Canine Companions

A group of four-legged companions, trained to make a Positively Jax difference, perform physical tasks for people with a wide range of disabilities.

The pups are trained by handlers at Canine Companions for Independence. Some of the dogs go to children to help them navigate daily life. Others go to wounded veterans or veterans with disabilities to help them enjoy greater independence.

The dogs are expertly trained and partnered with a working professional in health care, visitation, criminal justice or education settings.

After they are trained, they help by turning on lights, picking up dropped keys, opening doors and other simple tasks most of us take for granted.

These canine companions give those with disabilities the independence they may not otherwise have.

A service dog can pull their partner in a manual wheelchair, push buttons for an elevator or even assist with business transactions.

And dogs who help the hearing impaired can alert partners to key sounds with a simple nudge.

They are skilled companions that develop a strong family bond with their human partner.

Police Dog

When not busy catching baddies, police dog Buzz recently found time to stand to attention and bark his thanks outside Coventry’s hospital during the Clap for Carers, reducing some of the nurses present to tears.

That noble vision sums up the dedication, heroism and compassion of the Warwickshire police dog section.

Newly liberated from its ties to the West Mercia division, the WPD is making the most of its fresh start, with new dogs being trained and even establishing its own Twitter account.

The section consists of ten human handlers, who usually look after one or two dogs.

Buzz’s handler, Sgt Andrew Rawson, told the Herald how it worked.

“Every handler has a general purpose dog, which is a big dog, some of which are trained to work with firearms teams – they are called firearm support dogs.

“Generally, the big dogs look for criminals, missing persons, and search for people who have run off crime scenes or burglars hiding in buildings etc.

“They will look for disgarded items, such as weapons at a crime scene or property that’s thrown from a burglary. The dogs will identify people’s scent on items and show the handler where the item is – like thrown into a ditch, or wherever it might be.”

During the coronavirus pandemic, Sgt Rawson says they have also been busy helping people to understand what the lockdown rules are and how to abide by them.

He added: “Unfortunately there’s still a criminal element that are busy.”

As well as the big dogs, which tend to be German shepherds or a hybrid (Buzz is a German/Belgian shepherd mix), most handlers also have a specialist search dog – usually spaniels.

Sgt Rawson said: “All dogs are good at sniffing things out but obviously it’s difficult to hold a German shepherd at head height. Size-wise, if you have a spaniel they are easier to handle if you’re searching for explosives, drugs or firearms.”

As well as big dog Buzz, Sgt Rawson now has black-and-white springer spaniel Bella, who is seven months old and especially adorable. Is it hard not to treat them like pets and become attached to them?

“As I spend more time with the dogs than the wife, then you do get very attached,” explained Sgt Rawson, whose dogs live with him at home but sleep outside.

“But they are not pets, but service dogs, and you work as a team. Ultimately they are there as a tool to do a job, and will if necessary save the life of their handler or a member of the firearms team. You have to judge the risk against the tactics to do the job, and ultimately if they have to save a life, a dog must do its duty.”

Sgt Rawson has been in the force for 27 years, joining WPD five years ago after working in traffic and firearms divisions. What’s required to be a good dog handler?

“Obviously you have to love animals. Everyone else hangs up their keys or their gun when they go home, but these dogs live with you and they need looking after every day of the year. You also have to have the right mindset – the desire to go and catch bad people.

“The animals are tools, like a Taser or any use of force, so you have to justify its use and have that presence of mind to remain calm in any situation.

“You have to be able to work a dog efficiently and effectively before you deploy it on anybody – they have 42 teeth and will cause damage. Most of the time, just because of the size of the dog’s bark, the subject will perceive the risk and behave themselves.”

Sgt Rawson added: “After 27 years, my ability to catch people on a straight chase has been reduced! To catch a 20-year-old in trainers as I approach 50, it’s easier to have a dog!”

PenFed’s Service Dog

There’s a new puppy with a purpose at PenFed Credit Union.

In partnership with America’s VetDogs, Ace, a yellow Labrador Retriever, will be raised to assist a military veteran or first responder with a disability.

Andrea McCarren, vice president and chief content officer for PenFed Digital will raise Ace alongside Maverick, a service dog she began raising last year. Ace also joins PenFed service dogs in training Mission and WestPoint who are being raised by PenFed employees.

“Ace is being raised with the purpose of providing enhanced mobility and renewed independence to veterans, active-duty service members, and first responders with disabilities, allowing them to once again live with pride and self-reliance,” said James Schenck, president and CEO of PenFed Credit Union and CEO of the PenFed Foundation. “We are committed to this program and making it work for our employees who are donating their time to raise these dogs for a very noble cause.”

