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Indiana Canine Assistant Network (ICAN) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Indiana Canine Assistant Network is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
The organization trains and places service dogs with children and adults with disabilities and with veterans. It is the only accredited service dog training program based in Indiana.
ICAN President Jillian Ashton said there has been an increase in applications with the pandemic slowing down. Fifty-four people are currently waiting for a dog.
“What we are really focusing on right now is not only how we take care of those 54 people, but how we take care of the future clients more quickly,” Ashton said.
There are close to 70 dogs in the training program. The wait time for a dog is often two years.
Ashton said ICAN is expanding programs and bringing in more dogs, as well as incorporating new training programs.
“COVID really gave us a wakeup call to say how do we train the dogs not only in the prison environment, but maybe outside the prison environment. Because of COVID, some of the programming in the prison had to shift and change,” Ashton said.
Ashton said the additional programming is possible with the move to a new building in the Zionsville area.
ICAN’s 20th anniversary celebration will be April 29 at the Biltwell Center.
Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Taylor Bennett at tbennett@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @TaylorB2213.
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