In the upcoming future, Sinclair Community College will be offering a Dogs on Campus Club, which will give students the opportunity to socialize future service dogs through Four Paws for Ability.
Students are able to sign up now, but the club has not formally started.
“We may not get it started until January, but we’d like to get some dogs in, if possible, this fall,” Carolyn Worthen, Vet Tech program director and club advisor said.
She said there are three club positions available, which includes a handler, co-handler and pet sitter.
A handler will mainly be responsible for the dog, but a co-handler will also be assigned to help if the handler is unavailable at times. Pet sitter positions are also an option to students and faculty and staff members of Sinclair. Pet sitters are available if handler and co-handlers are unavailable for short periods of time.
“The handler will basically be 24/7 with the dog and that’s why we have co-handlers, so we can ease that burden a little bit,” Wothen said. “The dog will go everywhere with them; to class, if they’ve okayed it with the professor ahead of time, to the store, to restaurants — everywhere. Everywhere that they go, the dog will go with them.”
Not everyone who signs up will become a handler. A candidate for a handler or co-handler position must go through an application and interview process, home inspection, orientation and temperament test if the candidate has other animals present in the house.
“They (handler candidates) need to have experience with dogs. They need to be at least experienced in some obedience training. They need to be open and available to taking the dogs just about everywhere with them, they need to have a schedule that will allow that. They have to have a home environment that’s safe with the animal and obviously if you rent a place, landlord needs to know about it,” she said. “To start the program, we are going to look for people who are pretty experienced in this and as people come up through the club, they will know more and will be more likely to get a position as a handler or co-handler.”
If a person wishes to join the club without being a handler, co-handler or pet sitter, the option is available. Members are able to join the handlers at mandatory obedience classes every two weeks.
The breeds of dogs featured in the club could be a standard poodle, golden or Labrador retriever or Papillion.
She said the dogs will be between 6 and 12 months in age, could be mostly potty trained, kennel and obedience trained and will know basic commands. Handlers will be expected to continue this training and will be responsible for the dogs between 11 and 14 weeks.
All dogs will be current on their vaccinations and worming, but some may be more hypoallergenic.
“It (the dog) may go back for further training, it may then move into the next segment, which is training specifically for a child or veteran,” she said. “So that’s what these dogs are primarily being socialized for. They like them to have lots of socialization.” To join the club, students must pay a $20 fee. Four Paws for Ability will provide handlers with all supplies needed for the dogs.
“It takes about $22,000 to train these dogs, they’re bred specifically for this purpose, they’re bred for temperament,” she said.
She said when the club starts and the dogs will be seen around campus, rules will need to be followed on how other students must behave around the dogs.
“We prefer they not be pet unless the handler has okayed that, so ask before petting. They cannot get any food or treats other than their own food and treats, which the handler has control of,” Worthen said. “We want them to have a good experience here, that’s our job to make sure they do.”
To join the list for the upcoming club, email Club President Loren Prince at Loren.Prince@my.sinclair.edu or Club Secretary Stacy Bowden Stacy.Bowden@my.sinclair.edu.