Mom Raising Money For Service Dog

Sarah Jones smiles happily in pictures with her sister and her daughter, but underneath the smile, there’s a darkness.

The 20-year-old suffers from Bipolar II Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder.

Jones says it impacts her everyday life, but each day she puts on a brave for her 2-year-old daughter.

But some days, parenting is a challenge.

Jones suffers from panic attacks and mood swings. She says all she wants is to be a good mother.

“I need and want to be a good mom to her, and that’s a struggle, because I want to be the great mom that I should be, and on days where I’ve got so much anxiety and I get agitated so easily, I don’t want to be mean or impatient with her. So, you know, it makes it hard to be around my own kid.”

Jones doctor suggested a psychiatric service dog.

The furry companion will retrieve medicines, senses mood swings and panic attacks, deep pressure therapy and more.

For Jones and her family, it would be an invaluable resource.

And Jones has found her companion in Coco.

Coco is a British Labrador bred in Montevallo. She’s been training her entire life to help people.

“I actually got to meet her for the first time yesterday, and I immediately fell in love with her. She is fantastic. I got to see a little bit of the training that she has already gone through, and it is incredible.”

The only problem, the service animal comes with a $40,000 price tag. Jones can’t take her home until she’s made a $15,000 down payment.

Lamoureux says the service dog would allow Jones to be more independent and stable.

While interviewing with CBS 42, Jones said she would like to become a nurse and be the best mother she can be. Having Coco at her side gives her the opportunity to do that.

3 Puppies Ready To Be Trained

The Big Sky chapter of Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), an organization devoted to training service dogs that can be gifted to disabled owners, welcomed three puppies at Great Falls International Airport on Tuesday; the puppies came from Santa Rosa, California. Chapter president Kim Monroe says it’s hard giving them up once they are trained, but they go on to help others: “When we give them up, it’s hard, it’s like sending your child off to college. It’s the best way I can tell somebody we love them. We prepare them for that adventure, that next step to their journey that they are going to take. They are all happy dogs when they walk away; they walk with their heads held high and tails wagging, and they become someone else’s miracle.” Monroe also explained that being a puppy-raiser can be a rewarding opportunity: “Being a puppy raiser is one of the most rewarding volunteer opportunities that you will have. And not only do you get to raise a great puppy, but you also get to be part of a great community of people who want to make a difference in the world. And you can make a difference right here in your community, you know, in your state. I always say that when we send our puppies away, we send a piece of our heart, you know, but they leave a part of theirs, and it’s beautiful.” Due to the COVID19 pandemic, Canine Companions has been unable to ship puppies to their puppy raisers via commercial airlines! Today, three Great Falls puppy raisers welcomed puppies Lorelei, Ludo, and Loxley into their homes through the hard work of the Canine Companions for Independence volunteer network and volunteer pilot, Jeff Stewart who made a special trip on his private aircraft to deliver this precious cargo!

Therapy Dogs Graduating

 

Graduation is being celebrated by many, but one special group hasn’t been able to show Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Seniors how much they mean to them– until now.

Therapy Dogs have had a large presence on campus since the horrific tragedy on February 14, 2018.

The four organizations assisting the school are Canine Assisted Therapy, Paws Assistance Dog, Share-A-Pet, and the Humane Society of Broward Assisted Therapy.

According to Lori Bale of Canine Assisted Therapy, the organizations work with the Broward County school district on what the needs are. Sometimes, they visit MSD on Therapy dog Thursdays, and other times, they want an extra presence for occasions like code red drills, and the commemoration of the tragedy.

Currently, the dogs can only be seen on virtual visits, which is why their handlers want the seniors to know they haven’t forgotten about graduation.

“The graduates at MSD have been through so much, and we didn’t feel like they got the year they deserved,” said Bale, “We just wanted to do something to congratulate them and tell them we love them.”

She spoke to fellow volunteer Donna Levy, from Share-A-Pet, to brainstorm how they could support the senior class with everything going on, and they decided to put together a zoom to seek advice from the other handlers.

