Breed: Great Pyraneese
Born: Winter Park, Florida
Trainer: James Quarterman @ T-N-T K9 Training Service
Gunner joined the Kinard family in June 2013 as a Service Dog In Training. In March of 2014, Gunner finished his training and earned his SD credentials. SD Gunner serves as a mobility service animal for Hamilton Kinard.
Mobility assistance dogs perform a variety of tasks for their human partners, like bumping the button on automatic doors, retrieving dropped items, and bringing out-of-reach objects to hand, such as a ringing phone. For dogs that are placed with someone in a wheelchair, the animal can assist with pulling a wheelchair up a ramp if necessary. Other dogs may serve as a brace for people who are ambulatory, but suffer from balance and strength issues. With a properly retrofitted home, a mobility assistance dog can tug open doors, close them again, turn lights on and off, and summon help by finding another person in the house. In public, the mobility assistance dog is an invaluable helper, quietly serving its partner with tasks that would be difficult or impossible to do on their own.
SD Gunner assists Kinard with balance, mobility strength, and wheelchair / walker assistance. SD Gunner also assists the Kinard’s eldest son Blayne, who is Autistic, by providing calming techniques and alerting the Kinards when Blayne “bolts” or “wanders off.”
