Naomi Hardesty and her service dog Sahsa have been paired together for almost a year.
"Sahsa picks up stuff that I drop, she turns on light switches, she gets my feet warm", said Hardesty.
Their new friendship has been made possible by Paws Giving Independence, a non-profit organization that trains shelter dogs to be service dogs for people with disabilities.
"Naomi can't get out of her bed to turn on the lights, and she does that. Anytime Naomi drops something, like a remote control, Sasha retrieves it for her, and at home she almost doesn't even need a command, she'll just see her drop it and pick it up and hand it to her", said Carla Hardesty, Naomi's Mother.
Carla says before Michelle Kosner and two fellow students founded Paws last September, their family had to travel to Chicago to train Sasha.
"She's a Bradley student and we met her at Easter Seals and so she told us about that and then when they started, we were able to attend classes here, which is really nice", said Hardesty.
Kosner and her colleagues have undergone extensive instruction in dog agility, advanced obedience and service dog training.
"I work with the shelters and they let me know when they think they will have a good dog that would be a good candidate and then we come out and do the screening", said Kosner.
The non-profit currently has eight dogs placed with host families. The volunteers bring the dogs to class each week and work with them at home on the service dog sills that will help them eventually be placed with a permanent family.
Kosner said, "that's why our motto is saving a life to change a life. Because all the dogs are rescued then placed with people with disabilities".
"I feel more popular when I have her around. 'Really why is that?' Because people notice me", said Naomi.
And there are currently four other people with disabilities training with Paws Giving Independence and the host families in hopes of having a new helper.
The organization is funded by volunteers and donations, and the dogs are placed with families in need free of charge.
If you are a family member are in need of a service dog, or if you would like to volunteer to be a foster family, you can apply online at www.givingindependence.org.
Twitter
Facebook