Therapy Dog Teams

Therapy dogs lined up to greet workers at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center on Thursday.

A group of therapy dog teams from the Alliance of Therapy Dogs gathered with proper social distancing to show support for the hospital workers as their shifts changed.

The support teams lined up with signs of encouragement.

“We are still thinking about them, and we are really happy and thankful for all that they are still doing for our communities,” said Denise Fitzgerald, a tester for the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has made it a practice to use therapy dogs to offer emotional support and much needed distractions for patients.

Canines For PTSD

In the service dog world, Odin, a 5-year-old Siberian Husky, is an outlier.

Perceptive, intelligent, social and the foundation of Above the Clouds Siberian Service Dogs, Odin is trained to quash the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

“We had no idea he was going to be a good service dog,” said Barrett T. Leary-Stensgaard who, with her husband, Tim Stensgaard, breeds and trains the dogs in Woodland Park. “Our trainers were just flabbergasted because Siberians have a bad reputation.”

Most service dogs, she added, are Labradors, German shepherds or Golden retrievers. “We got passionate about Siberians when we found that Odin has superior genetics – his line goes back 400 years to Siberia,” she said. “They are working dogs.”

The couple opened the business with Siberian rescue dogs but changed focus when results were disappointing. “We decided to start breeding, to take control of the genetics and the temperament,” she said.

Yet Odin is the star Siberian for Stensgaard, a U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret, who served in six combat tours of duty. Only recently did he acknowledge his PTSD. “I just ignored it as a possibility,” he said. “Even now I’m reluctant to talk about my PTSD — most vets are; it takes a lot to come to grips with that.”

When Stensgaard starts feeling anxious, Odin goes to work. “He’ll start getting on me, distracting me,” Stensgaard said. “He reacts to anxiety before I pick it up.”

Dogs that graduate from Above the Clouds Siberian Service Dogs help those with PTSD, mobility/stability issues, blindness, seizures or autism, for instance. “We have different training methods for different issues,” Leary-Stensgaard.

For people with mobility issues in addition to those with special needs such as autism, the couple relies on Cindy Pixler of Grand Junction, a home health-care nurse.

Each dog is certified as a Canine Good Citizen by Lisa Lima, a dog trainer and animal-assisted therapist and owner of My Life Unleashed in Woodland Park, or her business partner Eric Rice. “I can’t certify my own dogs,” Leary-Stensgaard said.

Once purchased and trained, the Siberians head out to destinations around the nation. For instance, at a year old, Raven is trained and ready to be picked up by the new owner, Nahkee Augusta, who is driving in from Wisconsin to pick up the dog.

“The research is that dogs bond better when they go home in a year,” she said. “I’m pretty good at matching the right dog with the right person.”

Sheriff Adopts Therapy Dog

Sheriff Troy D. Berry is proud to announce the implementation of a new initiative aimed at helping victims of crime in Charles County: the Comfort K9 Program. This program, which has been in the planning phase for several months, will be aimed at providing emotional support to victims of crime, particularly children. The Comfort K9, a Golden Retriever, will work directly with a detective assigned to the Special Victims Unit (SVU) in the Criminal Investigations Division.

Detective Sergeant Kristen Clark, who supervises the SVU, developed the concept for the CCSO’s Comfort K9 Program after researching the work of therapy dogs with other police departments around the country. Research has proven that therapy dogs have increased disclosure rates in children during the forensic interview process from 34% to over 80%. “Our Comfort K9 will assist detectives who are conducting forensic interviews with children or other victims of crime who may need emotional support,” said D/Sgt. Clark. “This canine can also provide comfort for victims who are testifying in court cases.”

K9 Liberty is a 10-month-old female Golden Retriever who received her training at Applejack K9 Academy, home of the Elite Registry of Working Dogs, in Charlotte Hall, MD. She will continue to work with her trainers as she begins her role with the CCSO and transitions to working with her handler, Detective Nina Garner, who serves in the SVU. “We are grateful to the staff at Applejack for the top notch training they have provided Liberty in preparing her for the important work she will do in our community,” said Detective Garner.

“Victims of violent crimes have experienced significant trauma, and we are committed to helping them through the criminal justice process,” said Lieutenant Andrew Schwab, Commander of Persons Crimes. “The Comfort K9 Program will be a vital part of that process, especially for adolescent victims.”

Photos, announcements, and updates about Liberty will be provided on the CCSO Facebook page.

“We are looking forward to working with our new therapy dog partner,” said Sheriff Berry. “She will undoubtedly be a positive addition to the CCSO family and will provide an invaluable service.” The release above was released in April, we announced our new Comfort K9 program and the adoption of Liberty, a Golden Retriever trained to work as a therapy dog. Liberty – a.k.a. “Libby – will be deployed to provide emotional support for victims of crime, particularly children. There is a great deal of training and preparation required to get Libby ready for her new role, so we reached out to Detective Nina Garner, Liberty’s handler, to get an update:

How is Liberty’s training going?
Libby is doing exceedingly well in her training. She is currently learning to retrieve her “baby”, which is a toy, and bring it to a child. She is continuing her training at Applejack once or twice a week, and I work with her a lot at home.

