Past Pets

Veteran’s Bond

The 2006 rocket attack in Afghanistan that severely injured Gretchen Evans represented something of an ending for the U.S. Army command sergeant major, who awoke to be informed by a medic’s message on a dry erase board that she’d permanently lost her hearing.

But the tragedy also marked a new beginning for Evans, a woman packed with a strength and resolve that belies her 5-foot, 3-inch, 100-pound stature. She saw a challenge to be overcome, and with the help of Aura, a trained hearing service dog, Evans said she “went from being a blown-up deaf person to a person who now feels safe and secure in the world.”

Evans, who moved to Brunswick this year with her husband and Bowdoin College alumnus, Robert, has gotten a well-deserved amount of limelight over the years, appearing on “Megyn Kelly Today” and “Courage in Sports,” a TV documentary that profiled badly-injured veterans, and penning “Leading from the Front,” which covers her time in the Army. But now it’s Aura’s turn, Evans said. She entered the 7-year-old black Labrador/golden retriever mix into the national 2020 American Humane Hero Dog Awards, and of a pool of 408 canine candidates, Aura emerged as one of 21 semifinalists, including “Dolly Pawton” of Naples. Aura is one of only three in the guide/hearing category – one of seven total categories – and the top dog is to be featured in the Hero Dog Awards Broadcast, to be broadcast sometime this fall on the Hallmark Channel. “The American Humane Hero Dog Awards are our way of honoring the best of our best friends,” noted Dr. Robin Ganzert, American Humane president and CEO. “This unique effort brings attention to the life-changing, life-saving power of the human-animal bond.”

The awards, sponsored by the Lois Pope LIFE Foundation, “celebrate America’s often unsung heroes,” Pope said. “From those who defend our country to those who help us heal, guide us, protect us, and help find the lost, every single contender exemplifies the courage and heroism we seek to spotlight in this campaign. Our goal is not only to honor these magnificent dogs but to inspire America to reflect on the outsized contributions that animals make in our lives each and every day.”

“It’s really all about (Aura),” the 59-year-old said. “I’m just arm-candy to her.”

Thanks to therapy she had in the year after becoming deaf, Evans speaks clearly and read lips well. Accents can be problematic, because words are formed differently, and beards can make lip-reading difficult, too.

“It’s like learning a foreign language, almost, because you’re really translating,” said Evans, who is due to be a guest speaker at Brunswick’s Veterans Day dedication of its Veterans Plaza.

Refusing to think of herself as disabled after her injury – which ended her 27-year Army career and left her struggling to find work – Evans navigated an all-silent world without a guide dog for nearly 10 years. Veterans Affairs set her up with devices to compensate for her lack of hearing, like a light that flashed when the doorbell rang, and a vibration in her mattress that would wake her up when the alarm went off. But “once I left the house, I was a deaf person again,” she said.

Two scares made Evans realize she needed more help. At a hotel for her husband’s conference, she was in the shower when housekeeping knocked repeatedly on her door, and both parties were mutually shocked when they met in the bathroom.

Another time, Evans was jogging down the street, and didn’t hear the bicyclist on the sidewalk behind her say he’d be passing on her left. The collision threw her into the street, and the Mercedes that slammed on its brakes stopped inches from her head.

“I still remember smelling that burned rubber smell,” Evans said.

The doctor at the hospital told her she’d have to stop doing the things she used to do. Evans felt an empty pit in her stomach, the latest dose of bad news in a struggle since the missile attack that had brought her a brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder.

“I felt like if I didn’t stick my foot in that closing door, I was going to lose myself,” Evans said. “I was beginning to think I was running out of options.”

She emailed her story to America’s VetDogs, which to her great relief informed her that while it had never before trained a hearing dog, the organization would find a way to do so for her, and provide the canine free of cost.

Evans was paired with Aura, who she calls “a fur guardian angel,” five years ago.

Curious, and packed with energy and intelligence, Aura will nudge Evans if she hears a sound she’s been trained to tell her handler about, like a doorbell. Evans asks Aura, “where’s the sound?,” and her companion will take her to the door, the microwave, the washer and dryer, her cell phone if a text message has arrived – wherever the sound has occurred. If an emergency vehicle blares a warning while Evans is driving, Aura lets her know.

