DTW and TSDI has produced trained service dogs for amputees, as well as those with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, autism, PTSD, paralysis, and brain injuries.

Hannah Anderson, a double major in music and special education at Vanderbilt University, received a service dog named Timmy through the DTW and TSDI partnership to help with balance and stability issues brought about by Ménière’s Disease.

“It’s difficult to quantify the kind of freedom Timmy provides. Before I had him, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to go to college or have a career. Obviously, he can’t eliminate my health problems, but he is the physical support I need to be able to get from point A to point B. . . . He has been with me as I’ve managed a double major and sat by my side through countless hours of music practice (20+ hours a week), rehearsals, and concerts. He has helped me get to my campus job (which I joke is my only way of paying for the ridiculous 50ish pounds of dog food Timmy eats every month).”

Prospective service dogs are usually selected by Cleveland or Cat Perry, general manager at Dog Trainers Workshop, after careful assessment and matching to the prospective owner. Though most dogs are acquired through humane societies, rescue organizations, or breeders, Timmy, a yellow Labrador Retriever, was accepted into training as a service dog after he was abandoned in the parking lot of Dog Trainers workshop, locked in a crate during the night in a terrible storm.

“It was clear that he was just an untrained adolescent Labrador that wanted a job,” said Perry. “We started training him for a service dog and he found his way into the heart of Hannah.”

“Timmy does several different tasks for me,” said Anderson. “The first is helping me with walking and standing as I have a vertigo disorder which makes me fall frequently and experience unsteadiness on my feet. Timmy walks steadily on my right side, and I hold on to his harness which has a stiff handle for me to hold on to. In many ways, walking with Timmy is like walking with a hand rail! When I go up and down steps, I’m able to balance with Timmy on one side and the stair rail on the other. If I do happen to fall, Timmy helps me with getting up and making sure I’m safe. He also picks things up and brings them to me –  whether I’ve dropped my keys or need him to fetch a piece of clothing from the lowest dresser drawer.”

Winston, a golden retriever, was also trained through the service dog program for Presley Teigue, a student at Gaston College where she is preparing to become a pharmacist. An accidental meeting at a hospital gave Presley the opportunity for a service dog.

Presley Teigue with Winston

“Presley has been a patient at Shriner’s Hospital in Greenville, SC since she was 13 months old,” said April McGinnis, Presley’s mother. “After one of her regular check-up appointments was over and we were on our way out of the hospital, we happened to see this gorgeous Golden Retriever service dog sitting beside his owners and we just had to stop and talk to them. The adult turned out to be Melissa Yetter, founder of The Service Dog Institute, with her son Sam and his dog Ricky. I explained to Melissa that Presley had already been on a waiting list to get a service dog for five years and that she still had not received one. Melissa knew exactly what we were talking about and said that she had been down that road with Sam’s first service dog. She gave us one of her business cards and we immediately contacted her via her website and started talking and filling out the application with her. This was in March 2015 and we received Winston “for good” in August 2015.”

“Many people who investigate the cost of training service dogs are shocked to learn that it can cost up to $20,000 with a 4 year waiting list,” said Connie Cleveland, founder and president at DTW. “We are privileged here at DTW to be able to train service dogs at a far more reasonable cost, in part through our creativity in discovering great prospective dogs for service, in part because we customize our training for each client’s needs, and in part because we are a family business that is more able to be flexible in pricing. We find and match suitable dogs as a donation of time and expertise.”

“We are a non-profit organization,” said Melissa Yetter, founder of The Service Dog Institute. “So all of our funding comes from generous gifts made by individual donors, grants from foundations, and local business. People can mail donations with a note designating the donation for a particular person, or for a particular category of special needs people — children or adults, for example.”

“One of the things that keeps me excited about our partnership with DTW is because I recognize what a service dog did for my son Sam, and I remember how challenging the journey was in finding one. We finally did — but I wanted to make the process a little less difficult for those who are looking for service dogs.”

Donations with a note designating the gift may be mailed to The Service Dog Institute, 655H Fairview Road #173, Simpsonville, South Carolina 29680. Donations are tax-deductible under the 501(c)(3) statute.

Dog Trainers Workshop was founded in 1991 by internationally-recognized dog trainer Connie Cleveland. Over the past 20 years, Dog Trainers Workshop has grown into a spacious center for dog lovers, and features an indoor training facility and boarding kennel with indoor/outdoor runs, set on 14 acres with a pond and walking trail.  Dog Trainers Workshop helps new puppy owners, those just starting out in obedience training, obedience competitors, and owners with problem dogs through an array of services including classes, day and boarding schools, and private lessons. For more information on Dog Trainers Workshop visit http://www.dogtrainersworkshop.com, like https://www.facebook.com/DogTrainersWorkshop, or contact them at 864.862.8626.