Service Dog’s Impact

Hawk Ricketts and Tanner had been pals since Hawk was 9.

Hawk was just a boy and trapped in his own world then, and Tanner was a newly trained service dog who opened the rest of the world to his very own boy who has a sensory processing disorder.

The community paid for Tanner through fundraisers and rallied to fund an emergency surgery for him a few years ago.

Tanner, an old man by dog standards, died last week at age 11, leaving Hawk, now a man of 19, devastated.

Tanner passed two days before Hawk’s birthday, and Hawk was already grieving the loss of his father to a long-term illness in December.

But, despite his grief, Hawk, who lives in Zionsville, wants the community to know he’s grateful for the life altering gift of Tanner.

“This is one of the hardest times of my life,” Hawk wrote in an open letter to the community. “It is with profound sadness and gut-wrenching heart that I want to let everyone know that I’ve had to say goodbye to my best friend, Tanner.

“Tanner introduced me to the world as each of you knows it,” Hawk wrote. “I was 9 years old when Tanner walked into my life and took his rightful place beside my (wheel)chair. He helped me navigate life and conquer my fears. Having him by my side has meant independence. With Tanner, I became ‘Hawk the Brave.’

“Tanner loved everyone, and I am forever grateful for all the love and kindness everyone showed him. … Please send up a prayer that my best friend has arrived safely in God’s heaven.

“I don’t know how to navigate through life without him. I am crushed. …”

Hawk and Tanner completed high school with high honors in June 2019 and just completed their freshman year at Wabash College, where Hawk attended on a dean’s merit scholarship.

Tanner was showing signs of his advanced age, such as arthritis, and wasn’t quite up to working on campus from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Hawk’s mother, Brenda Ricketts, said. They bought boots for the dog when his feet got cold from walking on concrete last winter.

“It was the funniest thing to watch him walk in boots,” Brenda said. “It was hilarious. He was such a comic.”

Hawk and Tanner had already volunteered at the Children’s TherAplay Foundation during high school. And Hawk and Brenda were beginning to think about letting Tanner retire to a nursing home where he loved to visit and entertain residents.

But blood clots on Tanner’s aorta and brain and related complications took Tanner last week, Brenda said.

Hawk is too aggrieved at present to discuss another therapy dog, Brenda said, but she knows he needs one, and friends are encouraging her to begin looking.

She does not have funds for a new dog. Tanner cost more than $10,000 and came from Northern Indiana Service Dogs. Plus, that organization won’t have one available for months, or maybe a year, Brenda said. It takes up to two years for some dogs to be fully trained.

Hawk wants his next dog to also come from NISD, and Brenda hopes a solution will arise by the time Hawk needs to return to Wabash.

Hawk is on the medical track academically and participating in an Eli Lily summer work program that is online this summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s good the program is offered online because Hawk is immunocompromised, his mother said.

She’s unsure if Wabash classes will resume in person or online in August and hopes Hawk can study online so they have more time to find a suitable new pal for him.

“Because of Tanner, Hawk was able to do everything he did,” Brenda said. “He was the greatest gift. He opened Hawk’s whole world up and provided so much independence for Hawk.”

Anxiety In Pets

Ryan Gwilliam was in studio today to talk separation anxiety in pets. With people starting to return to work, our pets may feel stress due to a sudden change in schedule! If you start now, you can make the transition easier. Follow Ryan’s expert tips below.

-Start kenneling your dog for a few hours at a time during the day even if you’re home to get him ready for your return to work.

-Start taking your dog to daycare 1 or 2 times a week. It’s great mental and physical stimulation.

-Nothing can replace quality time with you! Schedule time out of your day for two 10-15 minute training sessions. Nothing cures anxiety in a dog like knowing that mom/dad will always have time for them each day. A short walk, teach a new trick, play a game with your dog and add a new rule, take a trip to the store together.

Paws Giving Independence

Paws Giving Independence is a service dog program based in Peoria that trains dogs to help people with various disabilities.

