Ivey, a 12-week-old Labrador Retriever service dog, was greeted by her namesake as a special guest Thursday at the Governor’s Mansion.
The highly trained service dog could serve to assist individuals with either mobility assistance or seizure alerts, according to the governor’s office. The pup is a product of Service Dogs Alabama, an organization that provides canines to children, adults and veterans with disabilities for medical and psychiatric assistance.
In a Friday news release, Gov. Kay Ivey sang the praises of Service Dogs Alabama and asserted that the canines’ impact on individuals’ lives was “immeasurable.”
“The work Service Dogs Alabama is doing to support our state’s children, adults and veterans with disabilities is truly changing lives,” said Ivey. “Working dogs of this caliber are both hard to come by and very expensive, but the impact they have on their recipients is immeasurable.
“I’m incredibly proud to have this organization here in Alabama and am honored to have a life-changing dog share my name.”
The organization also provides facility dogs trained in intervention and behavior disruption to schools, courtrooms and state departments where stress is prevalent.
According to Service Dogs Alabama Executive Director Jeff Parker, service dog Ivey is prepared to make a positive impact on the life of its recipient.
“Our mission, although not lacking obstacles, is quite simple: to maintain the highest standards of training in order to produce the highest caliber service dogs for our recipients across Alabama,” said Parker. “At just 12 weeks old, Ivey possesses the ideal traits of a highly performing service dog, and I have no doubt she will change her recipient’s life for the better.”
Since its launch, Service Dogs Alabama has placed more than 130 service dogs throughout the state. At all times, the organization has at least 50 dogs in training to ensure that the wait time to receive a service dog is less than 18 months.
Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