On the call, Tiffany Aaron, who handles therapy animal “Patches the pig,” volunteered her daughter Emily, a Cooper City rising senior, to put together a video.

Emily, who is also mom to Lulu, a former greyhound racer with only three legs, received photos from each of the handlers, and put together a congratulatory video featuring each of the therapy dogs with heartfelt messages.

With some collaboration among the therapy dog handlers, as well as a little help from photoshop, the dogs appearing in the video are River, Molly, Fergie, Schooner, Lulu, Daisy, Rosie, Jessie, Lila, Annie, Coral, Lexie, Emma, Rocky, Addie, Skipper, Shelby, Ripley, Kol, Sophie, Chief, Hammer, Teddy, Astro, Sammy, Duncan, Lola, Grace, and Patches the Pig.

They wanted the video to focus on the graduates, so they kept the dog handlers out of the pictures, and just showed the animals, some students, and school staff.

Dogs Endure Emotional Difficulties

Moody, unpredictable and with an striking disregard for the rules, teenagers can be hard to handle. Now it turns out the same is true for adolescent dogs.

Researchers say they have found that pooches become less responsive to instructions from their carer during adolescence.

And the parallels go further. “Generally teenagers that have a less secure relationship with their parents are those that are more likely to show more conflict behaviour towards their parents,” said Dr Lucy Asher, co-author of the research at Newcastle University. “That’s the same finding that we have [between adolescent dogs and their carers].” Asher suggests that, as in humans, dogs who are less secure about their bond with their carer may “play up” to test its strength. In dogs, she said, that could help the animal weigh up whether it is better to stay with its carer – or follow its reproductive urges to find a mate.

Asher said she hoped the findings would help owners be more understanding of their dogs and cut them some slack, noting there is a spike in owners taking their dogs to shelters when the animals hit puberty.

“Perhaps they are not misbehaving just because they are naughty, but it is just like in humans – the hormones are raging and there are things going on in the brain,” she said.

Asher and colleagues report how they explored canine adolescence by looking at the behaviour of would-be guide dogs: German shepherds, golden retrievers, labrador retrievers or crosses of the these breeds. Such breeds, said Asher, start puberty – the transition from immature to mature – at about six to nine months old.

“We know that there are hormonal changes and we know there is a big reorganisation of the brain that occurs around that time across mammals, so we are fairly confident that is something that is going on in dogs,” said Asher. But, she added, until now it was not clear how this period related to canine behaviour.

Among the experiments the team looked at how obedient dogs of both sexes were to commands such as “sit” at different ages.

The results from 82 dogs aged five months, and 80 dogs aged eight months revealed that adolescents were less obedient than young pups to commands from their carers.

“They are nearly twice as likely to ignore the ‘sit’ command when they are eight months as compared to when they are five months,” said Asher.

However the animals’ obedience to a given stranger increased over the same period.

The findings were backed up by questionnaire responses regarding a wider group of 285 dogs, with a drop in trainability reported by carers, but not dog trainers – who were less familiar to the animals – between five and eight months old.

Further work revealed signs of separation behaviour – such as shaking when left alone – increased around eight months of age, and was associated with lower obedience at that age. What’s more Asher noted female dogs with a less secure attachment to their carer started puberty earlier – as seen in humans, potentially offering new ways to study this – although cause and effect remains unclear.

Dr Claudia Fugazza of the Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, who was not involved in the research, said the study is important as there is little work into canine adolescence.

But, she added, the research has limitations, including that much of the work is based on questionnaires, while it is not clear how deep the similarities go between parent and child, and dog and carer when it comes to different styles of attachment, and the mechanisms behind them.

However Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, professor of psychology and cognitive neuroscience at the University of Cambridge described the study as fascinating.

