Dogs are great. They are loving, sweet, smart, and funny companions who have seemingly endless amount of patience and admiration. Dogs are so much more than pets, as well. They can be your best friend, your helper, and even caregivers.

For millions of people all over the world, assistance animals are a necessary and enriching part of their lives. The first full week of August is International Assistance Dog Week. During which, we celebrate all the hard work assistance animals do by raising funds, organizing events, and giving them a chance to relax and take a break.

Purpose

This week is usually dedicated to assistance animals and is celebrated by organizing events, fundraisers, and meetups for these pups and their owners. The organizations often create events to help the lives of the owners as well as assistance animals. There are workshops to improve training, vendors offering new products or equipment, and plenty of trainers to help owner and dog understand each other better.

These events also give owners and pups alike to meet new people like them and create bonds that will last a lifetime. Meetups are similar but focus more on the social aspect rather than the educational. This is a wonderful time for both pooches and owners to unwind in a park or restaurant with like-minded people and find new friends.

Fundraisers are also done to help owners and assistance animals alike. The money collected can help improve training or teach owners to make the job of assistance animals easier or more effective.

How to Celebrate

There are plenty of ways you can celebrate International Assistance Dog Week. You can donate time or money to your local assistance animal organization or you can foster and train an assistance animal. This means you will be living and training with a pup for a few months before they are adopted by their forever owner.

This can be a difficult decision because you will have to say good-bye. Usually the animal’s expenses are completely sponsored and you do get some compensation for your time. If that is too much of a commitment you can always volunteer at an event or meetup. This means you will clean up after events, teach, or organize and help with workshops as they go.

Who it Benefits

This week benefits animals and owners alike. It’s a wonderful cause to give pups and their owners a bit of a break and have a lot of fun.