Aura stands to her rear, so nothing coming up from behind Evans will startle her. They go on hikes together.

“She’s given me back my independence,” Evans said. “I don’t consider myself a deaf person anymore; I have ears. Aura is my ears.”

Good Boy Movie

From the sinister minds that brought you The Purge, Happy Death Day and Paranormal Activity, comes the Hulu original horror series Into the Dark, which turns every holiday into a complete nightmare. The horror anthology series features different actors in each episode, with a new episode being released each month focusing on a holiday from that month.

The latest episode of Into the Dark is titled “Good Boy,” and it is the first installment to focus on Pet Appreciation Week. Sure, it’s an odd “holiday” go with, but it works. “Good Boy” follows Maggie, a single middle-aged woman who gets and emotional support dog to help with her anxiety. However, the dog she gets does a whole lot more than help with her anxiety. He eliminates it at the source.

Into the Dark has found a bit of a niche lately, with fun, almost campy types of horror films that are more ridiculous than they are scary. It varies month to month, but more often than not, recent installments have fit that description and “Good Boy” follows suit.

The episode doesn’t take long to introduce the adorable dog as Maggie (Judy Greer) attempts to pull her crumbling life together by adopting a pet. From there, things get progressively weirder as the dog turns out to not be so innocent and adorable. Still, even at its most intense moments, “Good Boy” never really crosses the line of being a true horror. Actually, the early going of “Good Boy” hardly seems like a horror at all. The energy, the characters and even the music are all fun and playful. It seems more like the beginning of a romantic comedy than anything else. And when things do eventually start ramping up, it plays more like an adult version of Goosebumps than anything you would typically see from Blumhouse.

That may seem like I’m being tough on this installment of Into the Dark but I actually see all of that as a positive. No, “Good Boy” isn’t necessarily scary, but it’s clearly not trying to be. Instead, it’s more of a horror-comedy with likeable characters and a very enjoyable energy. It may be cheesy, but it’s delightfully cheesy.

Judy Greer is fantastic and one of the best leads Into the Dark has had. Her performance will keep you guessing about her character right up until the end and her relationship with Reuben, the dog, feels absolutely genuine. The rest of the cast does a great job as well, with McKinley Freeman and Ellen Wong standing out.

There is an element of mystery surrounding Greer’s character as well. One issue Into the Dark has run into in many previous installments has been predictability. A lot of times you can either see the twist coming or there simply isn’t one at all. “Good Boy” might have you thinking you know what’s going on, but it might just surprise you in the end. Overall, “Good Boy” is another fun, wacky and a little bizarre installment of Into the Dark. If you’re looking for something truly scary to enjoy on the next dark and stormy night, this may not get the job done. But if you’re looking for a lighthearted horror-comedy with a fun energy and just the right amount of corniness, “Good Boy” fits the bill.

Dog Babysitting Service

A video of a golden retriever dog named Kevin babysitting a toddler named Hank has left the internet in awe. Shared on the dog’s official TikTok handle, the clip depicts the care and love that the dog bestows on the kid as he dons a yellow “caretaker” duck cap while cradling the baby and helping the owner in changing his diapers. The clip has amassed over 31.8k likes and is captioned as “Kevin babysat a baby”.

As per the dog’s Instagram account, the retriever lives in Orlando, Florida with his owner and has several videos of him distracting his owner while she works from home. However, in the babysitting video where the furry canine wears a duck hat, he can be seen as a responsible pet as he assists in looking after the kid in the household. In one other video, the doggo can be seen wearing a zebra hat as he smiles for the camera. He has even been a participant at the “White Paw Challenge” with other famous dogs of Instagram. The videos have garnered millions of views as Kevin takes the internet by storm with each adorable move.

Dogs With Anxiety

The goal of treatment is to teach the dog how to be calm and relaxed during the owner’s absence.  It involves changes in pet-owner interactions, changes in leaving and return protocols, decreasing the anxiety associated with owner departure, teaching the dog how to be left alone, environmental changes and management, and sometimes the use of anti-anxiety medication.

For the dogs who have distress only when crated or enclosed in a small space, treatment can be very simple and straightforward – let the dog out of the crate/small space.

