By Emily Freudenburg
A
re you ever out in the pasture and you have a stubborn cow, calf, sheep, or goats that won’t move, well to get them going is sometimes even more difficult with a disability. The program I am about to share with you is one of the best around, I may be personally biased, but this program is a saving grace to many farmers. It is called P.H.A.R.M. Dog USA.
P.H.A.R.M Dog USA, Pets Helping Agriculture in Rural Missouri, is the brain child of Jackie Allenbrand. The organization's goal is to make life easier for farmers and farm family members with disabilities. Those eligible for services may have any type of disability -- physical, cognitive, or illness-related. Our services are not limited to Missouri. They do place dogs in ot
her states.
Dogs that provide Service Skills, primarily labs or lab mixes, can be trained to do a variety of helpful tasks such as retrieving or picking up dropped tools, opening a latch gate system, carrying buckets, as well as standing and bracing if a farmer has stability issues, or going for help. Jackie determines the needs of prospective clients, makes farm assessments, and facilitates placement of the dogs. She and another trainer handle the training for the dogs and their new owners.
Herding Dogs, primarily border collies, help farmers manage their livestock. These dogs are currently donated by a friend and supporter in Plattsburg, Missouri, who helps train both the dogs and farmers. They also have a trainer in Packwood, Iowa.
Even right here in Nebraska, there is one P.H.A.R.M. Dog. He is placed in South Central Nebraska on a cattle farmer with his owner Troy. Check out this video of Troy and his P.H.A.R.M. Dog right here in Nebraska!
For more information check out the P.H.A.R.M. Dog USA Website and find them on Facebook @PHARMDogUsa