“In humans, adolescence is often associated with increased risk taking, peer influence and conflict with parents. This is probably due to multiple factors including hormonal changes, brain and cognitive development and changes in the social environment,” she said. “The [canine] research suggests certain behaviours that we associate with teenagers are not unique to humans.”

Social Distancing With Companions

In these times of social distancing to slow the spread of the coronavirus, people with disabilities depend on their service dogs more than ever. Thanks to Canine Companions for Independence, they’re being provided with these helpers for free.

The nonprofit has six regional training centers across the country. There are still more than 400 people with disabilities waiting to be matched, and the organization’s mission is to get them the dogs they need.

Norfolk resident Patricia Coale told News 3 Tuesday that she’s very thankful for the company of her service dog, Agent, who she received from the organization.

Agent helps Coale each day by performing more than 40 advanced commands. He can open and close doors, pick up dropped items and even turn light switches on and off for her – and that’s just a few of the things he’s able to do!

“Being that we’re at home all the time, it’s just really nice to have a companion that wags in the morning when I wake up, glad to see me… doesn’t get disturbed by the pandemic, that sort of thing,” said Coale.

Dogs provided by Canine Companions go to veterans, adults, and children.

And lucky for us, they’ve come up with a great way to take our mind off of the coronavirus. Right now, they’re streaming a live Puppy Cam!

Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market

The report provides a unique tool for evaluating the market, highlighting opportunities, and supporting strategic and tactical decision-making. This report recognizes that in this rapidly-evolving and competitive environment, up-to-date Marketing information is essential to monitor performance and make critical decisions for growth and profitability. It provides information on trends and developments and focuses on markets capacities and on the changing structure of the Animal Stem Cell Therapy. The report provides a unique tool for evaluating the market, highlighting opportunities, and supporting strategic and tactical decision-making. This report recognizes that in this rapidly-evolving and competitive environment, up-to-date Marketing information is essential to monitor performance and make critical decisions for growth and profitability. It provides information on trends and developments and focuses on markets capacities and on the changing structure of the Animal Stem Cell Therapy. A thorough study of the competitive landscape of the Global Animal Stem Cell Therapy Market has been given, presenting insights into the company profiles, financial status, recent developments, mergers and acquisitions, and the SWOT analysis. This research report will give a clear idea to readers about the overall market scenario to further decide on this market project.

Coloring Books Comfort Dogs

 

 

Facing a criminal courtroom can be intimidating for children and adults alike and St. Louis based Really Big Coloring Books, has taken notice. The company creates, designs and manufactures coloring books about comfort dogs striving to provide compassion, education and comfort from the onset of a criminal case. Law enforcement help make places we live safe while police, judges, attorneys, coloring books and comfort dogs help children and adults through criminal courts. Easing the trauma of testifying or helping to prepare for the daily activity in a court of law is a goal of coloring books and comfort dogs. Written to help families understand how a courtroom functions, the role of each person present and what to expect before the proceedings begin, coloring books on courtrooms have become an item helping ease fears of children preparing to testify. Prosecutors, District and State Attorneys are committed to seeking justice and holding offenders in communities accountable. The criminal justice system is traumatic for victims, especially children, and comfort or court facility dogs brings emotional support in the form of a coloring book as well as in real life. We create coloring books on this subject to help those involved feel more prepared for court and help with a committed team that is seeking justice for victims. The comfort dogs and coloring books are a big asset in helping children and adults relax and focus on the hard tasks at hand. “Coloring books and comfort dogs strive to provide compassion, education and comfort from the onset of a criminal case. Our goal is that no child should enter the courtroom afraid,” stated Publisher Wayne Bell.

All dogs are well trained for their courtroom jobs and this is reflected in the coloring books, helping especially when people are having a hard day or when they find themselves being part of a tough case. The dogs are heroes to the courtroom, the participants and some will take a walk with the dogs, pet the dog, run, catch balls or even play in the dirt. The furry four legged doggie friends help keep children from crying and being scared sometimes. Children color their feelings or ask questions when given a coloring book and it often opens up dialogue. Coloring books about the courtroom and comfort dogs help make the staff happy and every body loves the comfort and facility dogs.

