Having A Dog

“Are you cuh-ray-zee?” “What were you thinking?” “Seriously?”

That’s how friends reacted to the news that we are now the proud parents of a two-year-old, black-and-white, Chihuahua-pitbull-mix dog named Binkie.

It was a surprise, even to us, that we actually made this commitment. We are cat people. We already have three pampered furballs ruling our roost. Fortunately, they all get along, but they can be a handful to deal with.

And they’re pretty protective of their territory.

However, our 17-year-old daughter, Ingrid, had been begging for a dog.

For a while.

Given how COVID-19 has turned her world topsy-turvey, and she’s finishing high school on-line, she reasoned that an emotional support animal would help her cope with all the changes. And cats, with their indifferent attitudes, don’t offer the same unconditional love.

“But dogs are too high-maintenance for our household,” I argued. “It’s one thing too many for me to worry about.”

It’s not that I don’t like dogs. I do.

Growing up, we always had some canine at home. As kids, loyal Spot, a mutt, walked my sisters and me to school and greeted us when the final bell rang. Powder Puff, the black Pekinese, was high-strung and yappy. Jeff, our female collie, birthed six puppies on our enclosed front porch. And Fang, an ill-tempered German Shepherd, was not exactly kid-friendly.

What was my dad thinking?

Still, Ingrid is a persistent child and kept chipping away at my defenses. To appease her, we let her get a Main Coon as her emotional support animal. It’s the largest domesticated cat breed, as big as some dogs. But Simba isn’t exactly a lap cat. He likes being near you, but he’s more interested in playtime than cuddle time.

So, Ingrid eventually wore me down. I finally agreed that a four-footed canine companion might be the answer to the pandemic pandemonium in her life.

Now, all we had to do was find an acceptable dog. One that was calm. And fairly small, so it wouldn’t intimidate the cats. Plus one that didn’t chase cats or bark too much to scare them.

After all, the cats were here first.

We started our search online, looking at dog pictures from shelters in Madison and surrounding counties. Many were Labradors or Golden Retrievers. Also, lots of boxers and pitbulls. And, a few terriers. But nothing that seemed like a good fit for us.

Plan B was to visit the Lexington Humane Society’s Animal Shelter in person. A bunch of other potential pet owners had the same idea, so there was a line ahead of us.

After filling out an application and passing the dog-owner test, we were allowed to mask up and wander around the cages. A soulful black lab caught our attention, but someone else had already spoken for her. So we played with Diesel who was too big and excitable for our family.

Disappointed, we were told to keep checking back because new dogs arrived regularly. Or, we could check at PetSmart at Hamburg where other adoptable dogs from the Humane Society were kept.

We stopped by, described what we were looking for. And were told only one dog might be a suitable match.

It was Binkie.

He’d only been there a couple of days after his owners became homeless and couldn’t care for him.

Like most Chihuahuas, he was a nervous Nate. He had sad, bulging eyes, big ears, short hair (so less shedding), scrawny deer-like legs and attractive black-and-white markings.

He sat by the door, shaking, plotting his escape. It took an hour to coax him to sit in Ingrid’s lap.

Since Binkie didn’t bark, growl or bite, Ingrid decided he was a keeper. So, we filled out pages of paperwork and promised to protect him, keep his shots up-to-date and love him forever.

Before taking him home we had to buy a collar and leash. He was already neutered and vaccinated, and came with a free sack of food. We bought water and food bowls with dog bones on the sides, chicken-flavored treats, a plastic bone for chewing, rope for tug-of-war and a purple and orange sweater vest to keep him warm.

Ingrid and Binkie bonded on the drive home and he seldom lets her out of his sight. He sits quietly near Ingrid and sleeps snuggled in her bed. He only growls or barks if he senses any danger to her. And he leaps around like a circus animal while at the dog park.

After puffing up like Halloween black cats, then hiding under our bed when Binkie first arrived, the cats are adjusting to this newcomer who doesn’t appear to be a threat to them.

We’re still working on house training. And we’ve started our six weeks of dog training. But we’re off to a promising start.

It just took a while to reach this point.