McCarren will spend the next 18 months raising Ace as part of the PenFed family to prepare him for the next step of his training. He will learn additional tasks that are helpful to a person with a disability. PenFed is covering costs associated with the raising of Ace as he begins his journey to becoming a future service dug.

“As someone who is raising her fourth service dog, I have seen firsthand the powerful impact they have on the lives of wounded service members and first responders,” said McCarren. “The ability to help a remarkable organization like America’s VetDogs while on the job is one of the many things that makes PenFed special.”

America’s VetDogs specializes in placing highly-skilled service and guide dogs to individuals with physical injuries, PTSD, hearing and vision loss, and seizures. All services are provided by America’s VetDogs at no cost. Suly, President George H.W. Bush’s former service dog,  who is currently working as part of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s Facility Dog Program, was raised, trained and placed by America’s VetDogs. Ace joins other high-profile VetDogs, including including the Washington Capitals’ Captain, Scout from Monumental Sports, Atlanta United’s Spike, WBAL’s Brooks and New York Islanders’ Tori and Radar.

“America’s VetDogs is excited to partner with PenFed on this life-changing program to raise a future service dog for a veteran or first responder with disabilities,” said John Miller, president & CEO, America’s VetDogs.

You can follow Ace’s journey on PendFed’s social media accounts.

Canine Retiring

A long-serving and furry member of the Ministry of Environment has retired from Conservation Officer duties.

Jaks, a Conservation Officer Service Dog, will be hanging up his collar after an eight-year career.

His handler, Conservation Officer Cpl. Jamie Chartrand, said the 10-year-old Belgium Malinois helped officers with hundreds of investigations.

Jaks’ knack for locating evidence led the ministry and other law enforcement agencies to numerous criminal convictions and fines totalling tens of thousands of dollars.

“One of his favorite parts of the job was tracking,” Chartrand said. “Jaks tracked down numerous criminals during his career. This is often the most dangerous part of the job.”

Chartrand and Jaks also helped educate the public about the use of natural resources at community events, presentations and school visits.

A multiple award-winning canine, Jaks won numerous accolades at the Canadian Police Canine Championships in Alberta, including fourth and second place finishes in the top dog category.

Although he will be off the clock, Jaks has been adopted by Cpl. Chartrand so the pair will be continuing their adventures together.

Jaks is being replaced by a young female German Shepard name Tai, who has recently completed her training.

10-year-old Jaks (left) will be replaced by a young German Shepard named Tai (right).

Program For Puppies

“Good People” profiles everyday individuals who are bettering the lives of those in need and improving their communities.

This organization is changing how prison inmates are serving time.

“Puppies Behind Bars” allows incarcerated men and women to train service dogs for the purpose of giving them to veterans and other heroes who need help.

Gloria Gilbert Stoga, the founder and president of “Puppies Behind Bars,” said she was first inspired to create the organization after reading about a veterinarian in Florida who recruited prison inmates to train guide dogs for the blind.

“I just thought it was an absolutely brilliant idea,” Gilbert Stoga told In The Know. “I just followed my passion to create a program where prison inmates train dogs that will go out and work in the community.”

Veterans who have been fortunate enough to receive dogs who have graduated the program have described the animals as nothing short of life-changing.

“When I talked to the VA about getting a service dog, I saw that ‘Puppies Behind Bars’ does work for trauma, for PTSD dogs,” said Col. Jeanna Meyer, a veteran and service dog recipient. “It’s pretty unbelievable, you kind of actually start to get the hope that life is going to be so much better now.”

Port Authority Police officer Brian Andrews, another service dog recipient, recalled being a highly active person until 2015 when he sustained an injury on the job that left him in a dark place.

“I basically crawled into a fetal position and spent a year and a half like that,” officer Andrews said. “This ‘Puppies Behind Bars’ program has brought me back to more pre-injury (status).”

As miraculous as “Puppies Behind Bars” has been for dog recipients, inmates have also touted the benefits of participating in the program, which Gilbert Stoga describes as rigorous.

“The training process for an inmate — it’s really hard,” the founder said. “There’s tests, there’s quizzes, there’s hands-on assignment. If you’ve raised a dog to completion, you feel pretty damn good about yourself.”

According to the organization’s website, puppies enter a prison at the age of 8 weeks and live with their inmate puppy-raisers for approximately 24 months.