However, for the dogs who have learned that departures and/or being alone is scary there is more homework for owners.  First, owners need to address the actions/cues that predict their departure.  This can be done in a number of ways: 1) They can get rid of the cues.  For example: briefcases can be packed and put into the car the night before; The car can be taken out of the garage hours before departure so that there is no longer the predictive sound of the garage door going up and down. 2) The dog can be habituated to the cues.  This is done by the owner repeating the action over and over – but never leaving.  For example: Pick up keys and walk around the house.  Pick up keys, go into the kitchen and cook dinner.  Pick up keys, sit down and read a book.  Over time, the dog will no longer react to the sound of the keys – because it no longer has a predictive quality.  During this time, for actual departures, the keys would need to be put into a pocket, etc. so that the dog doesn’t hear the sound as the owner leaves.  3) Classical conditioning can be used for good!  The negative action [putting on certain shoes] can be turned into a positive one by pairing it with a special treat.  So, instead of “See dad putting on loafers and panic because he’s leaving!” it becomes “See dad putting on loafers and look for a yummy treat!”

Once the cues are no longer predictive of a departure, owners can start leaving for longer and longer periods of time – teaching the dog that it can be alone.

Teaching the Dog to be Left Alone at Home – This involves the implementation of graduated planned departures GPDs, which use short absences to desensitize the dog to the owner leaving and being gone.  Prior to this part of the treatment, the dog must have already been habituated to departure cues and desensitized to approaches to the door, etc.

GPDs are like REAL departures with two exceptions: 1) Initially the absences are very short, and 2) As the owner departs, he/she leaves a new and consistent “safety cue” or signal for the dog.  Classical conditioning is used such that a neutral stimulus is paired with a conditioned stimulus and results in a conditioned response.  In this case, the neutral stimulus, NS = owner departure.  The conditioned stimulus, CS = “safety cue”.  And the conditioned response, CR = good behavior, feeling relaxed.  The safety cue can be auditory (bell), visual (a towel or rug that is put down just prior to departure), or a combination of auditory, visual, and olfactory – such as spraying a can of potpourri.

Environmental Changes and Management – Suggestions include: increased play and exercise, “Doggie Day Care”, gradual conditioning to crate (can be good with some dogs, disastrous with others…), “mixing up” departure cues, masking departure with noise while dog is busy with toy in another room, etc.

Medications used to decrease anxiety and panic can be very helpful in the treatment of separation-related behaviors.  Generally, there are two groups of medications to consider: 1) Long-term, daily-administered medications, and 2) The as-needed medications for departures only.

Keeping in mind that the goal is for the dog to not experience anxiety, use of a daily “maintenance” medication along with a fast-acting, short-duration medication may be warranted.  Clomicalm™ (clomipramine), a tricyclic antidepressant and Reconcile™, an SSRI are both FDA-approved for use in dogs with separation anxiety.  It provides the long-term maintenance treatment, and will help to decrease the dog’s overall level of anxiety.  Reconcile™ is administered once a day at the dose of 1-2mg/kg.  Clomicalm™ is administered at 1-2mg/kg BID.  Both of these medications are given daily and generally take several weeks to reach peak effects.

Pet Companionship

Therapy Dogs

At a rehabilitation center on the outskirts of Shanghai, a mini talent show is about to begin. Eight dogs and their owners are lined up outside a small function room, waiting for their names to be called.

One by one, the pooches scamper into the room and perform a series of tricks: shaking hands, jumping through rings, and pretending to pray. Before long, they’ve won over the small group of children sitting in a huddle on the floor.

The Children’s Day show is a fun morning distraction, but it also has a serious therapeutic goal. The 10 kids in the audience all have autism spectrum disorder, and the therapy dogs are here to help them feel comfortable, engage with their surroundings, and become more open to communicating with others.

“The talent shows are the fastest way to get close to autistic children,” says Wu Qi, founder of Paw for Heal, the dog therapy nonprofit putting on the session. “Only when the children like dogs can the first step toward treatment be taken.”

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a relatively new phenomenon in China, but its popularity has exploded this year. In April, celebrity livestreamer Li Jiaqi shared videos of his pets training at Wu’s therapy dog academy with his 17 million fans on social platform Weibo, introducing many to AAT.

