Content Sponsored by CoasterStone
For many adults, children and veterans living with disabilities, their service dog is an invaluable part of their lives. Beyond being great companions, these dogs allow their clients to live full and independent lives that might otherwise not have been an option.
ICAN stands for Indiana Canine Assistant Network, and has been a trailblazing organization in the state for more than 20 years. Founded in December 2001, ICAN is a force for positive change in people’s lives.
ICAN is set apart from other similar organizations in Indiana by being the only service-dog training program accredited by Assistance Dogs International. With this distinction, ICAN is proud to have established decades of success and notoriety within service-dog training programs and supporters. This distinction transcends to the unique way dogs are trained.
That’s because at any given time, ICAN has between 40 and 60 incarcerated individuals training and leading the development of their service dogs at three Indiana-based correctional facilities.
These dedicated men and women are crucial in training their service dogs to ensure they reach their full potential and become reliable assistant dogs for future clients.
Over the past 20 years, ICAN has placed nearly 300 service dogs with clients, and helped hundreds of incarcerated individuals move beyond their mistakes, gain hope, and learn the skills they need to successfully return to the community – all by training service dogs that help someone else.
The incarcerated trainers involved with ICAN as trainers report having a positive experience, and know that they are helping to give back to the community. In addition to the experience, the handlers are provided a unique opportunity to learn training skills, as well as dog care and management skills, and uphold greater responsibility within the prison through their work.
As it currently stands, ICAN has more than 60 handlers and dogs in training at three different correctional facilities. ICAN itself operates with 11 employees and more than 250 volunteers.
One such individual who began as a volunteer is David Glenn. Glenn is the owner of CoasterStone, a local stone coaster company, and a proud supporter of ICAN since 2016.
Initially meeting ICAN representatives through their Puppy Love fundraiser, Glenn quickly became involved with the organization, and in 2017 began a partnership with ICAN to include CoasterStone coasters inside of ICAN’s Puppy Love gift boxes. Always a believer in ICAN’s mission, Glenn was asked to be on the board of the organization in 2021 and now serves as vice chair. “Any of the work that you do with ICAN is benefitting our community, and helping individuals live a more independent life,” Glenn says.
Today ICAN offers four different types of service dogs: mobility assistance, psychiatric assistance (for military veterans), facility assistance, and in-home skilled companions.
“A service dog provides a service, they are professionals, and people’s lives depend on them,” Glenn says. “An understanding of the dog’s role and the extensive training received will lead to more knowledge and acceptance by the community.”
Looking ahead, ICAN continues to improve its services and expand its operations. In January 2025 Glenn will be appointed the chairman of the board for ICAN, and will reaffirm his commitment to the service dogs, the clients and the community.
If you would like more information about ICAN, visit their website at icandog.org, or follow them on social media.
