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Rape is an almost unimaginable and horrific experience. For some those who survive an attack, life may never be the same again. Some rape survivors can spend the rest of their lives in extreme fear of a repeated attack, and some may struggle to ever experience any sense of security again.
Guardian Therapy Dogs, Inc., founded by Michael Hosto, is an organization of volunteers committed to helping rape survivors live a more normal life with the assistance of a trusted guardian and companion. Guardian Therapy Dogs provides a practical sense of security to a rape survivor. We provide Guardian Therapy Dogs to survivors of violent sexual assault. It is our hope that those individuals will benefit from the reliable sense of security that a Guardian Therapy Dog can provide to them anywhere at anytime.
Step #1: We purchase pure bred, female German Shepherd puppies from breeders.
Step #2: We place the puppy with local adoptive family until the dog reaches the age of 6-7 months. During this time the dog will experience a prescribed program of socialization and obedience training.
Step #3: The trained Guardian Therapy Dog will be placed with a survivor of sexual assault through referral from a local rape crisis counseling center.
We do not provide “attack dogs.” In fact the opposite is true. Our Guardian Therapy Dogs are all pure bred, female German Shepherds. The German Shepherd is bred to be amazingly intelligent, protective, sociable and of course, a lifelong loving companion.
Our Guardian Therapy Dogs are warm, loving, well socialized and disciplined German Shepherd dogs. As the name “Shepherd” implies, the German Shepherd is a protector of the flock. They have an uncanny sense of intelligence, bravery and loyalty. The German Shepherd does not need to be trained to be protective, being the protector of the flock is simply a deeply ingrained characteristic of the German Shepherd DNA. We use females because they have demonstrated more of a maternal instinct. We have found that most seem to be more focused on protecting people than the more territorial males. Additionally we have found them to be more relaxed, gentler and less aggressive than males.
Our Guardian Therapy Dogs will be available to sexual assault survivors by referral through any local rape crisis center on a sliding scale and are available at no cost to those who demonstrate financial need. Placement is based on availability. Due to funding shortages availability is limited.