What kinds of things do you practice during training sessions?
Libby’s training consists of a variety of things. These are a few of the things we have done:

-Run her through the obstacle course to gain confidence

-Obedience training

-In the field training (around noise and sounds she has to overcome)

-Change ups (changing up the obedience routine by altering commands and speeds of the command so she does not become complacent)

-Currently working on commands to bring toys to children and lean into them to snuggle them

In the future, we will move into off-leash commands as our bond grows.

When will Liberty be ready to begin working?
For the comfort aspect, Libby was born ready. We just need to fine tune her skills. Depending on the situation, she could be utilized anytime.

What is it going to be like to bring Liberty to work?
Libby has already been to work with me. She gladly hops in the car and away we go. Libby has a bed and plethora of toys in my desk area to play with. Part of Libby’s training is to stay unless I release her to play (a work in progress). Due to this, Libby sleeps and lays around a lot in my desk area. Other people in the office take Libby outside for walks occasionally. She also likes to visit Sergeant Clark for snacks!

How is Liberty adapting to life at home?
Libby is living her best life. A typical day for Libby consists of A LOT of playing with her dog-sister and two ducks. Libby enjoys frolicking in the grass, playing with her toys and getting lots of love from her human companions. On bath days, Libby enjoys getting as muddy as she can and playing in the creek.

What are her favorite “off-duty” activities?
Libby works for attention and toys. The first thing she ever wants to do is put a toy in her mouth and proudly show it to you. She loves running outside to burn some of that puppy energy.

If you had to pick one word to best describe Liberty, what would it be?
Loving. Libby is truly man’s best friend. She lives for cuddles and the human touch.

Rhonda Joins Fire Team

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department would like to welcome its newest member, Rhonda, who is the Department’s first Emotional Support Canine. Rhonda was trained over a 9-month period to recognize signs of agitation, anxiety, and stress and interrupt those behaviors by providing affection and enabling individuals to express themselves in a safe environment.

Rhonda will assist firefighters after emotionally challenging calls or with personal issues. Firefighter Sam Dudley has been assigned as Rhonda’s handler. Rhonda will be with Firefighter Dudley every day, both at work and at home.

With firefighter depression and PTSD rates five times higher than the general population, Rhonda will help ensure Santa Barbara County firefighters are working at their highest potential and support the department’s efforts in sustaining long lasting, healthy careers. Rhonda will be available 24/7 to support all area fire agencies within Santa Barbara County. She may also be utilized statewide.

Facilitated by the Santa Barbara Firefighters Alliance and generous donations from the Wood- Claeyssens Foundation as well as the Manitou Fund, which supported the purchase of a Ford F150 XL pickup truck, specifically outfitted for Rhonda, to be used by the Department for transportation between assignments. Additionally, the Pet House in Goleta has generously offered to supply (donate) all food for Rhonda, and assist with grooming costs.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department is very excited to welcome Rhonda to the fire department team and as a member of our fire family.

Hank The Tank

Did you see the dog at school?

On Friday Feb. 14, Tammy Joe Dickinson, a CVU business teacher, used her dog, Hank, to raise money for the Make-A-Wish foundation in order to help her Champlain Valley Union Principles of Business class learn marketing skills through experience.

Make-A-Wish is a foundation dedicated to raising money to fulfill the wishes of children diagnosed with a critical illness. Wish recipients must be older than two-and-a-half and younger than 18.

According to Dickinson, “Hank the Tank” draws the attention of students passing by in the hallway.

Dickinson thinks Hank is the perfect marketing tool.

Katherine Riley purchased dog treats and expanded on her thoughts on the cause: “I think it’s a great fundraiser and I love the idea that the business class is actually doing something practical and seeing the reality of trying to get a product from the idea all the way through,” she said. Riley also has a therapy dog of her own and thinks, “Having dogs at school adds to the climate. Especially in times of higher stress.”

“I feel like my stress levels are so much lower when Hank is here,” Dickinson said.

Dickinson explains that the business students have sold small and large stickers, from 50 cents to $1, and a bag of four homemade dog treats for $3 each.

Students were also able to take photos with Hank for $2 and enter into a raffle for $1, Dickinson explained.

The students made the stickers off of a website and printed a picture of Hank on them. The dog treats were homemade by the students and bagged with a photo of Hank on the cover. To donate to the cause, individuals could purchase a photo of themselves with Hank or, one of the other products listed above.

“Hank loves being in school,” Dickinson said. The students love his presence, too.

