Dog owners understand the blessings that come with having a fur friend. But for those living with disabilities, dogs offer a wide range of benefits, including assistance with daily tasks, retrieving objects, and providing physical support to maintain balance. Beyond physical aid, dogs also offer emotional and mental health benefits, helping to reduce stress, anxiety, and loneliness through companionship.
Mississippi’s Project PAC is working to help people with disabilities increase social interaction, promote healthy routines, enhance their independence, and improve their overall quality of life through better connections with their canines.
Project PAC, which stands for People and Canines, is a program offered by the Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities (MSCCD) that enhances the bond between people and dogs. It provides professional dog and owner training, including basic obedience, customized training, and limited service-dog training, to support individuals with disabilities. The program’s goal is to enhance the owner-companion dog experience by focusing on both canine and human well-being through training and tailored support.
“Project PAC likes to say that they not only train the dog, but the person, too,” shared Laura Jones, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury trust fund coordinator under the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services (MDRS) office of special disability program. “It takes both connections for the relationship to work.”
While therapy and service dogs have their place for people living with disabilities, Project PAC can help individuals with a dog that is their current family pet, or the trainer can assist them in choosing an animal that would be a good fit for their disability and needs.
“Maybe an individual has just sustained an injury, and this animal needs to become adjusted to working with their walker in a wheelchair or working with them as they are learning new mobility measures,” shared Jones.
For MDRS and Project PAC, the goal is improved independence.
“At MDRS, we’re all about helping people become independent and living in their community as independently as possible,” shared Jones. “Having a well-trained dog can help you navigate through the community, whether that’s crossing streets, easing anxiety, or navigating around stumbling blocks.”
Project PAC is funded in part through the Traumatic Brain Injury/Spinal Cord Injury Trust Fund Program. Established by the 1996 Mississippi Legislature, the TBI/SCI Trust Fund provides both direct services to clients with traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries, as well as awards subgrants to organizations throughout the state to support programs that focus on awareness and prevention of these conditions.
“Each year, Project PAC can build upon their proposal in the TBI/SCI Trust Fund Grant,” explained Jones. “If they see that they’re having more people who are interested in participating, then we can support them in a better way to enable them to take on more participants in their program.”
There is limited space because there is only one trainer. However, those interested can visit the Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities website and click on Project PAC.
