Canine charity sees drop in funds

A Cork charity has said it has suffered a huge drop in funds due to the Covid-19 pandemic. My Canine Companion trains and places high skilled service and companion dogs to people with disabilities, particularly autism.

Established in 2011, My Canine Companion is the largest provider of this service to children with autism in Ireland, providing over 60 per cent of Ireland’s service/assistance dogs.

The charity adopts a hands-on approach to training by placing puppies directly with client families and working closely with the child and family throughout a two year programme.

During this time of lockdown, it is maintaining its commitment to hundreds of clients around the country through video calls, phone calls, training videos and more.

The charity is also providing homework for clients to undertake so that training and qualified dogs maintain their skills. A spokesperson said: “We have private social media platforms for our clients to interact with each other and help and encourage each other in their journeys through this time. Our wonderful trainers go above and beyond and have taken their training dogs home with them to continue their training.”

The cost of providing a service dog to a child with autism is €10,000 and My Canine Companion does not receive Government funding.

The charity’s fundraising is largely traditional community-based efforts driven by clients and volunteers which is now suffering due to Covid-19 restrictions.

If you would like to help the charity, donations can be made through the website mycaninecompanion.ie or by texting MCC to 50300 to donate €4.