Press release - 20 December 2010

Mans best friend has new role

On Thursday 23 December 2010 the Dog Control (Certifying Organisations for Disability Assist Dogs) Order 2010 comes into effect. This Order in Council provides the Perfect Partners Assistance Dogs Trust and Assistance Dogs New Zealand with the ability to certify dogs as Disability Assist Dogs. This allows the dogs and their handlers the same public access rights as dogs trained and certified by Hearing Dogs for Deaf People New Zealand, the Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust, the New Zealand Epilepsy Assist Dogs Trust, the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind, and the Top Dog Companion Trust.

Established as a charitable trust in 2007, the Perfect Partners Assistance Dogs Trust was founded to train and certify Disability Assist Dogs for individuals who were not covered by the existing Disability Assist Dog organisations with an emphasis on neurological disorders. Perfect Partners is already working with clients with neurological disorders including autism, Alzheimer’s, seizures, cerebral palsy, and neurotoxicity. Perfect Partners will also be working with individuals with psychiatric conditions including anxiety and panic disorders.

Disability Assist Dogs form a dual function for their handlers by providing practical assistance in the form of tasks specifically aimed at mitigating the clients particular disability, while also performing a valuable social function providing a social bridge to the clients community. For children with autism this dual function is particularly important as neurological disorders are often invisible disabilities that leave clients and their families socially isolated by misconceptions and quick judgements about behaviour including meltdowns and stimming.

Fully trained dogs have a teal coat, while dogs in training wear a teal coat and an “L” plate to show they are still learning. As our dogs can be rescue dogs, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes; however, all of our dogs are on the register on our website. All handlers carry identification that includes their name and photograph, if you have doubts then please ask to see their ID.

You can view a copy of the Dog Control (Certifying Organisations for Disability Assist Dogs) Order 2010 online here

If you would like to learn more about Perfect Partners then please visit our website

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