Northern Indiana Service Dogs

Positive Review

Filed by Robin Mazzuca May 26, 2019

I have been working with Rachel Curley for 17 years. She trained and matched me with my very first service dog and when it was time for my next service dog, I immediately contacted her.I have Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, Spinal Stenosis, Lateral Spinal Sclerosis, and fusion of my lumbar spine. In terms of a service dog are varied and sometimes complex. I need a dog who can brace me when trying to stand up after a fall, a dog who can help me walk up stairs, a dog who can help me tug off clothes, a dog who can pick up a wide variety of types and textures of items that I drop and then hand the item to me, and most importantly a dog who is eager to learn new and varied things. Rachel has a true ability for matching dogs and people. Her training techniques are unparalleled. Not only is she an excellent dog trainer, she goes out of her way to work with each person who receives one of her dogs to help ensure a successful partnership. I can personally attest to this.I received my second service dog from Rachel and we have now been partners for 7 years. He has far exceeded every expectation I could have had for him.Having such a well trained partner pushes me to be the very best leader I can be for him.We have learned many new things together! He takes care of me and I give him the very best care he can get! When it comes time for him to retire, I will be going back to Rachel for Service Dog #3! There is nowhere and no one else I would even consider for this very important task!My service dogs have improved the quality of my life in so many ways. They have kept me more active than I would have been had they not been a part of my life. In a sense, my first service dog helped to give me back my life and independence and my second service dog has kept me as independent as possible and prevents me from backsliding, despite me having progressive diseases and conditions. As my heath changes, so does he. Sometimes I really think that he figures out new ways to help me and then he shows me what he can do. Then I have to develop a command to go with his new behavior. Next, I have to teach him the words that I have assigned to his behavior.One thing I would like to say is how disappointed I have been with many of the individuals I have met who are hoping to get their first service dog. Being a service dog partner is hard work. You have to study and learn materials that may seem foreign at first. There are many commands to learn (which is very different from just trying to memorize them)! These individuals often do not understand why THEY have to learn so much if these dogs are so well trained.  What they don't comprehend is that these exceptional dogs need strong leaders - someone to tell them what needs to be done so that they can complete the task. In short, they need a strong leader to give them the correct commands. I believe that sometimes it is more difficult to train the people than it is the dogs. We should all be as excited about learning new things as these amazing dogs are.

Positive Review

Filed by Cindy slonaker Mar 21, 2019

I have been working with Northern Indiana Service Dogs and Rachael Curly for 6 years. Rachael. Curly  the owner answers me back right away when I reach out to her and has great response to questions and concerns. There is always a solution from her and her team of trainers,. I am involved with the dogs progress  and training as much as I want and when I want or as little as I want with no pressure from her. She lets me contact her and doesn’t hasstle me if I have not spoken to her for awhile and that is really nice. She has a Facebook page, emails, call or text, etc. and makes the conversation easy. I make an effort to go physically see the trainers and the dog. Rachael let me know up front that it is up to me when I want to see the dog and it’s progress.  Every time I reach out to Rachael she is a wonderful peron to talk to and understands how hard it is to function with a disability. Getting used to having a service dog was an adjustment but she was so thoughtful helping me every step of they way. She bends over backwards to satisfy any needs and tries to match the dogs training differently and specifically for each person, she spends time with me teaching me how to handle to dog in public and home and I can go to her at any time for a refresher. That is hard to find and if something is quite right she will make it right. She finds the right gear with the leashes, packs, vests, patches, collars, dog food, and much more and lets you try them out. The more I see the dog the better it is for the transition to its forever home. I would recommend NISD to anyone and I won’t go anywhere else. They are Excellent!! And very Experienced!  And customized to your needs. 

Positive Review

Filed by Shiloh Rice Mar 20, 2019

I have spastic diplegia cerebral palsy. I’m writing to you on behalf of Northern Indiana Service Dogs (NISD) and Rachel Curley. I applied in 2001 to another service dog organization that Rachel was working for at the time; Colt, a yellow lab mix, was partnered with me as my first service dog in December 2001. Shortly after our pairing I fell and was stuck for twelve (12) hours. After recovering, I realized Colt’s skill set needed to be revised. After repeated phone calls to Midwest Assistance Dogs went unanswered; I called Rachel personally to see about adding to his skill set. Rachel personally and patiently walked me how to add the new skill set needed so that Colt was able to help me better when that specific skill set was needed. Due to my cerebral palsy, the skill set I need seems to change on an ongoing basis. When Colt retired in December 2010, I decided I was going to stay with Rachel and NISD. Finding Colt’s successor was not an easy process. The first dog we tried, Tanner, was okay, but he seemed a little unwilling to work at times for me. After talking it over with Rachel several times over the phone and email we both decided to try another dog. Tanner is now partnered with a young boy and LOVES his job. He is a great service dog, he just wasn’t the one for me. Wilke (Will Key) was the next dog I tried. He did anything I needed him to do inside the apartment, but once you got him out in public he was a terrified dog. Although Wilke was trained in public, the gravity of him having to watch out for “his person” had not yet set in. Once it did, he was so scared.After several more phone calls with Rachel trying to fix Wilke’s issues it was determined that he was not going to work out either. The only dog Rachel had ready for my specific needs at the time was the NISD spokesdog (and her personal dog) Miracle. Miracle has been my partner, best friend, and teammate since February 19, 2011. She makes my life easier on a daily basis because of her skills and has saved my life a few times too. I will definitely miss her when she retires next year due to a medical issue. Her successor will be coming from NISD as well. Miracle retired at age 11 in October 2018. Dax, her successor, came from NISD as well. He is 22 months old and seems to be working out well. I say seems only because the bonding takes time. Dax is a retrieving machine thanks to all the work Rachel Curley and her staff have put into him. He's a hard working dog who loves to please and has already kept me from falling multiple times. If I have fallen he's been there to keep me from further injuries.