Austin Dog Alliance has expanded to allow room for its growing number of programs, Community Outreach Director Katie Cukerbaum said. The nonprofit organization opened a new building on its premises in Cedar Park in June.

Executive Director Debi Krakar founded the alliance in her home in 2006 with the mission of using dogs to help children learn how to read.

Bow Wow Reading Dogs was the organization’s first program, Cukerbaum said. It pairs certified therapy dogs with children at risk of developmental or learning disabilities, and the children read aloud to the dogs.

During the next several years, the alliance added more programs, and it moved to a 7-acre ranch in Cedar Park in 2013. The extra space allowed the alliance to open a dog training room, set up an agility field and build a fenced-in dog park.

With programs such as Hounds for Heroes, which pairs service dogs with veterans; Special Dogs for Special Needs, which caters to children, adults and seniors; and Score, which helps special needs adults find jobs, in place, the original training room quickly became too small, Cukerbaum said.

The new 3,200-square-foot education center houses five kennels, a large training room, grooming tubs, a laundry room and a kitchen to prepare dog food. 

Cukerbaum said the new building allows the organization to offer more classes, but it mainly benefits the Hounds for Heroes and Score programs.

The new center allows Score students more hands-on time working with dogs, she said.

Cukerbaum said the alliance previously had no kennels for the Hounds for Heroes program.

“All the dogs that were in training for our Hounds for Heroes program were kept in the homes of fosters, volunteers or trainers and came in for training here. Now, they are on-site for the first couple of months of training, so they get around-the-clock work. We are hoping that it will allow us to double the number of dogs that we train to become service dogs,” she said.

Dog trainer Neitha Engert said she has seen the effect service dogs can have on veterans’ lives.

“They have to take less medicine; they don’t have to see their psychiatrists as often. One woman said it kept her working,” Engert said. “It allows the veterans to actually start living again and to go out in public.”

The alliance’s dog therapy teams started visiting Austin-area courtrooms last fall to provide support for families who are called to testify, said Kathleen Majcher, pet therapy program coordinator at the alliance.

“The court tries cases with Child Protective Services,” Majcher said. “They are very stressful, and sometimes they are sad. Judge [Darleen] Byrne thought it would be helpful to have therapy dogs on-site. And it has been very helpful to the parents, children and also to the court officers. It makes their job less stressful.”

Majcher said the dogs are intuitive and often know who most needs help.

Help wanted

Austin Dog Alliance is seeking donations and volunteers to support its programs.

“We always need additional pet therapy volunteers,” Community Outreach Director Katie Cukerbaum said. “If you have a dog that you think might be a good fit for the program, come in. We have a pet therapy seminar to determine whether the dog is a good fit for the program.”

In addition, the Score program needs laptops to be used during classes and for application and resume writing.