Canine Companions for Independence® provides highly-trained assistance dogs for children and adults with disabilities, free of charge.
The dogs perform physical chores for disabled people, serve as “skilled companions” to disabled children, as hearing dogs for deaf people and as “facility dogs” working in hospitals and schools.
Wounded Veteran Initiative is one of their newer programs. I found this video showing Pike with his new companion, Yazmin. Pike was on a foot patrol with the 82nd Airborne near Tikrit on March 26, 2007, just 30 meters from his compound, when he was felled by a single shot that passed through his abdomen.
He heard about Canine Companions at a Veterans Affairs clinic last year and applied for a canine partner. Determined to live a full life, Pike has climbed rocks and is practicing with the coach of the U.S. Paralympic archery team.
With Yazmin, he has both an enabler and a friend with a wet nose and wagging tail.
“She’s a great companion,” he said. “When she gets up in the morning, she’s excited to see me.”
To learn more, visit www.cci.org.
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