Mission Working Dogs trains Service Dogs, Therapy Dogs, and Facility Dogs. MWD works to improve the lives of community members who are living with a disability by providing them with properly trained service dogs to help them live more independently and by providing therapy dogs which will bring mental well-being to the people of Maine such as those in nursing homes, hospitals, and schools. At Mission Working Dogs, purpose-bred dogs are trained to aid individuals with disabilities so that the handler can live a life to the fullest and more independently.

Service dogs can assist those with physical disabilities such as mobility impairments by fetching dropped items, opening doors, and turning on and off lights. They can also help individuals with PTSD by learning to recognize an increase in anxiety, carrying medications, and providing deep pressure therapy to calm or redirect the handler. Dogs working as facility dogs are often trained to recognize a patient’s affected side in the case of a stroke and to approach on the side the patient is able to pet with or throw the ball. Patients are able to work on fine motor movements in petting or caring for the dog as well as gross motor skills by playing fetch. Service dogs are generally trained for approximately two years and undergo a wide range of assessments on their physical health, temperament, and tasks or skills to make sure they can properly support their handler throughout life.

Past service dogs from MWD trainers are helping their handlers live longer and more independent lives. Therapy dogs from MDW’s program work in schools providing emotional support, laughter, or even a listening ear for reading programs. Students in behavioral programs have also benefited from becoming “junior handlers” and working on their own patience and compassion while learning to work with the dogs to help others.