**Please note: All future client trainings, as of July 2024, will take place at our Canyonville, Oregon campus.
Request a Service Dog
Students at Bergin College train and place service dogs as a part of the Assistance Dog Education degree program. Our main focus is providing these students with a thorough, in-depth and experiential education in the training and placement of service dogs. In order to maximize the involvement of our students, the service dog application process is all done via email. This allows us to review client communications with all of the students and to involve the entire group in the client communication process. We appreciate your understanding and willingness to help our students learn, and we hope that our students will, in turn, be able to help you by training and placing one of our wonderful service dogs with you.
Bergin College places the following kinds of dogs:
|
Service dogs for people with physical disabilities who would benefit from help with tasks such as: retrieving items, pushing buttons for elevators and doors, turning lights on/off, and pulling a manual wheelchair. We will only place dogs with children who have the maturity, physical ability, and desire to command and care for the dog. If you are interested in applying for an assistance dog please download our Application Packet with all the information and forms you will need.
|
|
Facility dogs to be placed with professionals working in health or education settings whose clients would benefit from interaction with a dog.* We have placed facility dogs in Veteran's hospitals, special education classrooms, and with the Special Olympics. To apply for a facility dog, please download our Facility Dog Application.
|
Animal Assisted Therapy dogs and Canine Intervention Therapy dogs are to be placed with counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and teaching specialists who wish to integrate a dog into their clients' treatment plans.* To apply for an Animal Assisted Therapy dog or Canine Intervention dog, please download the Facility Dog Application.
Career Change Dogs
Like all other service dog organizations, occasionally Bergin College of Canine Studies has a dog that is not suited to the high demands associated with service, facility, or specialist therapy work and therefore become available for adoption. The dogs are fully vaccinated, micro-chipped, spayed or neutered, and have received various levels of training. THESE DOGS ARE NOT CONSIDERED SERVICE OR FACILITY DOGS, however, they can still make excellent companion animals.
Dogs are released from our program for specific reasons and when considering an adoption, we will place a dog in the home we feel is best suited for the dog’s needs and temperament. If we have a dog available for you, we will inform you about the dog’s limitations and training level. We only place these dogs within a reasonable driving distance of Sonoma County and will not fly dogs to their new homes. We cannot guarantee you a released dog and we do not accept applications for specific dogs. Therefore if you are looking to adopt a dog as soon as possible, we recommend researching local rescue groups for your desired breed and/or applying for other career change dogs from other assistance dog organizations.
Like all other service dog organizations, occasionally Bergin College of Canine Studies has a dog that is not suited to the high demands associated with service, facility, or specialist therapy work and therefore become available for adoption. The dogs are fully vaccinated, micro-chipped, spayed or neutered, and have received various levels of training. THESE DOGS ARE NOT CONSIDERED SERVICE OR FACILITY DOGS, however, they can still make excellent companion animals.
Dogs are released from our program for specific reasons and when considering an adoption, we will place a dog in the home we feel is best suited for the dog’s needs and temperament. If we have a dog available for you, we will inform you about the dog’s limitations and training level. We only place these dogs within a reasonable driving distance of Sonoma County and will not fly dogs to their new homes. We cannot guarantee you a released dog and we do not accept applications for specific dogs. Therefore if you are looking to adopt a dog as soon as possible, we recommend researching local rescue groups for your desired breed and/or applying for other career change dogs from other assistance dog organizations.
* Facility, Animal Assisted Therapy and Social Therapy dogs provide invaluable benefits to the populations they serve, but they do not meet the legal definition of an assistance/service dog and do not have public access rights; they are NOT covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The dog is legally permitted in its assigned facility and dog-friendly locations (NOT grocery stores, shopping malls, airports/airplanes, etc).
We do NOT train or place the following types of dogs. The Assistance Dogs International website (www.assistancedogsinternational.org) has a list of accredited organizations that offer these valuable services:
We do NOT train or place the following types of dogs. The Assistance Dogs International website (www.assistancedogsinternational.org) has a list of accredited organizations that offer these valuable services:
- Balance dogs for people who need ongoing support while walking. It is too easy for someone with balance issues to be pulled off balance by a dog. We do train dogs to provide short term bracing to assist with activities such as rising from a seated position and negotiating stairs.
- Hearing alert/service dogs
- Medical alert dogs, including diabetic and seizure alert/assistance dogs
- Scent detection dogs including allergen and gas detection dogs
- Autism service dogs
- Dementia service dogs
- Psychiatric service dogs
- Emotional support dogs
