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HOPE AACR
is a national,
all volunteer, non-profit
501(c)(3) organization
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About HOPE AACR
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Our Mission
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The mission of HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis
Response
is to provide comfort and encouragement through animal-assisted
support to
individuals affected by crises and disasters. |
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| History |
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In May 1998, in
Springfield, Oregon a tragic shooting by a Thurston High
School student left 25 people injured and 4 dead.
Survivors and witnesses struggled to cope with their
horror and shock. In response to this horrible event,
the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA)
deployed to the school along with two registered Delta
Society Pet Partner teams, Sandi Arrington and her dog
Garth, and Cindy Ehlers, and her dog Bear. These
animal-assisted therapy teams went to work comforting
the students. Mental health counselors watched in
amazement as the teams helped students who were
withdrawn and who were not responding to traditional
methods of the human counselors. This tragic event
eventually lead Cindy Ehlers to begin what later became
know as HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response.
Cindy Ehlers came away from the Thurston High School
crisis with the realization that pet therapy animals can
also bring comfort and support to people suffering from
the effects of a critical incident or disaster. With
this new insight and a powerful conviction, Cindy was
determined to bring this awareness to others.
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 Cindy
& Bear |
In that same year, 1998, Ms.
Ehlers became a Delta Society Pet Partner Team
Evaluator. Then, in 1999, she became a Pet Partner
Instructor. In the fall of 1999, Ms. Ehlers founded HOPE
Pets, an organization that offered animal-assisted
activities and therapy as part of the Pet Partner
program. In order to ensure safe and effective
animal-assisted therapy in crisis and disaster
situations, Ms. Ehlers decided that registered Pet
Partner teams, who wanted to respond in crisis
situations, would need specialized training. HOPE
Pets held its first formal animal-assisted crisis
response training in July 2000. This first course
was designed to prepare teams to assist at crisis and
disaster scenes, with the emphasis on the canine part of
the team.
HOPE Pets held a second formal AACR training in June
2001. Emotional trauma components were added to
the training, and the dogs were taught to work and
perform specific tasks during these higher levels of
stress. Cindy realized the added components were
similar to that of SAR dogs who were classified as
working dogs. As a result of this, the word "pet"
was dropped from the name HOPE Pets, and the name HOPE
Animal-Assisted Crisis Response was used.
In September 2001, Josiah Whitaker and Hoss, Pat
Dickinson and Kate, Pat and Bill Gartman and Uno, and
Cindy Ehlers and Tikva were called by the American Red
Cross to assist in New York City following the
terrorists' attack on the World Trade Center.
These teams worked for two weeks in New York City
helping people with the effects of this horrible event.
They, along with many other AAT teams, received praise
and international recognition for the use of animals in
comforting survivors, and for helping first responders
and other workers relax and talk about their
experiences. The magnitude and depth of this disaster
response was hard on both the dogs and handlers. Cindy
Ehlers and the other three teams agreed that the
handlers would benefit from better crisis intervention
and critical incident stress management skills, as well
as a greater awareness of their dog's stress signs.
The work in New York City proved that animal-assisted
crisis response was needed and effective in brining
comfort and support to those in need. In November
2001, HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response was
incorporated with Cindy Ehlers leading the organization
as its first president and founder.
Since November 2001, HOPE AACR has grown to have more
than 100 certified crisis response teams in five regions
that cover 34 states. Members of HOPE have responded to all manner of crises,
including major
hurricanes, wildfires, train derailments, and school
shootings. The training and education program
continues to evolve as teams encounter new challenges
working in this much needed endeavor.
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Regions |
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HOPE AACR has five geographic
regions in the United States with certified response teams ready
to deploy. Teams are deployed within their region or when
necessary, may be deployed anywhere in the
United States. The following is a list of HOPE AACR regions and
the states they respond to:
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Eastern U.S. (EUS) |
Connecticut,
Delaware,
Eastern Kentucky,
New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington D.C.,
West Virginia |
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Pacific Northwest (PNW) |
Oregon, Washington,
Western Idaho |
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Pacific Southwest (PSW) |
Arizona, California,
Nevada |
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Rocky Mountains
(RMR) |
Colorado, Eastern Idaho, Montana,
Utah, Wyoming |
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Southeast U.S. (SER) |
Alabama,
Eastern Tennessee, Florida, Georgia,
North & South Carolina |
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Please Note: |
Please note that we are not an animal rescue
organization,
nor do we take in animals for use in crisis response work. All crisis response dogs certified by HOPE AACR are
owned and cared for by their handlers. We do not train
dogs for placement in any kind of facility.
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