For Wu, the endorsement has been a game-changer. Before Li’s intervention, Paw for Heal had nearly 90 certified therapy dogs on its books, serving autistic children in 10 cities across China. In the weeks since, over 1,000 dog owners have signed up their pets to the program.

The new canine recruits will soon enter Paw for Heal’s AAT training program, which runs for six months and costs 100,000 yuan ($14,000) per dog. The course is designed to ensure the animals have the right temperament to work with kids: They must be friendly, obedient, and tolerant of occasional improper behavior like biting and scratching, according to Wu. Only around 20% of the dogs will get certified after completing the course, he estimates.

Promoting AAT in China has been a yearslong passion project for Wu, a celebrity pet store impresario and animal trainer who’s known to his fans as the “dog whisperer.”

The 38-year-old tells Sixth Tone he has personal experience with the difference animals can make to a child’s development. He was “extremely introverted” as a young boy growing up in the eastern Zhejiang province, until one day he found an abandoned puppy in a trash can. Taking care of the dog over the following years helped bring him out of his shell, he says.

The talent for training dogs came later, after university, when Wu adopted a husky that had a habit of tearing up sofas and defecating all over the house. “I had no choice but to learn how to train him,” says Wu, “by gathering information online and asking experienced dog owners for advice.”

Wu started off his career working in IT, but in 2006 he quit his job to open a pet store in the eastern city of Nanjing. The business grew, and in 2011 Wu expanded into dog training schools. He soon became well-known for his skill with handling animals, appearing on hundreds of TV programs showing off his well-drilled charges.

A chance encounter in 2012 made Wu wonder whether his trained dogs could do more, he says. A parent got in touch with him after seeing the “dog whisperer” on TV and asked if she could bring her son to the training school.

“I found the boy was shy and unwilling to talk with me, which reminded me of my own childhood,” says Wu. “But as soon as he saw my dog, he became active and happy.”

It was only later that Wu learned about autism spectrum disorder. He was fascinated by how the boy, despite being reluctant to engage with people, showed such interest in dogs.

After doing more research, he discovered that people in Western countries had been using animals-based therapies for over a century. International studies have found that trained therapy dogs can bring visible benefits to children with autism, with data indicating that kids are more talkative and socially engaged, as well as less aggressive, when their therapy sessions include a dog. Yet no AAT program existed in China at the time.

Wu became determined to popularize dog therapy in his native country. Over the next few months, he visited several special-education facilities, researched AAT intensively, and began to train dogs according to international AAT standards.

Convincing Chinese parents and schools to accept AAT, however, has been a challenge. When Wu first began reaching out to institutions offering his help, most turned him down, saying they’d never heard of such a thing. Many worried the dogs would hurt the children, Wu says.

But after eight years of continuous effort, Wu’s beginning to make headway. The center in Shanghai’s Jiading District where Wu is running the June 1 trial session contacted him directly, after hearing about the benefits of AAT.

“Therapy dogs are like a bridge, as kids with autism are more willing to interact with animals than people,” says Shi Cui, the center’s director. “If they want to play with the animals, they first have to engage with people. It can improve their social engagement.”

When the first therapy dog walks into the room, one of the children — an 8-year-old boy — squeezes his eyes shut and covers his ears with his hands, while the other children and their parents cheer.

Shi gently encourages him to open up. “I tell him how cute the dogs are and try to remove his hands,” she says. When the third dog enters, the boy raises his hands, asking to pet the animal.

When the talent show is over, the children are divided into pairs, stroking and playing with the therapy dogs under the supervision of Wu and other volunteers. After a few minutes, several children who began the session crying and screaming ask to walk the dogs in the corridor.

The sessions are designed to treat common issues associated with autism, Wu explains. Children with autism typically have difficulty fully opening their hands. So, before they pet the dogs, volunteers ask the children to hold their palms out flat and place food on them to feed the animals.

“This way, children can take the initiative to exercise their nerves and muscles,” says Wu.

Similarly, the volunteers ask the children to make eye contact with them before they’re allowed to pet the puppies, to help reduce their aversion to looking people in the eye.

Not everyone, however, is convinced. According to Shi, the parent of one child at the center is “strongly opposed” to the AAT event and has told her the use of therapy dogs is “nonsense.”

