Some Pupdates for You!
The year has started off strong with lots of excitement all around. Along with newly certified teams and trainers to celebrate, we have some important information and program updates for you to know about, so please read on.
Congratulations, King and Baby Boy!
A big congratulations to team King and assistance dog Baby Boy who successfully completed their Public Access Test and are now an Atlas Certified Team!
We are very proud of King and Baby Boy who have worked incredibly hard together through the program. The love and bond these two have for each other is evident to anyone who sees them.
“I don’t think I can accurately describe the monumental impact Baby Boy has had on my ability to navigate life. I am beyond blessed to have him and I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together.” —King
A round of applause for this awesome Team and a great big thank you to Liv, their awesome Team Facilitator, for all their support as they helped King and Baby Boy on their journey together.
Important Program Updates!
After careful review, Atlas Assistance Dogs has made some changes in the pricing and timeline model of our Client Certification program that we are excited to share with you. Please continue reading to understand the changes and the reasons behind them.
Up until now, our Client Certification program was designed as a six month program, costing $700. It is now a nine month program, costing $900. This provides our clients more support at a lower monthly cost to them.
Why the change:
By reviewing the data of all our graduated and in-training teams, we saw that the vast majority of our clients were taking more than six months to complete their training and many were/are needing extensions.
To complete the program in six months is a lot of work and it is placing very high expectations on our teams. The reality, is that life happens, especially when disability is involved. It is not always possible to dedicate time to training every single day. Life events come up, and dogs have bad days too.
We hope that setting the expectation that our program is meant to take nine months instead of six, will help alleviate the pressure and stress of having to race through training.
For more details about our program and cost breakdown, please click here.
Current clients will not be affected by this model change and they can still extend their training as needed to receive the support they need.
If you have any questions or concerns about any of the changes, please reach out to info@atlasdog.org
Meet our New Atlas Certified Trainers
In the past two months, we have had the honor of seeing four trainers graduate from our Academy and become Atlas Certified Trainers! All have worked incredibly hard to achieve Atlas Certification.To find out more about them and their areas of expertise, just click on their names.
Sugako, who was already an Atlas Team Facilitator supporting our clients with care and passion, can now proudly call herself an Atlas Certified Trainer. She serves the Seattle, WA and surrounding areas.
Jacqueline believes in a holistic and collaborative approach to service dog training. She offers her services in Austin, TX and surrounding areas, as well as virtually.
Stephanie strongly believes that the best training happens when both dog and human have fun. She serves Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island City, NY.
Kimberly knows first-hand how life-changing a service dog can be and helps her clients find that same independence. She offers her services in Michigan and virtually.
A big congratulations to these amazing trainers! We are proud to be expanding the pool of qualified and ethical service dog trainers.
Join us at Abilities Expo!
We are extremely excited to be attending Abilities Expo as vendors in Los Angeles, CA again. Abilities Expo is free for anyone to attend. We encourage anyone in the area to register and stop by. It is a great space focused on all things related to disability/accessibility. There are many amazing vendors, activities, workshops, and speakers. And if you’re there, come stop by our booth of course!
Abilities Expo will be March 15th – 17th.
Thank You!
A delayed but necessary thank you to all our incredible supporters who contributed to our Year End fundraising efforts. Thanks to your generosity, we raised over $20,000. You are truly making a Pawsitive Impact in the lives of disabled people and their service dogs. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!
