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re the independence dogs....there are several sites...and unfortunately my info is in a box in the garage and I can't get to it tonight...there's a place in Arizona where you can train your own dog...and it's much, much cheaper...they send you the classes/training by mail...or you can go attend class there and you both get completion certificates...what I was told by other companies is that it's a cost of $12,000 for them to train a dog and some of them give grants to the disabled which brings your cost down to $1,000 or $2,000...I was also told that the gov't has some disabiliity grants for this purpose but have not been able to check that out yet.....there were too many just now that came up on the net but Canine Commpanions for Independence is one place I just pulled off the net .....is based in Chicago with satellite offices all over the country.... not sure where you are located...or what this company's guidelines are but there are several out there...the easiest way to find them is to use the AskJeves search engine www.askjeves.com forming a question about independence or service dogs....most of these companies have testimonials from those who have dogs and sometimes will put you in touch with a PWP who has used a dog.....send them an email asking for their information packet to be mailed to you.. which will cover items of training/costs/etc. if I can get to my info in the morning I'll put it on the list for you....also Dateline did a segment on them that you can review in the archives.....in the meantime, here 's the info I mentioned above...Joan Hartman National Headquarters & Northwest Regional Center P.O. Box 446 Santa Rosa, CA 95402-0446 (707) 577-1700 v/tdd Southwest Regional Center P.O. Box 4568 124 Rancho del Oro Drive Oceanside, CA 92052 (760) 754-3300 v (760) 754-3308 tdd Colorado Satellite Office 1045P Garden of the Gods Road Colorado Springs, CO 80907 (719) 260-6151 North Central Regional Center 4989 State Route 37 East Delaware, OH 43015-9682 (740) 548-4447 v/tdd Chicago Satellite Office P.O. Box 41 Woodstock, IL 60098 (847) 816-7360 Northeast Regional Center P.O. Box 205 Farmingdale, NY 11735-0205 (516) 694-6938 v/tdd Southeast Regional Center P.O. Box 547511 Orlando, FL 32854-7511 (407) 834-2555 v/tdd ----- Original Message ----- From: Michel Margosis <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Sunday, August 22, 1999 8:11 PM Subject: Re: need website #3 > Joan U. wrote: > > > Today she admitted for the first time that maybe...just maybe..she > > adamantly she might need some support while walking. She has resisted this > > idea : she sees it as her failure to cope with dizzines, imbalance while > > walking, etc.) and has consequently avoided going outside alone for the past > > two years. I can look into various aides (ie. canes, walkers, etc.) but has > > anyone benefitted from a parkinsons' dog? > > > Accepting the disease does not mean giving into it. I recommend a > roller with large wheels to allow easier push on carpeting. A cane can > be useful too, but some people trip on it. > The president of our support group has a Great Dane (Victor), the only > one in captivity especially trained for PD. I 've heard that it may cost > upwards of $2,000 to train and to be trained with a dog, and only one > place in the USA, in Chadds Ford, PA. > Good luck > > Michel >