Tender Loving Canines transform children’s lives

Riley with Libby

Tender Loving Canines Assistance Dogs, Inc. (TLCAD) has developed a specialized training program that offers hope and opens doors to children with disabilities. When Riley, an 11-year old boy with cerebral palsy was paired with Libby, a 3-year old Golden Retriever in August of 2008, it transformed Riley’s world. At the time, Riley was confined to a wheelchair and disinterested in dogs. After many early morning walks and numerous outings together, the bond between a boy and his dog began to build.
Over the ensuing months, Libby would attend and become an integral part of Riley’s physical and occupational therapy sessions. Libby helped Riley tackle daily tasks as simple as learning to walk up and down stairs, while holding onto Libby’s vest handle. After a few months passed, Riley decided that he would no longer use his wheelchair but would use his walker exclusively, with Libby walking beside him. This opened up a whole new world for Riley, allowing him to visit movie theaters, toy stores and theme parks. This in turn has improved his physical strength and, most recently, given Riley the ability to walk across a room without the walker, holding onto Libby’s harness. The partnership that has formed between Riley and Libby has improved Riley’s speech by repetitively verbalizing commands to Libby, which has also increased Riley’s self-confidence. This transformation has been most noticeable at school.
It’s currently one and a half years since these two were introduced, and Riley has been mainstreamed into a regular classroom with Libby by his side. According to Libby’s Trainer, Jan Uhlman, “The most rewarding thing for his parents is, who would have thought that within such a short period of time that their son would leave the confines of his wheelchair and venture out? His whole world has expanded — they are amazed at how much Libby has added to Riley’s life and how fast he has progressed. I also trained Riley’s aide at school to further his independence. Trainers like myself never stop training and stay involved for the life of the dog. It’s very rewarding to train and when you see the results, it’s truly a gift to the recipient.”
TLCAD is an all-volunteer run nonprofit organization that provides custom-trained Assistance Dogs free of charge to people with limited disabilities in San Diego County. Further information may be located at www.tenderlovingcanines.org or by calling (858) 461-6827or toll free at 1-800-385-1282.