During the pandemic, training looks different and PGI is finding new ways for trainers to teach important skills.

“There’s still people out there that have disabilities and need these dogs,” said Michelle Yuen, director of animal intake and training.

Soon, the service dogs will help people in wheelchairs and alert owners to medical issues like seizures.

“These dogs really are essential workers,” said Yuen.

And training is key.

“Sometimes it can be the difference between life and death,” said Donna Kosner, director of community outreach, education, and applications.

So, Paws Giving Independence is getting creative.

“Our training has changed a bit with social distancing and just with the changing of the standards of groups,” said Yuen.

Virtual training sessions are helping dogs learn and practice skills during quarantine.

“A lot of our dogs have been training mainly at home, so the skills carry over at home is similar to in public but again it’s definitely not the same,” said Yuen.

Training in public is a huge part of working on service dog’s skills.

To help, Northwoods Mall is stepping up.

“We trained regularly at Northwoods Mall before all this happened, so the fact that they’re inviting us back here is really great,” said Kosner.

In small groups, trainers are now able to work with dogs, giving them real life experience.

“The dogs can practice still one on one with some of the skills that they need to learn,” said Yuen.

The trainers and dogs are making the current circumstances work in an effort to serve people with disabilities in the area.

“We’re really trying to find creative ways to get our dogs safely and keep the community safe,” said Yuen.

Leaders say they hope to continue training at Northwoods Mall while it’s closed to the public.

During this time, Paws Giving Independence is still taking applications and conducting interviews virtually.

Therapy Dog Brings Video Joy

Walt has the endearing habit of plunking down on your feet when told to sit. He gives the best hugs, just snuggling his big golden head into your shoulder.

It’s no wonder the residents at The Meadows Home for Special Care in Yarmouth have missed this personable therapy dog and his owner.

Belleville, Yarmouth County resident Dan Fleck has been visiting the facility with Walt, a six-year-old golden retriever, on weekends for the past three years. His wife, Wendy Vickers, brings their other therapy dog, Jeni.

When COVID-19 restrictions put a halt to interior visits, the two therapy teams continued with window visits and then started making videos starring the dogs. These were uploaded to Youtube and the links were supplied to Meadows staff.

The videos were shown to the residents on iPads or streamed on large flatscreens in lounge areas.

“They loved them,” says Fleck. “We started getting requests from individuals who wanted to hear their name in a video.”

Fleck, a retired fishery officer, says they’ve also received requests to visit other facilities, such as schools, in the past.

“We said no. People there can get out and go places. These people can’t.”

He says Walt is ideally suited for the job of being a therapy dog.

He doesn’t shake hands because it could be harmful to seniors, as they have thin skin.

He also doesn’t give kisses but is “incredibly social.”

“He acts very gentle when he has his bandana on but as soon as he gets home, he’s a guy. He’ll go out and roll in the mud.”

Walt also knows how to read expressions, according to Fleck. He provides an example of how most people will just keep going past if they see a person with a “big, snarly look” on their face.

“Walt knows if he sees a happy person and they’re smiling. He says, ‘I’m going to them!’”

Resident Kay Morehouse says she misses the snuggling.

“Some dogs wouldn’t pay any attention to you if you don’t feed them but he’s adorable all the time.”

Fleck recalls during one pre-COVID visit there was a gentleman who just used to listen to music with his headphones. He took them off when he saw Walt, however. The resident hadn’t talked to anyone in a long time but began speaking to Walt. He asked, “Is that Bonzo?”

Fleck, said, “Yup, that’s Bonzo. If you want this to be Bonzo, he’s Bonzo.”

Meadows recreation programmer Morgan Leary says the residents adore Walt and Jeni and always look forward to their visits.

“The residents’ faces would light right up. On their birthdays the dogs would come in wearing party hats. It’s super nice.”

“Both Dan and Wendy go the extra mile for the residents,” she adds.