“As the puppies mature into well-loved, well-behaved dogs, their raisers learn what it means to contribute to society rather than take from it,” the site reads. “The dogs bring hope and pride to their raisers, and independence and security to those they serve.”

All the hard work clearly pays off on both ends.

“It’s definitely something that’s positive and has lifted me up and helped me in ways I never thought possible,” said inmate and puppy raiser Rebecca Polomaine. “It’s like, ‘Here. Thank you.’ I put my love, my blood, sweat and tears into these dogs, and this is for you.”

“When everybody graduates, they go home with the dogs, were all rooting for them, and we’re hoping for optimal success,” Gilbert Stoga added. “The dogs have saved lives.”

Service Dog

An Indiana woman’s boyfriend constructed what he calls a ‘wheelchair sidecar’ for her and her service dog.

A viewer submitted a photo to WVLT News of Melissa Morris and her service dog Luna. In the photo, the two are seen sitting in the specially designed wheelchair constructed by Morris’ boyfriend. The wheelchair has an extension on the side where Luna can sit next to Morris.

“Just the kind of god news we could all use,” Nancy Arnett, a viewer out of Sevierville said.

Melissa purchased her dog Luna from Arnett in Sevierville.

Stress Relief For Kids

Twelve-year-old Patrick’s parents were never married. He and his mom have moved with his two sisters six times in the last four years. And now, since his mother’s job was eliminated, it looks like they are going to have to move again.

To top it off, the only apartment they can afford has rules that prohibit Dauphine, Patrick’s dog, from moving in.

Like millions of children, Patrick is on the front lines of how, layer upon layer, American society has been getting more complicated. Marriages and jobs, environmental health, even U.S. supremacy on the world stage: nothing has quite the certainty it did for most people 50 years ago, or even five months ago.

And those with the least amount of control over where they are going to wake up each day and how — children — are paying the highest price of all, it appears.

For the first time since such statistics have been collected, suicide has become the second leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 10 and 24, according to the latest numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics. And suicides among the very youngest – ages 5 to 11 – have almost doubled in recent years.

Complicating matters, treating children with the most common antidepressant medicine, a class known as SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) has been linked to suicidality, and studies have shown the side effects of these pharmaceuticals are often more severe side effects for those younger than 25.

But there’s another answer. And the evidence is growing that the four-legged friend Patrick knows as Dauphine might be the key to keeping him able to focus on his schoolwork and his anxiety about talking to others under control.

Dr. Sabrina E.B. Schnuck, executive director of the UCI Child Development Center and assistant professor in residence in the Department of Pediatrics at the UCI School of Medicine, has been studying the effects of animal-child interaction on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder for five years.

“Decreased physiological stress and improved perceptions of stress levels have been found in children and young adults (and adults) who participate in animal-assisted interventions and activities,” Schnuck told the Orange County Register.

Sue Fortune, a licensed psychotherapist in Calgary, has seen firsthand how emotional support dogs teach children coping skills and intrinsically offer relief from autism, anxiety and depression.

“They can provide children with a sense of safety, teach the child responsibility, lower aggression and frustration levels,” she said. “They also can provide comfort when the child is upset and helps them overcome fear.”

ESAs for children are regarded by the law the same way they are for adults: a reasonable accommodation for a disability, documented through an emotional support animal letter,  Fortune said.

So, at the next place, Patrick moves, documenting his difficulties and Dauphine’s role in lessening his symptoms could get the dog in the door of their new apartment, despite pet prohibitions. The document would also exempt the family from animal deposit fees.

Fortune says the process for documenting the need for an ESA is not much different from the one that adults go through. Best practices, however, would include a parental assessment of the child’s history and the family’s.

Fortune takes her smaller patients through a number of assessments. Firstly, the 47-item assessment known as the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale charts conditions such as separation anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalizing anxiety disorder, panic disorder and depression.

“It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to administer,” Fortune said.

These tests break down symptoms of psychological distress, asking children, for example, how often they feel worried about someone being angry at them, feel upset in their stomach, or have trouble sleeping.

Fortune also uses another, 27-item assessment known as the Child Depression Scale. It is designed to measure the severity of depression in children ages 7 to 17.

The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorder (known as SCARED) also evaluates children with 41 items that mirror the classifications of mental health disorders found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Maria Scotto, a licensed psychotherapist in Aventura, Fla., said she’s seen the way animals can bridge the widening gap between children’s needs and the available services.

A furry friend like Dauphine is a sure bet for coping with all the uncertainty life has in store for kids like Patrick.