Eliza Mclean, who took and bought a photo of her with Hank, says “I love dogs, and the photo was worth donating to the cause.”

Peter Booth, a math teacher at CVU, agrees with Mclean, adding that he takes pride in putting his photo on display on his water bottle.

Dickinson conveyed some challenges through the project.

“The biggest challenge was making everyone in the class feel like they have a part,” she said.

Jack Mahar, a sophmore, said, “my biggest takeaway is that big events can be planned very quickly if there’s the right group of people.”

Dickinson hopes to raise $10,000 to fulfill a kid’s wish before she retires.

Retired Police Dogs

 There isn’t a dog in the world that I doesn’t deserve a great home but what happens to a working dog when it comes time to retire?

You’re probably wondering what am I talking about when I say a “working dog.” I’m referring to some of the most heroic animals on the face of the planet: a police working dog.

We give our pets unconditional love and attention throughout their lives and they serve as family members. But what about those 1% of dogs that go out there and keep us safe?

Throughout their entire working time, they are part of the canine handler’s family, living at home and becoming one with everybody.

So what happens when it’s time for them to retire? Where do they go?

This past weekend, the Florida Highway Patrol retired one of its own that had patrolled Central Florida for several years.

It’s time for this dog to hang up the SUV rides and long leash tracks with nothing but snacks and green grass. It’s only right that the handler themselves would get first dibs on continuing to provide this K9 a home.

I would say close to 90% of handlers keep their dogs if their dog retires while in service.

If for whatever reason the handler cannot provide a home to the canine, then it would be opened up to other law enforcement officers who were interested.

Believe me, there’s almost a line of them wanting to give love to one of these pups.

If for whatever reason that was not possible it would be opened up to the proper civilian family that knew what they were getting themselves into and that could provide a safe and comfortable home for this animal who over their life provided so many to us.

Veterans Battling PTSD

Amid recovery efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans were stunned last month by the horrific death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, who was killed while in police custody. Sadly, the subsequent protests, riots and looting in cities from Seattle to Miami to New York have increased chaos and divisiveness when our greatest need now is for authentic communication.

Understandably, some observers say we now suffer from “crisis fatigue.” While all of these issues and events warrant our full attention, at the same time, they cast a long shadow on other conditions as well, of which we should also remain informed and empathetic. Congress reminds us of this every year by designating June as “National PTSD Awareness Month” and June 27 as “National PTSD Awareness Day.”

American veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can be easily forgotten. Many served their country and returned home bearing both physical and mental disabilities for which there is no cure. PTSD is often the most punishing and the national suicide rate among veterans with PTSD stands at 20 per day. Consequently, these veterans are unlikely to gather in groups to protest anything. They don’t seek photo-ops or press conferences.

The sad paradox is that veterans with PTSD who have the greatest need for help are often among the least capable of asking for it. That’s because they’ve been haunted by their own experiences and have been worn down by their flashbacks; nightmares; anger; depression; anxiety and resulting self-isolation. PTSD often has a profoundly adverse impact on their spouses and children too.

For decades veterans with PTSD have also been challenged by widespread public misperception about PTSD:

That someone who suffers with PTSD should be able to “reason” through it.

That the person who suffers from PTSD is violent and unbalanced.

That no treatment works.

That veterans with PTSD are simply looking for a disability check.

In addition to these obstacles the “stay-at-home” restrictions from COVID-19 add insult to injury for those making the effort to find their path forward. At K9 Partners for Patriots based in Brooksville, we help veterans with PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and military sexual trauma (MST) with a free, 6-month training program in which we train the veteran to train a K9 partner to become his or her service dog. But, the current COVID-19 restrictions preclude us from interviewing new veteran applicants; or bringing in dogs to test them. We cannot yet conduct counseling sessions with individuals or groups such as our spouses group, or, the female veterans group.

We anxiously await reopening without restriction so that we may be fully available to our growing family of veterans. For them, please know that the scars of PTSD are invisible but just as real as the physical ones they’ve endured for all of us.

K9s For Warriors

K9s For Warriors has received the 2020 Florida Impact Award from Leadership Florida, an organization dedicated to building a better Florida.

The Florida Impact Award recognizes a business or nonprofit organization that has created a specific project or body of work that is transforming the future of its region or beyond and has the potential to transform Florida as a whole.

K9s For Warriors was recognized for its innovative service dog program, which challenges the traditional system to better provide disabled veterans with the opportunity to pursue lifesaving tools and proves rescue dogs can be heroes.

The nomination came from Nan Rothstein on behalf of the Northeast Regional Council of Leadership Florida.

“Knowing how many other outstanding nonprofits there are in Florida, this award is absolutely humbling to receive,” K9s For Warriors CEO Rory Diamond said. “I assure you that our staff and volunteers are incredibly dedicated to transforming Florida to be a leader in veteran suicide prevention and rescuing dogs from shelters to give them a new purpose. All of us at K9s For Warriors thank Leadership Florida for this recognition and honor.”