“I explained to him that as a parent he needs to think outside the box and be more open-minded,” says Shi. “If he won’t allow his son to try the dog therapy, how could he know if the program is effective or not?”

A few days after the trial, Shi tells Sixth Tone she plans to integrate therapy dogs into the children’s rehabilitation as well. The center already runs a weekly program at a riding center in Shanghai, where the children are allowed to interact with horses, she says.

Other rehabilitation centers are more cautious. Despite making significant progress toward acceptance since 2012, AAT remains a fringe practice in China. There are currently more than 10 million people with autism in the country, but only around a dozen institutions nationwide use therapy dogs.

Pan, director of the Shanghai-based private rehabilitation center Colorful Stars, tells Sixth Tone she’s heard of AAT, but is hesitant about using it to help autistic children.

“I’m very cautious about the effects of these projects,” says Pan, who declined to give her full name for privacy reasons. “Many so-called advanced ideas from abroad are not that effective.”

Before introducing AAT, Pan says she’d need to see the program at work with her own eyes. For example, Wu and his team would need to give dog therapy sessions to one child at her facility, to prove that the treatment can help decrease the frequency of the child’s negative emotional outbursts.

“If the child does experience a significant improvement in mood — a substantial change — then I’ll believe it does have an effect,” says Pan.

Wu hopes the trial is just the start. He has ambitious plans to capitalize on the publicity brought by Li Jiaqi to expand Paw for Heal, which currently has 12 full-time staff members and thousands of volunteers.

Wu’s other pet businesses already subsidize the running costs of the dog therapy program. Now, he plans to recruit more therapy dogs using a “time bank” scheme, where animals will receive benefits such as free baths and checkups at partnered pet stores in exchange for time spent in treatment sessions.

Another cooperation deal will see Wu partner with a well-known Chinese stem cell therapy firm, which he hopes will give therapy dogs access to treatments that will improve the dogs’ quality of life.

Paw for Heal is also looking beyond running therapy sessions for children with autism. The group is working with centers to offer treatment to elderly people with cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease — which affects over 9 million people in China — and children with leukemia.

“Almost every nursing home in developed countries has therapy dogs, whereas fewer than 1% in China are equipped with them,” says Wu. “I hope more people will know that dogs aren’t only part of our families, but can also influence people and give us a new understanding of life.”

Canine Companions

Carol Lea Benjamin, one of my favorite canine training authors, wrote an article many years ago titled, “Do something, dog trainer!” She was not referring to professionally involved individuals, but to all of us who share our homes with clever and cunning canines, encouraging all of us to “get busy” with them.

At an obedience trial a few months ago, I was captivated by a couple of competitive teams in particular. Both of these were senior-senior citizens (one with cane in hand), who proudly and delightfully put their two “forever best friends” through their advanced exercises. Many hours of training and preparation had preceded these performances. Though both teams had some missteps, their connection and delight with each other, the excitement with the process, and their elation with the accomplishment (qualification notwithstanding) left more than a couple of us with a moist eye. I was touched by their relationship and moved by the love, communication, and trust that existed between the two. I saw those dogs and handlers later that day, each individual at their own vehicle having lunch alone, with their beautiful canine companions resting after their arduous tasks — but, wait, did I say “alone?” That’s the point — neither person was alone. They may have attended the competition without a human companion, but they each shared the event with a friend, family member, devoted companion — their dogs!

Therapy Dog Teddy

“We didn’t think I’d live much longer,” Sheldon said, according to a Mercury press release. That was until he met Teddy, his “hero” therapy dog.

The 45-year-old father of two suffered brain damage when he was 36 as a result of contracting a serious case of chickenpox. This caused Sheldon, from Billericay, Essex, to develop Addison’s disease seven years ago, which can cause dangerously low levels of cortisol in the body.

In turn, this can cause symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, low blood pressure, dizziness, vomiting, and loss of consciousness. At first, medics were baffled when he started collapsing and losing consciousness, something he’s experienced 100 times, the release stated. Meanwhile, simply stubbing his toe or a common cold could kill him, he says.

“I started collapsing, falling unconscious and my health just started deteriorating aggressively,” Sheldon shared. “If I don’t take the correct amount of cortisol, stubbing my toe or catching a common cold can put me into a coma … It’s been horrific for my wife. “She’s been to wake me up when I’ve been blue and an air ambulance had to come … I was down to my last breath, two or three a minute.”

