Therapy Dog Is A Star On TikTok

Therapy Dog At Home

With kids learning at home, teachers are missing their students.

To stay connected to those at the James Madison Elementary School in Stevens Point, Principal Karl Bancker is using his extra time to write stories about life stuck at home, all from the perspective of his new puppy.

Bancker adopted puppy Mack right before the Safer at Home order was put in place to be used as a therapy dog for students, but now acts as the star of Bancker’s ‘Mack Books’ sent out over email to families.

Bancker’s stories all follow Mack as he navigates becoming a therapy dog, learning kids won’t be back in school, and what life is like roaming empty classrooms as the school year comes to an end.

Through pictures and simple narration, Bancker is hoping to help kids take a break and get some clarity about these uncertain times. He is also looking to introduce Mack to students who haven’t met him yet so that everyone can utilize him once school doors open again.

Bancker said it has been fun writing again as it can be hard to take time to do during the school year. The ‘Mack Books’ have even inspired others to try their hand at writing as well.

“A few kids have written some of their own books. I try to encourage them to do the same thing. Just have fun. Writing should a process that t is fun. Not just school work that you have to do, but something you enjoy doing,” Bancker said.

Overall, Bancker hopes the ‘Mack Books’ help students feel connected to school, and Mack while all are apart.

Therapy Dogs Anxious To Get Back To Volunteering

They bring joy to patients and staff but, like all visitors, the coronavirus pandemic has locked therapy dogs out of many hospitals.

The pack that volunteers at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital is anxious to be back. They said so in a special video message to the doctors, nurses and staff.

Opal and her person, Elaine, said they definitely miss everybody.

Chevy’s handler, Maddie, said, “Every time we walk past the hospital, she gets super excited then super sad because she can’t come to see you guys.”

It’s been about 6 weeks since the coronavirus cut off the volunteer canine therapy squad from their weekly visits to UCHealth.

One dog expressed his dismay at being furloughed, “Hi, it’s me Julep. I miss seeing all of you and the delicious treats you give me.”

For Jenny Ricklefs, Manager of Volunteer Services and Shadowing, the feeling is mutual.

“The dogs bring love,” she said.

She calls the friendly canines stress relievers for both patients and staff.

“Nothing is quite as wonderful as just a few moments of snuggle with a great dog,” Jenny told CBS4 Health Specialist Kathy Walsh.

The pups are prepared to get back to work.

Five-year-old Lucy looks quite fetching in a gown, gloves and mask.

“We are anxiously awaiting the go-ahead to come back to the hospital,” said her handler, Dr. Rich O’Day.

In the meantime, he put together the video ‘Thank You’.

On it, volunteers told the staff, “You are awesome and amazing.” “You guys be safe.”

“Thank you for being the heroes you are every day, especially now.”

Being back on the job for the dogs will be the “ulti-mutt.”

Until then, Julep told the staff, “I love you guys.”

No bones about it.

Service Dog Helps Veteran

You’ve probably heard the saying ‘A dog is man’s best friend’, but for Marc Abels his dog Ace is a medical necessity.

“Marc has trained Ace to not only be a diabetic alert, he is also a heart attack alert and a PTSD alert,” Marc’s wife Barb Abels said.

Ace has only been a member of the Abel family for about three years. Barb said it took a lot of work for the family to get Marc the help he needed. After serving in the United States Marine Corps for nearly a decade, Marc was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), up to 20 percent of veterans who serve in Iraq and Afghanistan return home with (PTSD.)

“He started going through a rough mental period and it finally got to a point where I said you’ve got one of two choices; you can get a service dog or get divorced,” Abels said.

When the family started looking for a dog, they got a big shock. The cost of a service dog can’t be paid for with benefits from Medicaid, Medicare or private insurance. The VA will only cover the cost of a service dog if the veteran is immobile, blind or deaf.

According to the VA the service dogs must be certified by Assistance Dogs International (ADI) or International Guide Dog Federation (IGD) to qualify for those benefits.

