Two years ago, the Cohasset Working Dog Foundation was formed to raise funds to provide the police department and community with a K9 service dog. This year, the CWDF is giving back to the Cohasset community — by donating raised funds to provide individuals with service dogs of their own.
The CWDF recently announced its first annual Cohasset Service Dog Grant, which will help pay for the purchase and training of a personal service dog for a Cohasset resident. Trained service dogs can aid individuals with visual or hearing impairments, seizure disorders, mobility impairments, autism or other serious health issues.
These dogs can alert to certain medical conditions, such as seizures, before they happen.
“They’re remarkable and life-saving, and love you on top of that,” CWDF president Trish Morse said of service dogs. “They provide you with amazing service and unconditional companionship and love… No medicine or device will do that for you.”
These specially trained canines can help their owners lead regular lives. However, these dogs come with a hefty price tag, especially for an individual or family already facing medical bills. The purchase, training and raising of a service dog can cost around $20,000.
This is where the CWDF comes in — the group’s mission is to cover a significant portion of the costs for one Cohasset individual in need each year. This is a new initiative for the organization, which was originally formed to raise funds for the Cohasset police department’s K9 unit.
Morse explained, “The over-arching goal of the organization is to support the police K9 program; the second part is to provide service dogs to the people in the community who need them. That’s our mission.”
The CWDF announced last week that the first grant recipient has been selected: five-year-old Emmy Naples.