Meanwhile, COVID visitor restrictions that have been in place for long-term care facilities since mid-March will now be easing.

On June 10, the province announced that effective Monday, June 15, visits can resume at long-term care facilities, provided they happen outdoors and visitors stay two metres, or six feet, away from residents and staff.

There are 132 long-term care facilities in Nova Scotia that are home to almost 8,000 residents. For additional information on requirements at individual facilities, people can contact them directly.

Medicine’s Potential For Dogs

It’s been a year since Brooklyn-based hair artist and salon owner Chelsey Pickthorn learned that, after having beaten triple-negative breast cancer, an especially aggressive form of the disease, it had returned and spread to other parts of her body.

She sought out a new oncologist who – through the use of precision medicine, including sequencing the tumor’s DNA – would determine the best course of treatment. With targeted therapy and significant changes to her diet, the new tumors are shrinking dramatically. It’s a true achievement against such an aggressive disease.

Now, Pickthorn’s dogs are joining her in the fight. They’re participating in research at Cornell to expand the potential of precision medicine for canine and human patients. Dr. Jan Krumsiek, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine, is partnering with Dr. Marta Castelhano, director of the Cornell Veterinary Biobank, to study a type of lymphoma that frequently occurs in humans and dogs.

They’re looking at the tumor’s metabolism. By analyzing blood samples from healthy dogs including Pickthorn’s, as well as dogs diagnosed with lymphoma, the researchers will look for similar metabolic changes that also occur in human lymphoma cases. These similarities can help establish dogs as a model for studying human cancers, which the researchers hope will lead to better testing and treatment options for both species.

Dogs are an excellent species for the study of human cancer, because they share the same environment as humans. And they develop cancer quickly due to their shorter lifespan, which accelerates the pace of the research.

“The missing piece for learning about a specific disease could be sitting on your couch or sleeping in your bed,” says Castelhano, “and we are not really taking advantage of the power of this model.”

The model may also result in more effective treatments for canine cancer, which have lagged behind human therapies. “If you learn something about human cancer, maybe we can also apply it to our canine companions, and help them live longer, healthier lives,” says Krumsiek.

Metabolic changes hold the key

The collaboration began in fall 2019 at a conference at Weill Cornell Medicine’s Englander Institute for Precision Medicine. He studies metabolic changes in the body for diseases like Alzheimer’s, cancer and diabetes using a technique called metabolomics. It involves identifying and measuring the levels of thousands of metabolites – substances that result from metabolic processes in cells and organs – and analyzing how the levels change in response to disease.

With 14 years of experience in biobanking, Castelhano was eager to learn how Cornell’s biobank could contribute to this new area of research, and impact the lives of precision medicine patients.

Castelhano uses high-quality samples from veterinary patients to translate clinical findings into research innovations. Those samples are carefully curated by Castelhano and her team at the biobank – the first in the world to receive accreditation to an international standard for biobanks. Castelhano’s banked blood samples from sick and healthy canines provided the perfect opportunity to study the metabolomics of diseases shared by humans and dogs.

Castelhano and Krumsiek focus on diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), to advance research established by Dr. Kristy Richards ’90; she was an oncologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and the College of Veterinary Medicine, and a colleague and friend of Castelhano. She was also a pioneer in translational research, comparing canine and human lymphoma to find new diagnostics and treatments, until her death from triple negative breast cancer in 2019.

DLBCL is the most common type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and creates similar symptoms in humans and dogs. Using metabolomic data from healthy dogs and ones with DLBCL, Krumsiek is looking for metabolic changes caused by the cancer that show up in the blood. If these same changes occur in people with DLBCL, then dogs could be an effective model for studying the human form of the cancer, and for identifying targets for new drugs for both species.

Unleashing the power of banked samples

Pickthorn became involved with the project when Castelhano discovered that she was a survivor of triple-negative breast cancer, and visited her salon. In February, Pickthorn and her two dogs, Hudson and Noma, attended a seminar Krumsiek gave on this work, titled “Metabolomics: From Pathogenesis to Precision Medicine,” at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Pickthorn and her dogs also visited the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, where the biobank clinical team collected a blood sample, which was labeled, entered into the biobank’s database, processed and carefully stored in a freezer.