“If we would have went through the VA, it was going to be two to three years before we were able to obtain a dog,” Abels said. “The VA trained the dog, not the handler, it was going to be anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000.”

Barb said that wasn’t something the family could wait for, so they reached out to Javelan, a non-profit that trains veterans how to train their own service dogs to meet their medical needs.

“They don’t train the dog on what the needs are, they train the handler to train the dog,” Abels said. “That way there is more of a bond between the handler and the rescue dog.”

Barb said the Javelan program teaches veterans in a way that will give them the skills they need to train their next service animal after their dog retires or passes away.

Danielle Owens is a veteran that went through the Javelan training program with her dog Kelty, and now works with other veterans to train their service dogs.

“Task training is the essential part of what a service dog does for an individual with a disability. Typically we train dogs for PTSD, seizure alert, diabetic alert dogs,” Owens said. “Everything you think that you might need a dog to mediate a disability for, typically we can train a dog for that.”

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, service dogs are not required to get a certification or take a test proving they can do the job they were trained to do for their owners.

“It’s very personalized to the individual. The training is very personalized, it’s customized to each dog, because each dog learns different,each individual learns different as well,” Owens said.

Ace’s training took the family about nine months to complete, but Barb said the extra work has made a huge difference in her husband’s life.

“Ace truly gave me my husband back,” Abels said.

Nebraska Congresswoman Deb Fisher has reintroduced the PAWS Act of 2019. A bill that would require the Department of Veterans Afford to provide veterans with PTSD a $25,000 voucher to cover the cost of obtaining a service dog.

Police Therapy Dogs

The Albany Police Department received a special honor for its therapy dog program. It will be featured in a police chief magazine.

The article on the revolutionary program was submitted by the police department in February. They just received word it will be featured in the April edition of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Magazine.

The magazine will be sent to police chiefs around the world. The article details how Maxie and Finn are now integral parts of the police department.

“The dogs are still serving as a way for us to build some bridges as well,” Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins said. “When people in the community right now with all the stress and anxiety they are having, they see these dogs out and about — even though we still have to practice social distancing — they still want to come up and safely, you know, pet the dog.”

The program was launched last year, and both Maxie and Finn became certified therapy dogs in August 2019.

Service Dog Gets Care

The Department of Animal Services in Riverside County picked up a service dog for temporary county care on Thursday after her owner was diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalized.

The dog’s owner was admitted to a hospital in Ontario, but later transferred to Loma Linda University Medical Center. The service dog couldn’t join its owner in the new hospital, so animal services officer John Hergenreder was called to the Ontario hospital to pick up the service dog.

Animal Services took the 7-year-old female Shepard mix and put her in a kennel at the City Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley. A Youtube video posted by the Department of Animal Services shows the dog comfortably taken care of until she is able to return to her owner.

According to Animal Services Director Julie Bank, the department had already planned out the procedures for this type of situation and was well-equipped.

“We were already prepared to handle situations, such as this, by creating kennel spaces specifically designated for COVID-19 patients’ pets,” Bank said. “Our team members are also following strict guidelines to stay safe with personal protection equipment.”

The dog’s owner is 70 years old and does not seem to have any family members in the area. The man applied with the Riverside County Animal Services for a service tag in 2018. He is also a veteran.

“He served our country and we take pride in serving him in his time of need,” Bank said. “We certainly hope that he can fight this virus successfully. We look forward to the day he can reunited with his beloved dog.”

Stay-At-Home Orders Affect Service Dogs Training

Eric Caron, a retired guidance counselor who has been blind since birth, recently moved to a new home. He soon noticed that his guide dog, a yellow Labrador retriever named Ryan, was having trouble leading him across a busy intersection that Caron must cross regularly.

Caron knew what that meant: It was time to retire Ryan, at 9 a near-senior citizen, to pet status and get a new guide dog.

But as the novel coronavirus spread, Caron’s “dog day” appointment on April 2, at the New York-based Guiding Eyes for the Blind, was postponed indefinitely.

