At Honey’s Garden for Medical Alert Dogs SA, we try to help wherever we can. We have found that quite often a person’s visible or invisible disability or need does not fall within the categories that we have on offer. With creative solutions and compassion, we find ways for our dogs to help wherever we can. Every person and child is different and so are their needs. It is for this reason that we have developed “Multipurpose Service Dogs” who will generally assist in any way that is needed based on a detailed interview and home review (can be via video call).
Some examples of the types of people who may need a multipurpose service dog include but are certainly not limited to:
Adult Aspergers
Mobility impairments
Cerebral Palsy
Down’s Syndrome
Medically frail children or adults
Whatever your needs, we can tailor train a dog to match them. Although you can give us a shout if you are unsure of what you would need a dog to do, here are a few ideas:
Retrieving dropped items
Retrieving specific items (keys, phone etc)
Opening, closing or holding open doors/fridge/cupboards
Tugging clothing to help remove
Turning lights on and off
Placing items in the bin
Deep pressure therapy
Retrieving medication
Carrying shopping bags
Alerting or interruption of repetitive behaviours
Assisting with walking up or downstairs or standing up
Reminding handler of lifestyle tasks (flushing toilet/locking house etc)
Placing items in a trolley or onto a cashiers desk
Opening and closing curtains
General comfort
General entertainment and facilitation of daily routine and exercise
Pushing buttons for various reasons
Reading therapy
Interrupting a tantrum or providing calm stability after a meltdown
Prevent child from running away (tethering and anchoring)
Lift legs to raise blood pressure or nudge into recovery position if handler unconscious
Honeys Garden is a nonprofit, 2016/387235/08 organization whose mission is to place quality service dogs with people within South Africa who are under privileged, fighting with disabilities or diseases, and veterans who have lost use of limbs or hearing. We also help with animal rescue, and educate the public regarding use of service dogs in public places.
