File picture of an assistant dog helping a person with disability. Photo Lehtikuva.
A person with disability has to wait up to a year to get an assistant dog to help him or her manage the daily chores.
According to the association which owns and trains dogs that help the disabled, there are 40 people at present on the waiting list.
The association can only train five dogs a year, some of which are trained to replace the retiring ones.
Photo Lehtikuva.
There are more than 60 assistant dogs in the country. The assistant dogs help people with physical disabilities or people faced with functional impediments.
An assistant dog can, for instance, open doors, turn on lights, carry purchases from the shop, help in getting one dressed as well as pick and sort objects.
Their funding comes from the Finland’s Slot Machine Association and private donors.
Photo Lehtikuva.
The visually impaired were also faced with a similar situation a few years ago.
However, in recent years, the waiting period has been shortened, enabling an applicant to get a dog in approximately a year’s time.
The Guide Dog School of the Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired has added more dog trainers, thus, helping reducing the waiting list.
The school trains about 25 dogs a year. There are as many as 200 guide dogs in the country.