“I had packed my bags a good month before the class date, including some special toys for the new dog,” said Caron, of Brattleboro, Vt. “I had a new pair of shoes for walking and a special shirt for graduation. I was ready. And now, you just have to take that bag and roll it in the closet.”

Like many people with disabilities, Caron relies on a service dog to help him navigate not just the world, but also his own home and property. The dogs are trained to do specific tasks such as guiding people in public, opening doors and interrupting anxiety attacks. That training can last up to two years, and it is now on hold nationwide as the coronavirus crisis continues.

The handoff of already-trained service dogs to people like Caron is also paused, because it has to be done in person and with instructors and clients standing close together. That means people whose current dogs are ready to retire, as well as people who have been on waiting lists a year or longer to get their first service dogs, are all stuck in limbo until the COVID-19 crisis resolves.

“We’re under orders, depending on what state you live in, not to do activities that are not deemed as essential. Because this is considered education, it’s not deemed essential,” said Ben Cawley, director of training at Guiding Eyes for the Blind. “A guide dog-user would argue that it is essential, but we can’t be putting our staff or volunteers or applicants in an irresponsible situation.”

When New York ordered a statewide shutdown, Guiding Eyes for the Blind had 178 dogs in its Yorktown kennels, as well as puppies in a second facility. Those dogs went home with staff and volunteers who are keeping them happy, but who can’t go out during the pandemic to train them to walk in grocery stores or down crowded sidewalks.

Canine Companions for Independence, based in Santa Rosa, Calif., faced a similar situation. Its six nationwide campuses are now closed, some 420 of its dogs in training are living with staff and volunteers, and the 400 people with physical and hearing disabilities on its waiting list are going to have to wait for the program to resume.

“We would love to be able, during this time, to continue to train the dogs at home and then perhaps look at doing some virtual training,” said Jeanine Konopelski, national director of marketing at Canine Companions, “but still, that in-person connection, the person meeting the dog, that still has to happen, and we can’t do that right now.”

Michelle Barlak, a spokeswoman for The Seeing Eye in Morristown, N.J., said a class to pair dogs and clients was in progress when the state shut down most businesses. The organization accelerated the training, got the dogs into homes with clients and has been following up by phone, Skype and email, she said.

An immediate challenge, Barlak said, is that the organization’s in-house veterinary clinic also was forced to close. That means local veterinarians end up handling any problems, a more costly option that is eating into existing funding.

Another concern is making sure essential workers who rely on guide dogs can keep doing their jobs, said Thomas Panek, chief executive of Guiding Eyes for the Blind. If for some reason such a worker needed a replacement dog, he said, handoff could be tricky — and their critical work put in jeopardy.

“Right now, there are people who are blind and on the front lines in this crisis,” he said. “I know four people who work in the federal government. They have to go into places like the emergency response centers. They’re using their service dogs to get to work. They’re part of the crisis response team; they just happen to be blind.”

How quickly future cohorts of service dogs can be ready remains an open question. Training programs are run on schedules, and those schedules are being set back every day that the pandemic goes on. Dogs living in foster homes may be safe and content, but some are quickly losing skills.

”Many of our dogs need to learn how to work around adaptive equipment like wheelchairs,” said Sarah Birman, national director of training and client services at Canine Companions. “I don’t have a wheelchair in my house to practice with. I don’t have the special light switch to practice with, like the one that’s specially constructed at our center.”

The longer the crisis persists, Barlak said, the harder it will be for the dogs to get back on track. For now, she said, “I think our dogs are going to be able to catch up quite easily. If we’re all still sitting here a year from now? Then, I would be concerned.”

Teal Morris, a family caseworker for the Indiana Department of Child Services, is waiting out the worry with her golden retriever-Lab mix, Phil. She got him through Canine Companions in 2011 to help with her lifelong spina bifida. Phil picks up things that she drops, and she uses his leash to maintain balance if she stumbles or trips.

