Client Donation
Clients are given the option to fundraise to cover their tuition fee for team training (the 2.5 week class they take to learn how to work with their assistance dog before taking the dog home). The cost is $5,000, which is only a small part of the nearly $40,000 that it takes to raise, train and place each assistance dog. You can help by donating all or a portion of the tuition by choosing your client's name on the donation form.
FACILITY DOG
My name is James L. Smyrl, Ph.D., and I serve as a Pastor, Prison Fellowship Academy Manager and a volunteer with Richland County Sheriff’s Department in the Victim Services Division. The officers in this division were recently featured on the Netflix documentary, “Missing: Dead or Alive.” Watching the documentary reveals the intense level of stress officers experience.
Scout is an integral part of my work with people suffering from grief, PTSD, trauma and job-related anxiety. Our work is helping officers, victims and people walking through grief to manage their emotional challenges. We are blessed to make a difference in the lives of so many people.
Scout and I began our service journey together at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (SCDJJ). As a Clinical Chaplain, I provided spiritual care, counsel, advice, and interacted daily with at-risk youth. The experience Scout and I gained at SCDJJ is now applied to the many people we serve in churches, community and law enforcement. I daily witness the life-changing impact Scout makes in men, women, teens and children.
Research demonstrates that people are far more likely to receive counseling and join group therapeutic sessions if a skilled dog is present. People who serve in high stress environments and are regularly exposed to a facility dog, experience a reduction in stress and increase in job satisfaction. I partner with PAALS and
Scout because an immeasurable number of victims and law enforcement professionals are positively impacted.
My effectiveness as a teacher, counselor, group therapy facilitator, and pastor are vastly improved with Scout by my side. I encourage you to give to this PAALS’ training fund to continue the life changing work of future PAALS’ graduates. The need for service, facility and therapy dogs is greater than the resources available. Will you join me and Scout as we seek to continue to invest in others.
My effectiveness as a teacher, counselor, group therapy facilitator, and pastor are vastly improved with Scout by my side. I encourage you to give to this PAALS’ training fund to continue the life changing work of future PAALS’ graduates. The need for service, facility and therapy dogs is greater than the resources available. Will you join me and Scout as we seek to continue to invest in others?
JAMES
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FACILITY DOG
My name is Damon Woodley, and I am a physical therapist. I am also the Director of Rehabilitation at NHC-Parklane in Columbia, which is a skilled nursing facility that serves 170-plus patients and residents. Some people come to our facility for a short period of time for rehabilitation as patients, and some people live here as residents.
Our facility tries to create a pleasant, home-like atmosphere for our patients and residents, and I feel a PAALS facility dog will enhance their experience. Through the facility dog’s unique training, the dog can participate in patient treatments to engage our patients differently and provide new and varied treatments to improve their rehabilitative process. The dog will help improve patient morale and encourage patient participation. Furthermore, the dog can help engage our facility’s residents in activities or just visit them in their rooms to lift their spirits.
With the help of a PAALS facility dog, I hope to improve the quality of life for all our patients and residents.
DAMON W.
