Indiana Canine Assistant Network

Have you heard of ICAN? If not, you should. Which is why I’m telling you about them.
My school, like many others, hosts a Stress Less Week around finals each semester. We’ve brought in service dogs from the Indiana Canine Assistance Network and it’s one of the most popular events — you can imagine some puppy snuggles are just the trick to destress!
ICAN trains pups to become service dogs, which is slightly different than seeing eye dogs. These doggies will be placed with a client who has mobility issues, diabetes, PTSD or other mental illness, seizures, autism, and more. A handler cares for the dog 24/​7, and each animal spends time in a local prison where an inmate teaches them the basic commands. They apply what they’ve learned out in the community with their handler.
ICAN has a great outreach program, and it’s a win/​win: people learn more about ICAN and their great work and pet some pups, and the pups get exposure to people, noises, smells, and any other temptations! They have to learn to be cool as cucumbers in stressful situations.
They have a «graduation day» every few months at the prison that requires a background check to attend, but according to the ICAN reps is an incredibly powerful night. The handlers pass their dog along to the client, and the prisoners speak about how the dog has changed them — a «who rescued who» situation!
I encourage you to learn more about this organization, and stop them and say hi if you see them out and about with their vests on!