Volunteer With Mission Working Dogs

One way our volunteers help out is with Facility Dogs. Facility Dogs are specially trained to work with a volunteer handler to provide certain skills as well as therapeutic support to the facility. Such dogs can be trained in Service Dog skills to aid a group in a residential setting or clinic setting such as a rehabilitation hospital, school, prison, etc.
The dog is more than just a presence in the building but does not have any rights when leaving the facility unless accompanied by the handler and directly working with a client with a disability. An example of this might be a Facility Dog and the volunteer taking a person with a disability on an outing from a mental health facility to work on community integration skills. The Facility Dog could be aiding by calming and redirecting the individual, directing them to an exit during a health crisis, carrying emergency medications, or assisting with balance and physical skills. The cost of receiving a fully trained facility dog varies based on the skills requested by the facility.