Things were looking bleak for Sheldon and his wife—that was until Teddy came to live with them. The black Russian terrier was specially trained by experts in Hungary and imported to the United Kingdom three years ago to live with Sheldon and his family.

Now, Teddy and his owner are together 24/7. The specially trained dog knows how to detect when his owner is not well and in need of medication and alert his owner.

“My cortisol can drop to dangerous levels in only 20 to30 minutes without me realizing,” Sheldon said. “Teddy is an incredibly intelligent dog and is highly trained to be aware of any drops in my cortisol levels.

“He knows to alert me through facial expressions or pawing if he senses a drop, which allows me to take my medication in time to prevent any lapses.”

Teddy has been a game changer for Sheldon and his family. Life was scary for the former fund manager at one time, he says, not even knowing if he would wake up each morning. Now, they are inseparable—whether it be trips to the cinema, restaurants and supermarkets, in the kitchen at home, or even trips the bathroom. The dog carries in his harness the medicine that could save his owner’s life and watches over him.

Teddy is also a true professional. “When the harness is on, it’s like a switch,” Sheldon says. “He isn’t my friend anymore, he’s a working dog but the rest of the time, he’s so affectionate … He sticks to me like glue and he’s amazing with the kids.

“He’s incredibly intelligent, it’s almost like you can have a conversation with him,” the grateful owner adds. “But thanks to Teddy we’ve all got our lives back and we couldn’t be happier.”

Emotional Support Pets

Animals have the ability to transmit peace love and joy into our everyday lives. So, that can be tremendously helpful to those who battle with mental and emotional distress.

According to peer reviewed journal, BMC Psychiatry, emotional support animals help with alleviating worry, they provide comfort and they mitigate against feeling of isolation and loneliness, which can truly improve symptoms of mental health conditions.

We reached out to the program manager of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare – Behavioral Health Division, Scott Rasmussen, to learn more about emotional support animals or also known as companion animals.

“An emotional support animal is just how it sounds. They provide support to individuals who typically struggle with elevated anxiety. Maybe they’ve got a mood disorder, like depression… and an animal can provide them comfort and provide that additional support. To have an emotional support animal, they receive a diagnosis. Their treatment provider provides them a letter suggesting that animal would provide some benefit to their condition that they’ve been diagnosed with.”

With this letter, a person in-need of an emotional support animal is protected by the federal government to live with and fly with their animal, free of charge. That’s because their mental and/or emotional state is considered a disability.

“We do see people attempt to abuse that, that don’t gain the benefit but still try to claim emotional support animals for secondary gain, such as access to housing,” said Rasmussen.

The law isn’t the only thing that can be abused, if not done correctly, these animals can be misused. Therefore, that’s exactly where animal experts and professionals play a huge role.

“If they care to share it, I think we could do a much better job picking an animal, a pet that would be best fit their scenario,” said the Twin Falls Animal Shelter’s director, Debbie Blackwood. “An animal that tends towards high anxiety themselves, probably doesn’t work really well in calming. I’d match their physical environment, their activity level and their experience.”

Unlike service animals, there is no specific animal or training needed to qualify a pet to become an emotional support animal. The only necessary documentation is the emotional support letter, or the ESA letter. However, these animals must first be healthy, capable and well-tempered to qualify meet the standards of approval. A veterinarian, is the one who determines the animal’s state.

“Our role is to make sure that pet is healthy and that it’s able to handle that role,” explained Dr. Dr. Zsigmond Szanto, who is the owner and medical director of the Twin Falls Veterinary Clinic and Hospital. “It’s also important that these pets are safe to others. We hear stories about an emotional support Pitbull that nipped at a five-year-old child in an airport, or a cat trying to scratch somebody trying to pet the kitty. So, it is stressful for them to be surrounded by unknown people and sometimes it’s overwhelming. “
All in all, there a multitude of layers that factor-in to getting the right emotional support animal, for both the owner and their companion. These animals become a vital part of a person’s journey in improving their mental and emotional state.

“It’s that consistency. They don’t judge you. They accept you and that’s really powerful. Their definitely great, emotional support for all of us,” expressed Blackwood.