Leadership Florida comprises multiple programs that connect individuals, organizations and businesses to build a better Florida through both individual and organizational capacities.

“K9s For Warriors provides an invaluable service to our disabled American heroes,” said Broward College President and Leadership Florida Chair Gregory Adam Haile. “We can never do enough in service of our veterans, who have given so much to keep us safe and secure. Leadership Florida is proud to recognize K9s For Warriors with the 2020 Florida Impact Award.”

Support Animal Shelters

Mars Petcare UK has partnered with Battersea, Blue Cross and The Association of Dogs and Cats Homes to call on the nation to support their local animal shelters and the pets that have yet to find their forever home

A nationwide survey conducted by Mars Petcare has revealed that 80% of pet owners believe their pet has got them through the covid-19 pandemic, with 86% having bonded with their pet even more since the start of lockdown.

In fact, nearly half (47%) of those polled believed their pet had kept them sane – and 63% claimed their furry friend had provided better company in lockdown than their other half!

The survey reveals that 86% believe they are happier in general than people who do not have pets, with 36% saying they haven’t felt lonely thanks to their pet.

PURPOSE

For three in five dog owners (65%), the daily walk has kept them going, while one third (30%) agree that having a pet gives them a sense of purpose.

Darren Logan, head of research, Waltham Petcare Science Institute said: “Pets can offer a sense of connection and the feeling of unconditional love, which is so important during these uncertain times. They can provide emotional support, improve our moods and reduce levels of stress, and may even help with depression and loneliness.

“On top of this, they also encourage us to keep active, be that through a walk outside or playing in the house or garden. It comes as no surprise that 73% of the nation feel that their pet has kept their spirits up, not only during lockdown but every day.”

SHELTERS

The findings come as Mars Petcare UK joins pet charities Battersea, Blue Cross and ADCH to call on the nation to donate much-needed funds to their local animal shelters to support the humans working there and the pets they care for.

In fact, 19% of pet owners were not aware of the difficulties rescue centre, are facing as a result of coronavirus and lockdown.

Helen Warren-Piper, general manager, Mars Petcare UK, said: “Our survey findings clearly show how important our pets are to us. However, we also know that there are many pets out there who have yet to find a loving home.

“Mars Petcare works closely with a number of shelters across the UK, many of whom saw a sudden rise in pet adoptions ahead of covid-19, but things have quickly changed. Forced to close to the public, operating with limited staff and cancelling vital fundraising events, animal shelters are the silent victims of the pandemic and they drastically need our help.

“This is why we’ve partnered with Battersea, Blue Cross, and ADCH to call on the British public to donate what they can to their local animal shelters.”

VULNERABLE

Responding to calls from charities across the country who are struggling to secure resources to care for pets, Mars Petcare UK donated pet food from a number of its well-known brands, including Pedigree and Whiskas, to multiple organisations, reaching more than 800,000 vulnerable cats and dogs to date.

Mars has also made a financial donation to the ADCH Corona Virus Emergency Fund, which provides immediate financial aid to rescue centres in crisis, and continues to support Blue Cross through the Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photography Awards partnership – but the effort doesn’t stop there.

Claire Horton, ADCH Chairman and Chief Executive of Battersea, said: “There are over 1,200 animal rescue and rehoming centres throughout the UK, doing their best to care for thousands of homeless pets each year. The coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on virtually every single one.

“More than half of them have seen their fundraising cut by over 50% but there has been no let-up in the number of animals that need their care. The very survival of some of these rescues is at stake – and their closure would be catastrophic for animals in need.

ABANDONMENT

“We know pet abandonment may be a consequence of the pandemic, so our nation’s shelters need support now more than ever. We’re proud to stand with Mars Petcare UK and Blue Cross to ask for your support for these rescues that provide such vital services to animals in need.”

Speaking about the appeal Kelly Grellier, director of rehoming, Blue Cross, said: “Blue Cross prides itself on having never once closed its doors to pets in need. Neither world war forced us to shut down and our doors remain open now. But right now, our services are temporarily limited and it’s something none of us could have ever expected.”

If this survey data shows us anything, it’s that we’re an animal-loving nation, but as the repercussions of covid-19 begin to hit, we’re worried about what this will mean for rescue centres across the country and vulnerable pets. We’re delighted to stand with Mars Petcare UK, Battersea and ADCH to ask for your help to support those caring for the UK’s animals, both big and small.”

Alternatively you can support the Blue Cross directly www.bluecross.org.uk/donate, donate to Battersea at donate.battersea.org.uk or make a donation to the ADCH’s Emergency Covid Appeal Emergency Fund.

Adoptable Pet