Arizona Eastern Star Foundation and the Yavapai College Foundation join in $2,500 grant to support increased training for service dogs and handlers
Yavapai Community College offers certification programs in Therapy and Service Dog Team Skills, and Service Dog training at its Chino Valley Center. These programs are described as providing foundational and advanced training. The College says they offer homegrown participants the opportunity “to train with their canine companions.” One may take up to 24 credits in the program.
The Community College recently announced that the Arizona Eastern Star Foundation and the Yavapai College Foundation together awarded the canine program a $2,500 grant to support increased training for service dogs and handlers.
“There’s definitely a need for a program like this,” said Anita Wulf, Past Matron and Service Dog Chairman of Arizona Eastern Star’s Golden Rule Chapter 1. “There are so many people who need a service dog who can’t afford one.”
Demand for service dogs – and the access and independence they offer – has been booming. But thousands of disabled Americans across the country lack the funding to acquire one. Yavapai Community College is believed to be one of the few, possibly the only community college, that offers a program directed at meeting these needs.
The Arizona Eastern Star Foundation’s grant will go directly to the Sage Canine Scholarship Fund, named after a local rescue dog. Sage was adopted by Yavapai Community College’s Canine Program Director Andrea Lloyd and became a model training partner for human and canine students alike.
The courses offered during various semesters by the Community College appear below.
