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Assistance Paws Enquiry

Assistance Paws Australia (APA) initial enquiry

Assistance Paws Australia supports eligible clients to train and have their dog/animal recognised nationally as an Assistance Animal under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (The DDA), and prospectively under the Australian Capital Territory Assistance Animal Framework.

We are a force free, ethical training provider, who does not condone the use of punishment, fear, shock or prong in training.

Thanks for completing our enquiry form here so we can get back in touch with you very soon to discuss your requirements.

Regards
The Assistance Paws Team
1.Todays Date(Required.)
Date / Time
2.Your Address(Required.)
3.Local Council Name:(Required.)
4.How did you hear about Assistance Paws Australia?
If you know the name of the person who referred you, please include it here.
Facebook page or group,
LinkedIn,
Our website,
Allied Health Provider,
NDIS Support Coordinator,
Dog Trainer,
Search engine,
Current Assistance Paws Team Member, or
Other.
5.Are you or the person you are enquiring on behalf of, under 18 years old?(Required.)
6.Who are you enquiring on behalf of?(Required.)
7.Referral type(Required.)
8.We do not charge different rates for different clients based on their funding circumstances. We do ask people to let us know if they are DVA, NDIS, Grant Recipients and similar, as sometimes these funding streams can be accessed to support people.

Please tick any relevant description:(Required.)
9.Are you enquiring about having your own animal recognised as an assistance animal - or about something else? Please describe what your enquiry is about(Required.)
10.Do you currently have a animal that you would like to be recognised as an assistance animal?(Required.)
11.Your animal's name:(Required.)
12.Your animal's breed and species(Required.)
13.Sex of animal(Required.)
14.Some State/Territory and local government laws require that dogs are desexed. This might also apply to a prospective assistance dog living in that area, unless there is an exemption reason. If your animal is entire due to a medical or other reason - are you able to provide a veterinary letter to confirm this?(Required.)
15.Your animal's birthday, or age/estimated age if birthday not known:(Required.)
16.What other animals do you have in the home (including animals living with other family members if you live between houses?).(Required.)
17.Changing the animal dynamics in a home can have a significant impact on an assistance animal. I acknowledge that if I join the Assistance Paws program that I will not adopt or foster any other animals without discussing this first with Assistance Paws and our trainer, for consent. This includes adopting a new assistance animal prospect as my assistance animal approaches retirement.(Required.)
18.Is your assistance/prospect animal an inside or an outside animal? Where does your animal sleep? Please describe.(Required.)
19.Have you discussed an assistance animal with your medical team? Do you (or your client) have a doctor/medical provider who supports your (their) need for an assistance animal?(Required.)
20.Assistance Paws Australia supports people with both physical and/or psychosocial disabilities. What diagnosed disability do you have?(Required.)
21.If you do have an animal you hope to have as your assistance animal - are you currently engaged with a local trainer, and training with your animal?(Required.)
22.Please provide the business name of the trainer and tell us how many sessions you have done, and whether the trainer knows you would like to have your dog/animal as an assistance animal.(Required.)
23.Please describe what training you are doing yourself, or that you are doing with a trainer.

e.g. puppy classes, manners, community engagement, scenting, and nose work, trick training, assistance animal training, therapy animal training or something else(Required.)
24.Please list any training or classes you have completed with your animal.(Required.)
25.Is your animal a banned breed or ever been declared dangerous?(Required.)
26.Has your dog ever been trained for security/guarding or protection work?(Required.)
27.Has your animal ever shown signs of reactivity, aggression or anxiety or distress around other animals or around people? If yes or unsure, please explain.(Required.)
28.Are you the owner of your animal, with the full right to make decisions regarding training, payment of invoices and fees, and any other decisions regarding the animal and its prospect as an assistance animal?

(e.g. please clarify if your animal is in a breeder program and you're a guardian not an owner as an example. Another example might be that you are a minor and your parents own the animal).(Required.)
29.Have you spoken with your veterinarian about your animal's prospective suitability to become an assistance animal? Do you have a veterinarian certificate confirming your animal is healthy and suitable to become an assistance animal?(Required.)
30.Is your animal up to date with vaccination schedules/titre testing in accordance with your veterinarian's direction and care plan for your animal.(Required.)
31.Does your animal have any health conditions? If yes, please describe in full?(Required.)
32.Is your animal on any medication or undergoing any treatment with a vet or home/self remedies? If yes, please describe in full.(Required.)
33.Does your animal have any disability, injury or history of any surgery? If yes please describe in full.(Required.)
34.Have you contacted any other assistance animal/dog organisations or applied to an assistance dog/animal organisation or trainer before?(Required.)
35.have you ever applied to another assistance animal organisation, or had your animal assessed to be an assistance animal before? If yes, please provide full details, including if they were successfully assessed or if there were any conditions?(Required.)
36.Have you previously been a team with an assistance dog/animal organisation?(Required.)
37.Have you ever been declined an application with an assistance animal organisation or support service? If yes, please provide details.(Required.)
38.Are you currently an assistance animal team with an organisation or private trainer?(Required.)
39.Is there anything else that you believe we need to know or should know about your animal - regarding health, behaviour, previous jobs or circumstances (e.g. rescue or breeder provided). This is your opportunity to give us any information that can help us to make the best assessment and recommendations for you.(Required.)
40.I acknowledge that there may be a fee for any consulting or services provided to us by Assistance Animals International and the Assistance Paws Program.

Fees will be discussed with all clients before or during a consultation and prior to engagement.(Required.)
41.If you are enquiring about applying for the Assistance Paws Program, for supported training and recognition for you and your animal - are you ready to start now, if a place was offered? If no, please explain your timeline or context regarding this enquiry.(Required.)
42.Please note: We are a force free, ethical training provider, who does not condone the use of punishment, fear, check chains, slip collars, shock or prong in training. New handlers joining us will be required to agree to abide by a code of ethics and conduct that supports this standard, and supported to learn new training methods with their animal if needed(Required.)
43.Please list any other questions or provide any further information you believe is helpful for your enquiry:(Required.)
44.Public Access: Assistance animals are able to access public places and spaces with their handler, including work and education facilities (depending on circumstances). Please indicate below where you would like to be able to access in public - select all relevant.
45.Arranging access for airline and cruise travel, workplace placement and university/education placement requires additional planning, training and engagement with the venue/provider. If you have selected any of these above, please provide your circumstances below in more detail to help us understand your prospective needs.
Thank you for providing your information to us.

One of our team will be in touch with you very soon by email to discuss further.

Regards
The Assistance Paws Team