JRRD at a Glance

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Effects of assistance dogs on persons with mobility or hearing impairments: A pilot study

Diana H. Rintala, PhD, et al.

Service dogs help persons with mobility impairments by retrieving items and performing other tasks. Hearing dogs alert persons with hearing impairments to environmental sounds. Study participants waiting for dogs completed an initial questionnaire packet. The Experimental group completed another packet 6 months after receiving a dog. The Control group (which had not yet received a dog) completed a second packet 6 months after the initial data collection. On average, dog recipients were very satisfied with their assistance dogs. The dog recipients depended less on other persons. Service dog recipients reduced their hours of paid assistance. Assistance dogs made a major positive impact on the lives of recipients.

Volume 45 Number 4, 2008
   Pages 489 — 504

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