“Hudson and Noma were treated so nicely and felt really comfortable. It was really cool to be a part of it,” says Pickthorn, who also has offered to donate her own blood to the human biobank at Weill Cornell Medicine.

The future of precision medicine

If the project is successful, it may one day allow oncologists to use a patient’s metabolic profile – as well the DNA of the tumor – to design a precision medicine treatment plan. Genetic data shows what mutations a tumor has, but metabolomics reveal what is actually happening inside the cells.

And while the researchers are starting with lymphoma, a metabolomics approach could be applied to any cancer or disease sample in the biobank.

“Biobanks are the core of precision medicine,” Castelhano says. “Every contribution to a biobank could improve your own health and advance precision medicine research, which may impact the lives of many other patients.”

Pickthorn was especially grateful for the precision medicine she received to treat her metastatic cancer. The mutations it uncovered qualified her for a clinical trial using a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration, which has yielded promising results. She also credits a healthier lifestyle and a diet of whole and plant-based foods.

“I made a commitment almost exactly a year ago, shortly after my diagnosis, that I was going to be in the 1% that lived past five years or 10 years or 15 years,” Pickthorn says. “I’m very optimistic.”

Service Dog Accident

Marion Pond at Lion’s Point remains closed as state officials test the water.

Ashley Rogers captured video of her German Shepherd, Anita, playing in Marion Pond last Friday.

“We played for about two hours,” said Rogers. “She loved splashing in the water and playing with the kids.”

The Waupaca County woman describes noticing a sudden change in Anita, who she describes as not only a member of the family, but also her seizure response dog.

“She started to act funny, and she wouldn’t leave the water unless I did,” said Rogers. “So, I went and sat down, and she threw up, and she cried and screamed while doing it.”

That vomit included algae later identified to Rogers as duckweed.

Anita’s condition quickly got worse.

“I immediately called the vet. Others thought she just played too hard, but my gut told me otherwise,” said Rogers.

She became unresponsive with her heart stopping nine minutes before arriving at the Fox Valley Animal Referral Center.

“They gave her the drugs three times, and there was no response,” said Rogers.

Without a necropsy, it is unknown exactly what caused Anita’s death, an otherwise healthy dog days away from turning three years old.

The Marion Police Department acted quickly by closing down the pond, collecting water samples and taking pictures to send to the state.

An update to the department’s Facebook page on Saturday says the city and the Waupaca County Health Department visited the pond reading in part, “No blue green algae was located and there was not a direct link as to what may have created this situation last night involving the dog.”

Marion Police also reached out to the DNR. In an email to Action 2 News, a spokesperson for the agency says, “The only role the Wisconsin DNR had with this incident was recommending the City of Marion submit pond samples to the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene. Waupaca County DHHS initially contacted the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.”

Detection Dog

When Dan and Lisa Williams adopted Shep two years ago, they noticed he had a penchant for sniffing around cars.

The New Stanton owners are hoping their 3-year-old Australian cattle dog soon will be using his olfactory skills to recognize people infected with the coronavirus, as part of the new regional Covid-19 K-9 Detection Task Force.

“It’s kind of exciting to think that a dog can do that,” said Dan Williams, who plans to undergo training to be Shep’s handler.

Researchers in Great Britain, Florida and eastern Pennsylvania are looking to train canines to provide warning of covid-19 infections. The new task force wants to achieve the same goal with a cadre of 10 dogs and handlers in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Shep made the cut from among 168 area dogs recently tested for suitability as trainees. He and his owners were recognized at this week’s meeting of the Youngwood Dog Club, where Dan Williams was installed as vice president of the local nonprofit.

The Williamses took Shep into their home after he turned up as a stray in New Alexandria.

