where William Thomas, M.D., founded the approach. Eden Alternative got its start
in nursing homes but has grown to include adult day care services and assisted-
living facilities (Levine, 1997).Service Dogs
Service dogs are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a
physical or emotional disability. They legally may go anywhere that a person with
disabilities goes. Most people are familiar with guide dogs for those with visual
impairment. Other service dogs can be trained to pull a wheelchair, open doors,
retrieve dropped objects as small as a dime, and turn light switches on and off.
Hearing dogs alert owners to important sounds that need a response. Seizure
response dogs recognize behaviors associated with their owner’s seizures and can be
trained to stay with the person or get help. When breathing machines malfunction,
service dogs can be trained to nose the phone receiver out of its cradle and hit the
speed-dial buttons, all of which are programmed to 911. Training service dogs is an
expensive and time-consuming project. The dog spends the first year of life with a
foster family who is responsible for socialization and basic obedience training. Next
comes five to six months of intensive training followed by six months of in-home
training with the new owner. The benefit, of course, is that people can lead more
independent and fulfilling lives.
In correctional institutes all across Ohio, puppies and prisoners are teaming up in
an unusual program. A nonprofit organization called Pilot Dogs, Inc., places service
puppies under the care of prisoners until the pups are ready for formal training as
service dogs. Since the inception of the program in 1992, some 250 dogs have been
placed in prisons. Inmates are chosen based on their records of good behavior and
experience with dogs. No violent offenders are permitted to raise the dogs. The pup-
pies sleep in crates in the cells with their partners and accompany them on their
daily activities, including trips to the dining hall where the puppies learn to be well
behaved around people and become accustomed to the noise and crowds they will
face later. The prisoner is responsible for the care and well-being of the dog, house-
breaking them, leash-training them, and putting them through a basic obedience
course. After spending about 12 months at the correctional facility, the puppies are
removed and placed in an intensive training program. A major advantage for the
dogs is having human contact 24 hours a day, which is less likely to occur in regular
foster homes. The chosen prisoners have the pleasure and delight of having a puppy
to give love to and get love from. They also have the satisfaction of seeing the bene-
fits of their training as the puppies progress.310 ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TOALTERNATIVE MEDICINE