ABOUT REALLY BIG COLORING BOOKS.

Uber Refused Man With Guide Dog

A man from Cardiff is taking Uber to court over claims they refused to pick him up with his guide dog on more than 100 occasions.

Cardiff-based entrepreneur Dan Williams is bringing a case against the multinational ride-hailing company after he claims they regularly refuse to pick him up with his dog Zodiac.

Dan, who is registered blind as he is gradually losing his sight due to a condition called retinitis pigmentosa, claims over the past two years he has regularly been turned down for journeys.

He said it causes him to often miss or be late for appointments and has affected his business reputation.

Dan said: “A regular scenario is that I book an Uber ride and on arrival, the driver either spots me and Zodiac and drives off or pulls up and refuses to allow us into their car.

“I always remain calm and professional and explain that it is illegal under UK law as a guide dog is classed as a mobility aid, just like a wheelchair.

I then started to message drivers to inform them that I have a guide dog which resulted in cancellations and would often message two or three drivers before one would actually accept the job.”

During a two-week period, Dan said he had ordered 10 Ubers and has been refused access six times, leaving him feeling “mentally drained, exhausted angry [and] frustrated”.

He often travels to carry out training for organisations and workplace assessments for employees with sight loss through his social business Visualise Training and Consultancy.

Dan said he decided to take legal action to stop similar incidents happening to other blind or partially sighted people, and says he has also considered giving up Zodiac.

Dan said: “Having Zodiac has transformed my life over the past two years and he’s become my best friend, but at times like these I really start to wonder if I should hand him back to Guide Dogs and revert to using a white cane to avoid all the anxiety and inconvenience caused by Uber drivers.”

Specialist disability discrimination lawyer Chris Fry, of Fry Law, is handling Dan’s case.

He said: “I’m very hopeful that together, we can make a positive impact on the taxi sector as a whole that will benefit the 2 million people living with sight loss in the UK.

“We think that Uber hanging its drivers out to dry shows an abrogation of responsibility. They are the service provider and are therefore responsible for providing an Equality Act compliant service.”

The Equality and Human Rights Commission are supporting the claim.

A commission spokesperson said: “Transport operators have clear responsibilities in law to help disabled people travel freely, but often they are failing to meet them.

“We are funding Mr Williams’ case, and others, to encourage improvements to the transport industry’s policies and practice so that the needs of disabled and older people are key considerations in the current and future design of public transport.

“Disabled people and older passengers must be able enjoy public transport just like everybody else.”

Proceedings were issued in the County Court at the end of April and Dan’s counsel are waiting to receive the sealed documents back.

They intend to apply to the court to stay the case (suspend the case partially or fully) pending the outcome of a separate Supreme Court case, which they anticipate will be by the end of the year.

The Supreme Court is due to hear a case in July surrounding the status of Uber’s drivers, with the firm arguing they are self-employed.

In an email sent to Dan on May 11, an Uber spokeswoman said: “It is totally unacceptable for drivers to refuse to take a guide dog and we investigate every report.

“Licensed private hire drivers must carry service animals in their vehicle. We highlight this obligation to all drivers before they start using the Uber app and often send reminders.

“Any driver who is found to have refused to take a service animal will permanently lose access to the app.”

Uber have been approached several times by WalesOnline for a comment.

Star The Service Dog

Therapy Dog Team

 

Tina Zimmerman and her Belgian Malinois, Navarre, greet residents as Zimmerman and four other members of the Sharawag Therapy Dog Team appeared. Eden Bernstein works with her border collie mix, Lucy, as Bernstein and four other Sharawag Therapy Dog Team members made an appearance. Laura Williams and her English cream golden retriever, Beau, relax. Williams and four other members of the Sharawag Therapy Dog Team visited the senior living facility to entertain its residents, something the group of about 30 members tries to do once a month.