Essential Four-Legged Worker

The newest employee at Christ the Teacher Catholic School is a boss’s dream.

All he requires are a bed in his office, a few trips outside during the day, and some scratching behind the ears.

Meet Dewey, the year-and-a-half-old golden doodle who has become a fixture around Christ the Teacher in Glasgow. Dewey is principal Steve Adams’ pet, but he’s become much more than that over the past few months. A trained therapy dog, he has become a fixture at Christ the Teacher.

There, he comes in two or three times a week. He greets students in the morning, makes classroom visits and bids farewell in the afternoon. Adams said Dewey has become an important part of the school.

“During the time of COVID, I think he’s really essential. He’s an essential employee. Just to help break the tension,” he told The Dialog, the newspaper of the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware.

“Studies show that the sheer presence of a dog reduces a stress hormone in people. Petting dogs, they say, for a minute lowers blood pressure and reduces anxiety. So I think during any school year that’s needed.”

Other studies show that children who struggle with reading can benefit from reading to a dog, Adams explained. The animal is “a nonjudgmental friend” who won’t correct a child. That helps boost self-confidence about their reading skills.

Adams didn’t just show up with Dewey one day in September. The pet has two certifications as a therapy dog, which involved going through basic obedience training with an emphasis on positive reinforcement, such as petting and praising, Adams said.

“When he gets that from the kids, that really rewards him,” he said. “Some dogs you reward with treats. He would rather have positive praise and feedback. Of course, teachers have treats in their classrooms, and he know which classrooms to go to when he wants a treat. And he knows which teachers let him love them a little bit more.”

Before bringing the canine to school, Adams got the OK from the pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Msgr. John Hopkins, a dog owner himself. The school shares a campus with St. Margaret’s. He also presented his case to the diocesan superintendent of schools, Louis De Angelo, armed with research.

One of the common goals shared by Adams and Msgr. Hopkins is to clear the Canada geese who congregate on the grounds of the parish and school. About once a day, Dewey gets a chance to get outside and chase the birds away. Also, when students are not around, he sometimes gets the opportunity to run around the school’s athletic fields. But most of the time, he’s on a leash if he’s not in Adams’ office.

There, some students come to visit for “Dewey time,” as Adams puts it. The dog has all the comforts of home there. “He’s got a bed, he’s got his water dish, he has his toys. While I’m working, he’ll just kind of lay down and take a nap.”

His favorite toy is a stuffed hedgehog. Adams calls that Dewey’s emotional support. “He carries that around all the time.”

Adams got the idea from Salesianum School, an all-boys Catholic high school in Wilmington, which also has a dog. He had done research for several years on the benefits of having a dog in school, and he got Dewey — named after the Delaware beach town — with this in mind. Adams also wants to take him to visit hospitals and nursing homes, but that will have to wait until the coronavirus pandemic is over.

Parents were notified of Adams’ plan before Dewey first came to school, but only a few asked that their children not take part. But Dewey’s presence has been an overwhelming success.

“It’s been a very well-received program. I’ve gotten many parent emails thanking me for bringing Dewey in and a lot of feedback from the parents saying Dewey’s made a positive impact of their child’s day,” Adams said.

“Whether it’s seeing him first thing in the morning, or in the classroom or in the hallway, his presence as our newest employee is definitely welcome around here.”

Companions For Independence

Canine Companions for Independence (CCI.org) is a national non-profit that breeds, raises, trains and then gives service dogs, free of charge, to those that need them.

I spoke with Aleeta Lehtinen, the president of the Old Dominion Chapter of CCI along with Bruce Hamon, a Vietnam War veteran who recently received Swain, an assistance dog, via Zoom Wednesday to find out more about this extraordinary organization and what we all can do to support them.

Lehtinen says the lab-golden retriever mixes can perform many different services.

“It depends on what you need,” she said. “But the types of dogs that we train are service dogs, skilled companions- so service dogs for children, as well as hearing dogs, facility dogs, and then our newest type, which we actually are just getting in Virginia, is our PTSD dog.”

Lehtinen says these highly trained companions are more than just pets.

