Opening gong for children’s therapy with service dogs

On behalf of Hulphond Nederland, Daan and Rudolph Strickwold, Director Marketing & Commerce, sound the opening gong, which denotes the opening of trading at Euronext in Amsterdam. They ask for special attention for the increasing importance of children’s therapy with the use of service dogs.

This year only, in the Netherlands, more than 200 children who suffer from behavioural or development problems, such as Daan, have been successfully treated by therapists with the help of trained therapy dogs. These children deal with autism, ADHD, mental handicaps or suffer from being bullied. By the end of 2016, over 450 children will have a new perspective in life, due to the help of this special therapy program. They learn to function better, communicate more clearly, feel more confident and develop an improved sense of wellbeing. Hulphond Nederland visits the Amsterdam exchange in the context of the International Assistance Dog Week. During this week, which starts at August 7, Hulphond Nederland recognizes and honors the hardworking service dogs.

Hulphond Nederland is the Dutch expert centre for the training of service dogs, which are used for medical and therapeutic care. The foundation teaches dogs up to 70 individual skills, enabling them to offer assistance to individuals with physical handicaps or therapeutic needs. This includes people with significant physical limitations, suffering from epilepsy and physical or emotional traumas, and children with severe behavioural problems, autism, and/or mental handicaps.

For more information: www.hulphond.nl

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