REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT
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Canine Companions for Independence
Judge Ed Kinkeade knows a thing or two
about the power of a canine companion.
U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade is a trustee
for the Baylor Scott & White Health Care System and
served as chairman of the board for Baylor Health
Care System from 2006 to 2008. As a volunteer, Judge
Kinkeade trained his yellow Labrador retriever, Bo, as
a pet therapy dog, and together they visited patients
with disabilities at various Baylor healthcare facilities
throughout North Texas. Bo was a hit.
During a volunteer visit, Judge Kinkeade and Bo met
a service dog whose range of skills made a lasting
impression. Kinkeade encouraged hospital leaders to
go beyond the pet therapy program already in place
and to partner with the premier assistance dog training
program in the country.
Canine Companions for Independence was the natural
choice. Founded in 1975, Canine Companions is the
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largest, non-profit training program in the country for
persons with a range of disabilities, excluding blindness.
Since its founding, Canine Companions has brought
together more than 5,000 assistance dog teams.
Judge Kinkeade collaborated with Canine Companions
and Baylor Scott & White Health to build a $10 million
assistance dog training center at Baylor Scott & White
Health–Kinkeade Campus in Irving. The nine-acre
campus, which opened in 2015, oversees the entire
training process from breeding to puppy-raising,
graduation to ongoing support, and provides its
placement services free of charge. Since the campus
opened, the number of Texas-based placements has
increased 250 percent.
Canine Companions for Independence trains and
places three kinds of assistance dogs: service dogs that
assist adults with physical disabilities by performing
daily tasks; skilled companions that enhance
independence for children and adults with physical,
cognitive and developmental disabilities; and facility
dogs, who work with a professional in a visitation,
education, criminal justice or healthcare setting. Baylor
Scott & White Health now has two facility dogs working
in two of their locations.
No matter the placement, Canine Companions always
takes a team-building approach. “Matching the right
dog with the right person is an important part of
the process,” said Judge Kinkeade. “A veteran who
has lost a leg, for instance, might need an active and
large dog that can carry a prosthesis. A child who is
severely disabled with autism might need a dog with
a calm disposition. A team is born out of meeting
everyone’s needs.”
Mikell Bollinger, regional director of advancement
for Canine Companions for Independence, credits her
organization’s partnership with Baylor Scott & White
Health with accelerating their ability to serve more
people with disabilities. “As the largest not-for-profit
health care system in Texas,” said Bollinger, “Baylor
Scott & White Health has greatly enhanced our visibility
in the state and provided incredible leadership support.”
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The ties that bind:
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