“In your general daily life you know what comfort a pet can bring to you,” said Lehtinen. “It’s great, but these dogs are trained to do so much more. They can open a door for someone, they can pull out your laundry, they can hear for someone that can’t hear. Let’s say their phone goes off, they can notify them, if their phone rang or their doorbell, depending on which sound it is they’re actually trained to interpret, and notify their handler.”

For Bruce Hamon, a Chesterfield native, the arrival of Swain has been nothing less than transformative.

“He means that I can go out more often from my condo,” said Hamon. “He means that, to me, that I can feel more comfortable and out in public. One of the most important services he provides for me is waking me up at the very beginning of a recurring nightmare from my PTSD from Vietnam. I have those kind of things sporadically and his job is to wake me up before I get fully into that so it provides me a better night’s sleep and not having to deal with that stuff.”

Hamon says CCI has given him more than he could ever repay.

“It’s hard to put into words,” he said. “I’m so grateful that this dog has been provided to me and he’s just made a huge difference in my life. You know, I used to sit at home and wonder whether I wanted to go out and would become anxious. At times I wouldn’t go out and now I feel much more comfortable doing that. And when I get into a major shopping store where there are, I affectionately call them, herds of people, I don’t feel like I have to put my back against the wall.”

Hamon says his new dog knows what to do in almost every situation.

“Swain is trained to put himself between me and the people and that gives me a source of comfort,” Hamon said. “It means that my life is much fuller, much more enjoyable. And I’m looking to do anything I can to help get that message out to other people.”

“There are numerous ways to help out locally through our chapter,” said Lehtinen. “Our big thing is we actually raise the puppies. So we get these puppies at eight weeks old. And we teach them 30 different commands. So if you want to be a puppy raiser, you can go cci.org and fill out an application to become a puppy raiser. You can also donate money through the website as well. Each year we have a 5K that we do annually in September. But just spread the knowledge, because the more people that know about service dogs, the more people that need them can actually get them.”

Pawsome Canines

The position is held by local dog lover and antiques aficionada Angela Egan who played a leading role in securing the official dog friendly accolade.

Now guests coming to stay at the venue can call her up and pre-book a package of activities and services for their much-loved family pets.

Not only can their tail wagging companions have training and grooming sessions, plus a ‘pawdicure,’ but also a new bespoke outfit made for them and a photoshoot in the hotel grounds. A Learn to Cater for Your Dog cookery lesson is also on offer, specially prepared bespoke raw meals can also be delivered to The Talbot.

Angela, who has brought together local training, grooming and other suppliers to create the service, said: “We can also offer advice on dog friendly cafes, bars and restaurants.

“It’s really great that The Coaching Inn Group, which runs The Talbot, has so whole heartedly embraced the town’s dog friendly ethos.”

The Coaching Inn Group is also helping Miss Mollies Rescue by featuring a homeless dog on its website every month and offering a complimentary meal for two to anyone who was able to give the animal a good home.

Animals Helping Out

Service dogs can help those recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder accomplish daily tasks, provide situational assessments, and guide handlers out of stressful situations.  

Legend’s Heroes Service Dog Training Program, offered through Legend Acres, will bring an innovative approach to getting psychiatric and mobility service dogs and to those who need them to continue their recovery from and other mental health conditions.

Legend’s Heroes program was launched in March and consists of service dog training for service dog teams to include PTSD service dogs, psychiatric service dogs, and mobility support.

The trainers work with your current dog to determine if they are appropriate for completing the Service Dog Certification Program and assist with dog selection to meet the criteria.

Through virtual and on-demand courses, participants in the program can complete the training on their own time in a safe space for them.  

Upon acceptance into the Legend’s Heroes Service Dog Training Program, a participant can have a fully trained service animal under two years and for $3,000 or less.

Traditional programs can take one to four years to get a psychiatric service dog in the hands of someone who needs them and can cost up to $15,000.  

The program is a two-year program consisting of an initial training plan of four canine obedience courses, public access test and task dog training with follow-up sessions over the next year. 

The second part of Legend’s Heroes is the Train the Trainer Mentor Program. Future trainers apply to be part of the program.