“He would go around cars and smell the inner fenders and around the doors,” Dan Williams said. “I always wondered if he’d been in some kind of training for a K-9 (police) dog.”

With his current owners, Shep has been trained to visit schools and nursing facilities as a therapy dog.

“He really does a good job with that,” Dan Williams said, so, “we thought we’d try him with the covid-19 training.”

During the dog candidate testing, Lisa Williams said, “I think they were looking to see if he would smell where food was when they removed it and put it somewhere else. They wanted to see if he had the ability to problem-solve and know to look for where it was without anybody telling him.”

The task force commander, Rodney Little, acknowledged the difficulties that Shep and the nine other dogs overcame to qualify as covid-19 detection trainees.

“The hardest part about the test is you can’t tell your dog what to do,” said Little, who turned over presidency of the Youngwood Dog Club to Billy Cowherd. “They have to let their brain take over and work.”

The plan is for Shep to undergo six or more weeks of training for covid-19 detection while Dan Williams completes one week of handler training.

First, Little said, the task force is looking to raise some money. It received about $800 in donations, but he figures it will cost a little more than $1 million to initiate the task force team and keep it in a state of readiness for a year. He said grant applications are being readied to submit to organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ultimately, Little would like to have trained dogs ready to provide covid-19 detection in such public spaces as courthouses and airports.

“If the virus goes away, our task force team will not,” he said. Our team will be trained and ready to deploy for any threat needed. They’ll be able to smell things such as explosives and guns.”

Preventing Dog Attacks

The U.S. Postal Service is starting a new program in hopes of prevent dog attacks on postal workers.

The local post office will place a paw print sticker on mailboxes where dogs are in the immediate area, according to a news release from the U.S.P.S. on Tuesday. An orange sticker means a dog lives at that address and a yellow sticker means a dog lives next door.

“The Postal Service continually works to find creative ways to reduce dog bites, which remain a serious concern for our carriers. Dog bite prevention efforts add an additional level of safety awareness for USPS employees, our customers, and other public service organizations,” U.S.P.S. said in the news release.

The U.S. Postal Service said the PAWS Program may help dog owners avoid liability in the event of an attack.

Customers can contact their local postmaster to have the stickers removed.

Service Dog Fostered

In March, Belmont resident Jane Slavin’s second dervice dog-in-training, Hershey, was placed as a Veteran Service Dog in the Boston area through Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). Slavin’s first CCI puppy, Galya, was placed in 2015 as a Facility dog at Gaylord Specialty Hospital in Connecticut.

Eight-week-old Hershey, a Labrador Retriever, arrived in Belmont in February 2018. A puppy raiser’s responsibility is to oversee the complete care of the puppy: feeding, grooming, socialization, basic manners, exercise, and veterinary care. Puppy Raisers teach the puppies 30 commands and get them used to wearing the “Gentle Leader” head collar which functions very much like a halter on a horse.

After 18 months with the Slavins, Hershey went to New York to complete CCI’s six to nine month advanced training program. In addition to standard Service Dog skills which include opening drawers and doors, retrieving items, pulling a wheelchair, and turning on and off lights, etc., Hershey was also given specialized training to assist a Veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This additional training included anxiety and nightmare interruption as well as learning to support his handler in crowded public situations.

Therapy Dog Training

Most working assistance dogs wear a placard on their vest that says ‘Do Not Approach.’ A therapy K9 wears a placard that says ‘Pet Me!’

Belmont County Sheriff’s Deputy Jen Yuhase knew about therapy K9s, and noticed that her dog, ‘Jersey’ at an early age exhibited the characteristics that a therapy dog needs.

So, Jersey has been in training for about 10 months. Deputy Yuhase says Jersey is calm and obedient and sensitive to people’s needs.

Judge Vavra said he’s in favor of the program.

Jersey still needs to pass two tests to get the required certifications. However, she’s had an unique chance to get familiar with the courthouse, since it’s been closed to the public. She even sits in the windowsill of the courtroom.