ICAN facility dog is retiring! Good job, Millie!
Millie, a facility dog who spent nearly a decade assisting young patients at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital and Ascension St. Vincent, is beginning her retirement.
A guest of Pet Pals TV, host Patty Spitler and WISH-TV news anchor Pam Elliot talked to Millie’s handler and the Indiana Canine Assistant Network about this special pup.
Millie worked as a facility dog at Ascension St. Vincent, where she helped children in physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Her handler, Ginnie Pellissier, a speech-language pathologist, said Millie performed more than 60 specific tasks to help patients progress, such as walking across balance beams or touching cards to encourage speech.
The Indiana Canine Assistant Network (ICAN), a Zionsville-based nonprofit, trained Millie. The organization places service dogs with adults, children, and veterans across Indiana.
Incarcerated individuals at three Indiana prisons lead most of the dog training. ICAN communications manager Samantha Thompson said this model benefits both the handlers and the clients.
Following a “team training” period where clients work with incarcerated handlers for a week, the dogs transition to their new homes. Millie, a golden retriever, will now live as a pet with Pellissier.
“She’s going to enjoy lying in the sun, chasing squirrels, doing all the things she’s never been allowed to do before,” Pellissier said.
More information is available at iCanDog.org
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