Some Oklahomans need “a new leash on life”. And an Oklahoma non-profit makes it their mission to hand them one, usually with a warm, furry muzzle at the other end.
Founded by Barbara Lewis, president, A New Leash on Life Inc. is the state’s only certified Assistance Dog training facility in Blanchard. New Lease also trains Therapy Dogs to bring cheer to the sick and elderly. A third program rescues shelter dogs and teaches inmates at CCA-Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville to train them into adoptable companion dogs. This has proven to reduce aggression in inmates and help them become more patient and tolerant. They also gain new skill and provide a service to the community.
“While most people associate us with dog training, our primary purpose is changing peoples’ lives,” Lewis said. “Dogs are just the delivery system, although our programs also enrich and save the lives of many of the dogs we train and place.”
Prior to starting A New Leash on Life, Inc., Lewis was the Oklahoma field agent for a national assistance dog-training agency for 16 years. Since founding New Leash in 2005, she has placed 18 Assistance Dogs with Oklahomans who qualify for the program. These dogs are with their new owners 24/7, go every place they go, open doors, pull wheelchairs, turn light switches on and off and retrieve items for their humans. It takes approximately 18 months to train Assistance Dogs from puppies, who are donated to New Leash by Oklahoma breeders.
Lewis said New Leash currently has a need for more volunteer puppy raisers to provide a home and socialization for “puppies-in-training”, which is usually about 14 months before they move on to advanced training. Although it costs about $8,000 to train an assistance dog, there is no charge to the new owners.
Dog Opens New World
to Child with Disabilities
When 8-year old Joslyn Burch used to go to Wal-Mart with her mom, other kids would stare at her leg braces and her walker and ask their parents…”What’s wrong with her?” Joslyn also sat alone at recess, unable to run and play with the other kids because of a rare genetic disorder that affects the central nervous system and causes her to walk erratically and fall frequently. She also has a hearing loss.
“Now, thanks to Parker, all that has changed,” according to Trena Burch, Joslyn’s mother. Parker, a small yellow Labrador Retriever, is Joslyn’s new best friend, constant companion and specially trained Assistance Dog
Parker is named after Quanah Parker, the famous last chief and statesman of the Comanche Indians. All Assistance Dogs from New Leash are named after famous Oklahomans.
Trena said that Parker seems to instinctively know what Joslyn needs. One night when she was crying, he jumped up on her bed and laid down next to her to comfort her. One day at school, there was spilled milk in the hall. Parker wouldn’t let Joslyn walk in it. “People are amazed by his intuition… and always being there with a watchful eye.”
Trena said that Parker’s people skills even go beyond the family. Parker spends time in one of the special education classrooms where there are students with a wide variety of disabilities. The students read to Parker as well as hug and love on him. As the school counselor at Joslyn’s school, Trena has even used Parker when counseling with students going through difficult times. Children are better able to talk about their feelings and fears while hugging and patting Parker.
Trena said she first heard about A New Leash on Life, Inc. when an assistance dog-in-training came to visit the school as part of his socialization training. “Joslyn immediately went to the dog and walked down the hall with him. It took us two years to get Parker, but it’s been the best thing we have ever done for Joslyn.”
Lewis, who lives adjacent to her training facility in Blanchard, works seven days a week and also drives 250 miles a day carrying on the work of A New Leash on Life, Inc. She trains dogs everyday and manages six other trainers, interviews applicants for Assistance Dogs, places the dogs with their new owners, and provides follow-up in home training to help the dogs and their humans learn to work together. In addition to overseeing New Leash’s other two programs, she also runs the business side of the non-profit, recruits volunteers, puppy trainers and breeders to helps support the program.
When asked what drives her to make A New Leash on Life her life, she said, “It’s the clients. Seeing how important their Assistance Dogs are to them—and what a difference these dogs make in their lives—makes me go to any length to make sure this program grows and survives.”
A New Leash on Life, Inc. is a 501-c3 non-profit organization that depends solely on donations from the public and volunteers to support its mission of changing people’s lives through specially trained dogs. For more information on the Assistance Dog training program and A New Leash On Life, Inc.’s other programs, see www.newleashinc.org or call 405-224-7715.
