DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas — For the past 35 years, a service dog training nonprofit in Dripping Springs has transformed unwanted dogs into essential partners for Texans living with significant challenges.
Sheri Soltes, founder and CEO of Service Dogs, Inc., says the dogs they train help serve people with hearing or mobility disabilities. The canines also comfort those enduring traumatic events.
In a time where most animal shelters in Central Texas are over capacity, Service Dogs, Inc. is handing out second chances to pups with potential to make a difference in people’s lives.
“They’re sort of like the cousins to guide dogs,” Soltes said. “Except we’re unique because we get our dogs from animal shelters instead of having a breeding program. So we help the dog and we help the person.”
She says the nonprofit can’t adopt every dog because the pups must meet specific qualifications, narrowing down from their age to their temperament.
Soltes says dogs must be at least a year and a half old in order to be X-rayed to assess their health, must be extremely people-oriented and should be comfortable being in public settings.
She says Service Dogs, Inc. may bring back one out of 500 dogs in a shelter.
“We’ve probably trained well over a 1,000, probably closer to 1200 dogs by this time over 36 years. Any dog that we adopt from a shelter, if it doesn’t complete the training, we don’t take it back to the shelter, will find it a good pet home. So, they’re going to win either way with us,” Soltes said.
Depending on the pooches’ temperament and personality, they’ll be trained in any and all of four programs available.
Soltes says the nonprofit trains the canines to be hearing dogs that can alert people who are deaf or hard of hearing. They could be trained for people with mobility disabilities, learning to open and close doors or steady someone’s balance.
She says they also train dogs to work in areas devastated by catastrophic storms, in courthouses in the victim’s assistance departments or with first responders struggling with their mental health.
“They’re not always the right tool for every kind of job, but they’re very, very helpful,” she said.
Soltes says each dog is a $50,000 investment and takes at least a year to train.
When they get a client, Soltes says they choose a dog that best fits their needs, gifting the pups to people completely free of charge.
Despite coming from shelters, Soltes says clients have told her these dogs have changed their lives.
“I call it technology you can hug because it’s more than just a piece of a gadget that can pick up something or open a door. It’s something that’s going to love you unconditionally and I think we all want that,” she said.
The program has changed the lives of the dogs, too.
“I think all of us have needed a second chance at one time or another. The fact that we’re taking dogs that either someone threw away, or somebody wasn’t able to keep, or just had a hard time in life–we’re giving them not only a second chance, but a chance to actually help other people. “
For more information on how to apply for a service dog or to donate, you can find a link to the Service Dogs, Inc. website here.