“Various experts agree emotional support animals can increase happiness, decrease loneliness and reduce stress,” she said.

Casper The Therapy Dog

Casper the Therapy Dog is aptly named. The friendly golden retriever with the happy-boy smile is the ideal pup for tough times, and he’s been spreading love during the COVID-19 pandemic with his owner and philanthropic partner, Rachel Elliott.

The two have helped distribute 10,000 meals (though not all in Seattle) for medical professionals responding to the crisis as part of Fueling the Fearless, a nonprofit that pairs struggling restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries with folks who could use a break.

Recent trips have included visits with the Swedish Medical Center’s First Hill emergency room staff, the Life Flight helicopter crew at Harborview Medical Center and Metro bus drivers.

“I’m still getting texts from people that we visited at Swedish,” Elliott said earlier this year. “Like, ‘Can you come back? We’d like to see you.’ They’re not talking about the food. It’s the connection, like, ‘I see you, I hear you, I’m here for you and, you know, you can pet a dog’ kind of thing.”

Elliott and Casper love helping people, and soon they could be taking their campaign to a much wider audience. Elliott came up with the idea of a therapy-dog television series called “Love Unleashed” and has found a production partner in Hoplite Entertainment. They’ve begun preproduction on the show and hope to film in Seattle later this year.

“I pitched the idea and the producers liked it,” Elliott said. “So now we have a contract and we are in development. Hopefully this year we’ll be able to film. But that is a timeline based on when the world opens up.”

The show will focus on the therapeutic benefits of canine companionship. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) published the results of a decadelong study in 2018 that showed pets help reduce stress, improve heart health and even help children with their emotional and social skills. The NIH said therapy dogs are especially good at this when employed in hospitals and nursing homes.

This is, of course, not news to most pet owners — 68% of American households include a pet.

“They checked the cortisol levels in the saliva before and after and then later in the day,” Elliott said. “Just by petting a dog, it decreases the cortisol levels by 24% in a person. That decreases anxiety, keeps your heart and lungs healthy, lowers blood pressure. They’re starting to use therapy dogs in different ways that they didn’t even realize [were beneficial].”

Casper, now 4, is Elliott’s second therapy dog. She adopted him when he was 8 weeks old and has been training him for his role since. He passed the American Kennel Club’s obedience test with ease and is also certified for therapy.

It is clear he is a very good boy.

“Any dog, any breed can become a therapy dog,” Elliott said. “It’s more of the personality, obedience, things like that. That’s what’s great about therapy dogs. You can’t train a personality. He is who he is. He really knows his surroundings and what’s going on. It’s also getting them used to different surroundings. So right now with COVID, everyone’s wearing a mask. It doesn’t faze Casper at all.”

Six-Legged Dog

Luke, a student, has been bullied because of a condition called psoriasis, which makes skin itchy and flaky. The teen, from Orpington, in England, instantly fell in love with the special pup born with two extra front legs—they have become inseparable.

The Labrador-cross, named Roo, short for Kangaroo due to her unusual hopping gait, can only get around on her back legs. Her extra set of front legs made normal walking impossible.

Talking to The Epoch Times, Luke’s mom, Lauren Salmon, said that Roo has turned 1 year old, and since coming to their home, Roo has had an “operation to remove one extra limb that would have caused problems.”

“I’m looking into training Roo as a therapy dog as more people can relate if they have a disability to an animal with special needs,” Lauren said.

Lauren bought Roo from breeders in Essex after her teen son saw the special pup on the internet, noted SWNS, according to media reports. Lauren had contacted celebrity veterinarian Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick in 2019, hoping he may be able to help improve Roo’s mobility. Dr. Fitzpatrick stars in a UK-based TV show called “The Supervet.”

“We absolutely love Roo to pieces,” Lauren told SWNS. “She’s just a normal dog.”

“She’s full of puppy energy, so we’d describe her as placid but playful. There are not many dogs like Roo out there,” Lauren said. “I think the breeders kill them off because they’re not worth anything, but to us, she’s priceless.” When Lauren and Luke went to collect Roo from the dog breeder in Essex, England, the little pup rushed out of the pen and jumped up at them on her back legs.

“It was love at first sight for Luke and Roo from then on,” Lauren told SWNS. “Luke is like a protective father. They never leave each other’s sides, and she even sleeps in his bed.”

For Luke, Roo is very much a soulmate. “Luke feels like the odd one out because of his condition, and now he’s got a best friend to match,” the teen’s mom said. “I think Roo will reduce Luke’s stress, and that should help his skin.”

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