A novel program in the United States is training dogs to help farmers with disabilities, giving them essential aid for their agricultural businesses.
P.H.A.R.M. Dog USA stands for Pets Helping Agriculture in Rural Missouri. In 2005, founder Jackie Allenbrand met a man at a farm show with a partially amputated leg. The man told Jackie how his Border Collie helped him herd his cattle. After lots of researching and planning, Allenbrand registered P.H.A.R.M. Dog USA in 2012.
Helping Farmers With Disabilities Close to Home
Currently, Allenbrand lives with her husband on their farm in rural northwest Missouri, close to the Iowa border. Along with dog trainer Don McKay, the group works to help farmers with diseases and disabilities maintain their independence. Recently, Allenbrand spoke to the Enid News & Eagle about her own dogs and what a huge help they’ve been.
“We’ve always used Border Collies on our farm to help move the cattle,” she said. “They can be a good assistant… I thought there might be a need for it. And we’ve placed 17 dogs to help some farmers in that way. We’re just a small group, really, of farmers ourselves. So we kind of know what farm life is like.”
Different Dogs with Different Skills
Notably, most of the program’s dogs are rescues. Depending on the farmer’s needs, the dogs can be trained to carry items, retrieve objects from the ground, and other service skills. While the program mostly trains Border Collies to help herd cattle, they’ve trained other breeds to help with mobility. For instance, the program has trained Labradors to brace themselves and help farmers who’ve fallen and need help getting back up.
Currently, P.H.A.R.M. Dog USA works alongside Agrability, a national network of service providers focused on “enhancing the quality of life for farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural workers with various physical impairments.”
To find out more about P.H.A.R.M. Dog USA, or to see how you can help their cause, visit their website: pharmdog.org
