Assistance Dogs of Hawai‘i to Hold Graduation Ceremony

Assistance Dogs of Hawai‘i (ADH) is recognizing graduates of its training program with a special ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 at Hope Chapel in Kihei. Among the astounding teams being honored at the event are a Hospital Facility Dog for the Straub Medical Center, a Courthouse Facility Dog for the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office and a Service Dog for an 11-year-old boy from Milialani. This year, Assistance Dogs of Hawai‘i is also celebrating the 100th team to graduate since the program first began in 2000.

Graduating Teams Include:

Straub Medical Center and Hospital Facility Dog Angel: Angel is a beautiful yellow Labrador Retriever. She will be working full-time with patients at Straub Medical Center, providing a variety of therapeutic benefits and unconditional love for patients. Her handlers are occupational therapists Dale Yasumoto and Katie Tam. Angel was chosen for this job because of her sincere, calm demeanor and gentle nature.

Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office and Courthouse Dog Clover: Director of Victim Witness Services Dennis Dunn is completing Team Training with Clover. Clover is a calm two-year-old black Labrador Retriever who will be providing comfort and courage to children who are victims or witnesses of crime throughout the difficult legal process.

Jordan Brub and Service Dog Harper: Jordan is an 11-year-old boy with a spinal cord injury from Mililani. Harper is a highly skilled 1½-year-old Golden/Labrador Retriever that has learned over 90 commands to assist Jordan, including opening and closing doors, turning on and off lights, retrieving items that are out of reach and alerting Jordan’s parents if he has difficulty breathing during the night.

Assistance Dogs of Hawai‘i is an award-winning, internationally accredited, 501 (c)(3) charitable organization that has been serving children and adults with physical disabilities and other special needs in Hawai‘i for the past twenty years. ADH provides professionally trained Assistance Dogs and lifetime follow up support free of charge to people in need.