But Phil is 11 and due to retire. Morris was supposed to meet his replacement in May. Now, the earliest possibility is August.

”There’s just so many unknown factors,” Morris says. “I’m trying to take it one day at a time. I have a little girl who is 2½, and with her, things are changing every day about regulations and schools being opened and closed.”

Caron, in Vermont with his guide dog Ryan, is also waiting out the crisis as his wife picks up extra 12-hour shifts. She’s an emergency-room nurse treating coronavirus patients.

“I know that Guiding Eyes is trying really hard to keep everything flowing. When they know what the virus is going to let us do, they’ll get back to me,” Caron added. “I don’t even know which dog would have been mine, but in my heart, I’m picturing this dog just waiting.”

For now, he’s focusing on Ryan.

“I still have to go to Tractor Supply to get dog food. I still have to do things,” Caron said. “Right now, I need him to stay healthy so we can go for walks and stay connected to the world.”

Police Service Canine

Kinston Police Department:

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of one of our former police service canines, Jessi. Jessi served alongside with handler, Sgt. Brandon Wells, from 2010 until her retirement in 2017. Jessi was a Belgium Malinois and was certified through the North Carolina Police Dog Association.

Since her retirement, she resided full-time with Sgt. Wells. Jessi will be missed by her family, as well as past and present members of the KPD. We are extremely thankful for the service to our community.

Texas Therapy Dog

Finley is a therapy dog at North Central Baptist Hospital in San Antonio that normally spends his time cheering up patients, but since he hasn’t been able to visit patient’s hospital volunteer and Finley’s owner, Debbie Sinks says he’s been feeling down.

Sinks says the hospital suspended all activities by therapy dogs and their volunteers about a month and a half ago.

“We know he gets sad because he just lays around, he sighs and he doesn’t eat as well,” said Sinks.

But, this isn’t the first time this friendly pup has felt depressed. Five years ago, Finley was hit by a car and was out of work for months.

“We knew what to look for,” said Sinks. “We have been trying to find activities for him.”

Since the two haven’t been able to visit the hospital, Sinks says she’s been taking him on more walks and the two go exploring in the woods.

“We take him on car rides just down the road and back,” said Sinks. “He goes swimming when we can and stuff like that, hanging out at home.”

But Sinks and Finley are waiting for the day they can return to their work at the hospital.

“Volunteering is very important to our life, and it’s kind of our work now that we are not working,” said Sinks. “This is not what I expected retirement to be like.”

K-9 Puppy Sleeps Through Ceremony

It’s not unusual for a police department to have a K-9 “comfort” dog. They’re used to help victims of crime deal with anxiety, stress and PTSD, and they often visit schools, hospitals, nursing homes and other places in the community in order to boost morale. But one K-9 has gone viral for an especially adorable reason.

Brody, the chocolate Labrador retriever puppy who recently joined the police department in Bristol, Rhode Island, fell asleep during his swearing-in ceremony on April 6.

Brody is actually the first-ever comfort and therapy dog for the town of Bristol. He was donated to the department as a gift from Boonefield Labradors, a breeder based in New Hampshire. Since then, he’s been making the rounds around town.

On April 21, for example, he delighted residents at Saint Elizabeth Manor, a local nursing home. They were happy to see Brody’s friendly face during his “window visits.”

(Even comfort dogs have to adhere to social distancing measures.)  All the attention clearly zapped Brody’s energy, however, and soon he was back doing what he does best — having a snooze:

It’s not just residents of Bristol who have fallen in love with Brody. In addition to trending all across the United States, the Lab’s cuteness has been appreciated all over the world, including in London, where the London Evening Standard shared the swearing-in video on their social media pages, along with the caption, “Working with K-9 Brody is a dream!” They layered Brahms’ “Lullaby” over the video.

Brody even has his very own Instagram account, and he’s garnered more than 8,700 followers since he started his position as Bristol’s therapy/comfort dog-in-training.

And as you might expect, there are plenty of photos of him napping.