The training given by Assistance Dogs of America is long and intensive, and employees must carefully match each dog's skills with each individual's needs.

That's why, when someone applies for an assistance dog, he or she typically has an 18-to-24-month wait. And for program director Jan Fought Brown, it could be frustrating that there wasn't much the organization could do to help in the meantime.

That's all going to change.

Last month, Assistance Dogs of America and the Ability Center of Greater Toledo agreed to a strategic partnership that will make Assistance Dogs a program of the Ability Center and bring its operation from rural Swanton to a building to be renovated on the Ability Center's 16-acre Sylvania campus. The groups hope to raise $150,000 in donations to help cover the cost of work to accommodate changes.

"Now we're going to be able to direct those people on the waiting list to someone who will coordinate their intake, get information about them, and see if we can't offer them more in terms of those services to prepare them for a dog and maybe get them into a situation where they're going to be fully independent," Ms. Fought Brown said. "From our standpoint, that is a really, really important part of what Assistance Dogs gains from its relationship with the Ability Center."

The merger officially will be announced Sunday, and leaders from both groups say the benefits will be numerous.

The new arrangement should make the assistance they offer more visible and available, and it ultimately will help more people be more independent in their daily living.

"The part that got our boards most excited was the ability for program participants to now flow between one program and another," said Timothy Harrington, executive director of the Ability Center. "Jan has her set of participants who may have never been introduced to the Ability Center and vice versa. Through this arrangement, our consumers are going to be able to take part in a much broader array of offerings and have it be conveniently located on one campus."

The Ability Center's program to move people with disabilities out of long-term care facilities and transition into independent living is one example. Many people they move may still be uncomfortable going into public alone or feel they still need some help around the home. Pairing them up with a service or therapy animal from Assistance Dogs could help allay those concerns.

"We have very similar missions to support people with disabilities in being more independent," Mr. Harrington said.

A new location is something the people from Assistance Dogs have wanted for some time. Ms. Fought Brown said the rural setting was challenging for several reasons, including transportation concerns for clients and the fact dogs had to be carted all over to gain real world experience in shopping malls, restaurants, and city parks. Those problems won't exist on the busy Monroe Street business corridor.

Another target of the groups is getting dogs to more people who could use them. Mr. Harrington said they hope to find creative ways to fund the purchase and training of more animals.

The building into which Assistance Dogs will move is currently the Ability Center's housing resource center, where they store durable medical equipment for the loan program and do prefabrication on ramps and other home modifications.

The remodel will add kennels, office space, and several large outdoor runs for the dogs. A new housing resource center will be built off Skelly Road.

Contact Tyrel Linkhorn at: tlinkhorn@theblade.com or 419-724-6134.