This is a question that everyone who is deciding whether to get a canine assistant must ask themselves.

A dog is a living creature that has its own needs and will become fully dependent on its new owner or legal representative for its entire life. For the love and care you give your dog, you will receive many times more.

An assistance dog will be your helper, friend, protector and partner. You will be his love, his life, his everything. An assistance dog will be your reliable and loyal friend until the last beat of its heart. It will be up to you to deserve such devotion.

 

Your dog needs to be walked regularly, at least three times a day. It is not enough for him to just a short walk on the lawn or in the garden, or a short walk in city traffic on a leash or a release, so-called flexi leash. He must have the opportunity to run around freely and relax, to get some energy while moving freely in nature or at least in the park, to play and relax while playing with you and your dog friends. All this is  necessary for its good condition and healthy development. 

Canine assistants are still dogs. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account that sometimes they will have a bad day, they may get sick, or even be lazy if they are not motivated to work. Years of practice have shown that it is not all about training the dog, but that the better and deeper the relationship a person has with their dog, the more, better and more devotedly the dog helps them. Just like people, every dog ​​has its own personality, and we make a great effort to match you with the right dog for your needs, personality and abilities.

The arrival of a new canine assistant is an intervention in the operation and operation of the entire household. Therefore, your family and roommates must agree to his arrival in the family and, depending on the degree of your disability, may be able to help you care for the dog. If the apartment or house in which you live is not your property, you must have the consent of the property owner to acquire a dog. In the case of child clients, the legal guardian of the child always takes responsibility for the dog.

However, your family and those around you must respect that the new dog is primarily your helper and you are its only owner. Especially at the beginning of your cohabitation, a strong bond must be created between you and the canine assistant, because a dog works well only for someone who can create a good relationship with it, based on mutual love, understanding, trust, but also consistency.

Regular walks, games, feeding, care for the coat, ears, eyes, washing paws, cleaning up after the dog, regular training, as well as visits to the vet, etc. This is the time you will have to regularly devote to your new canine friend and helper.

Applicants for guide dogs have it easier than all other people with disabilities, because guide dogs are recognized as a “compensatory aid” and therefore receive a contribution from the relevant employment office for the purchase of their guide dogs. Detailed information on the entitlement and amount of contributions for the purchase of a “special compensatory aid” – a guide dog, can be found here.

All other people with disabilities, regardless of the type and severity of their disability, are not entitled to a contribution for the purchase of a service dog. At the same time, the costs associated with preparing a dog – its purchase, upbringing, training, the costs of training applicants and handing over and practicing the client with the dog are completely the same as for guide dogs, because the requirements for both the quality of the dogs – their impeccable health, character traits, and the length and difficulty of the training – are the same as the costs incurred for preparing guide dogs. On the contrary, in many cases, if the client has a severe or, for example, combined disability, the training period is longer than for a guide dog. Therefore, applicants for assistance and signal dogs are completely dependent on our donors. On the other hand, this is a good thing, because all canine assistants must have a guarantee of their quality of life not only during the upbringing and training period, but throughout their lives. This requires regular supervision, which is not always possible for guide dogs, because the Labor Offices are not interested in the quality of life of the dog, while the donor is.

The costs of raising and training a dog are covered by the financial support of our generous individual and corporate donors, foundation grants, and Helppes’ ongoing fundraising efforts.

Although clients receive a canine assistant from Helppes for use completely free and Helppes provides all services to its clients free of charge, and our organization also raises funds to cover the costs associated with the preparation and training of assistance and signal dogs, it is necessary to take into account that acquiring a dog always means an intervention in the family budget.

Although Helppes provides its canine students and their new owners with basic equipment, it is still necessary to take into account that a dog will always cost you something. In addition to providing the basic equipment for the dog, which includes purchasing a bed, water bowls and food, if the dog is traveling with you by car, it is also mandatory to secure the dog in the car – a grid or transport box for the car or a safety harness with straps, dog rewards, toys, but especially it is necessary to ensure quality nutrition for the dog. If the dog is to help you, it is in your interest that the dog remains in excellent condition for as long as possible, and the quality of the food must correspond to this. It is also necessary to count on the costs of veterinary care, which can reach several thousand in the event of an injury or serious illness of the dog. Therefore, it is important for owners of assistance, guide and signal dogs to take out veterinary insurance, which can be arranged with some insurance companies (see links) and to use the veterinary services of “our” contractual veterinary clinic.

In the event of a crisis (a serious injury to a dog, etc.), Helppes helps its clients according to its capabilities and situations are always resolved individually.

In the event of the death of a dog, Helppes will give you a new canine assistant as a priority, with a view to preserving the quality of your life and alleviating your grief over the loss of your canine friend as quickly as possible.

Helppes also helps reduce the cost of dog nutrition and is able to provide its clients with top-quality food for their canine assistants at an affordable, sponsored price, including veterinary food.

Like any dog ​​owner, a person with a disability or their legal representative is fully responsible for any damage caused by the dog they own. Although every service dog is a properly trained and well-behaved dog, it still remains “only” an animal. Therefore, it is the owner’s or their legal representative’s obligation to take out liability insurance for damage caused by the dog.

An assistance, guide or signal dog will help you faithfully and for a long time, but because a dog’s life is much shorter than a human’s, one day it will come to its senses. Just like with humans, a dog’s advanced age brings with it various signs of old age and the dog requires increased care. As it ages, the dog will also lose physical and mental strength to fully perform its service.

Helppes is ready to help you find a replacement, foster family if it is not possible for you to have your canine helper until the end of its life, or if it is not possible, at the end of its life, to place it with your relatives or friends that the dog knows well. However, this solution should be truly exceptional, because your faithful canine companion deserves to live out its life alongside you and your family.

One day, however, your faithful friend will leave forever. It is all very painful, but every dog ​​deserves that its family does not abandon it on its last journey.

Are you ready for that too?

In addition to practical assistance in compensating for your disability, a dog can bring and give you much more.

Helppes retains ownership of its dogs throughout the dog’s working life, but our training staff is available to you throughout the dog’s active service.

You can ask your canine assistant for help at any time and he will always happily run over to fulfill your requirements. You will no longer feel like you are bothering someone too much by needing help with certain tasks. You will not have to wake up a family member because you forgot your mobile phone on the kitchen table, you will not have to ask for an escort when you want to go somewhere – a dog can give you a sense of freedom and self-sufficiency. Your canine assistant will never tell you “leave me alone, I want to sleep now”, but on the contrary, he will jump out of his bed even in the middle of the night and you will read from his joyful expression “do you need anything I can do for you?”. Your canine helper also doesn’t care what you look like – whether you are small or big, thin or fat, healthy or disabled – he will love you for who you are. He will share both joys and worries with you. There is no greater balm for sadness and a “bad” mood than a cold dog’s muzzle. A canine helper is simply a partner you can always count on to be at hand to help you, to listen to you, to entertain you, to accompany you, to make you a little angry, to shower you with love and, most importantly, to be there when you need him.