Those who are accepted will go through a series of course work, learning Legend Acres’ dog training methods along the way.

Once participants have completed the training program, they received guaranteed job placements with Legend Acres. Trainers can attend this program in-person or through interactive online lessons.

Expanding the reach of Legend’s Heroes Dog Trainers to locations throughout the country will allow for more service animals to get in the hands of those who need them most.  

Legend Acres offers dog training, riding lessons and horse training. Founded by an experienced dog behavior specialist and Veterinary Technologist Kristi May, Legend Acres provides education to dogs of all ages and breeds.

Firefighters Response Canines

Three newly activated teams of chaplains certified as handlers of specially trained service dogs will offer added emotional support services to the employees of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, the agency announced Tuesday.

“We are excited to introduce our three canines,” San Diego Fire Chief Colin Stowell said. “They are highly trained and available to our employees for emotional support in dealing with traumatic or emotionally challenging incidents. … Using canines has proven successful in so many other areas, and we know these dogs will fit right in with our fire family.”

The SDFRD Crisis Response Canine program will be administered by chaplains Debi Arnold, Dan Guarrero and Betsy Salzman, making use of the skills of their dogs, Ty, Bodie and Genoa.

Ty is a 6-year-old mini goldendoodle owned, trained and handled by Arnold, who bought him when he was 12 weeks old. They have two years’ experience with a local trauma intervention program.

Bodie, a 2-year-old Labrador retriever, was trained and placed by Next Step Service Dogs, which prepares canines for active-duty military personnel, veterans and first responders who have post-traumatic stress disorder and/or traumatic brain injury, SDFRD spokeswoman Monica Munoz said.

The total cost for Bodie and his training was about $17,000. Guarrero is responsible for the dog’s ongoing costs, such as food and veterinary bills, with support from the San Diego Fire Rescue Foundation.

Genoa is a 2-year-old Labrador retriever who lives with and is handled by Salzman. They have visited a variety of SDFRD facilities and supported personnel at emergency incidents. Salzman is responsible for Genoa’s ongoing costs, with support from the firefighters’ foundation.

Bodie, Genoa and Ty are certified through Next Step Service Dogs, an Assistance Dogs International accredited organization. The chaplains and their canines have completed more than 120 hours of training, and they will continue to receive instruction through NSSD, Munoz said.

The SDFRD’s chaplaincy program is made up of 17 volunteer religious leaders from a variety of faiths. There are two chaplains assigned to each battalion, one to the lifeguard division and one to the emergency command and data center, as well as one administrative chaplain, Munoz said.

Therapy Dog Paws Program

With a motto of “Happiness has four legs and a purple bandana,” Therapy Dogs of Santa Barbara not only spreads happiness but also transforms lives, according to Founder and Executive Director Karen Lee Stevens. While COVID has prevented hands-on experiences, Stevens and her dedicated volunteers are finding creative ways to serve the community during this difficult time.

This fall, Therapy Dogs of Santa Barbara pivoted its school-based Mindful Kids program to a Zoom-based one at Vieja Valley Elementary School. Instructors, with their dogs alongside them, teach 6th grade students skills to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression and to increase focus and resilience. This winter, the program will expand to Hope Elementary and soon the organization hopes to operate at nonprofit organizations, as well. Teachers laud the program, not only for the benefits to the students, but for their own benefit, too. Therapy Dogs also began creating Mindfulness videos geared toward children, which it posts on its Facebook page.

Its signature program, ARF! (Animals + Reading = Fun) also had to adapt to the pandemic. Pre-COVID, the program paired human and dog volunteer teams with kids in grades 1-3, many of whom were English learners, to improve their reading skills. With the onset of COVID came the creation of Virtual Storytime. Volunteers record videos of themselves reading, with their dogs alongside, and the videos get posted on the Facebook page. This enables teams to stay engaged with the participating kids and families and to connect with others in the community. There are even some Spanish-language videos. Having received lots of positive feedback about the program from the community, Stevens and her volunteers are now planning holiday-themed stories.

ARF! began in 2013, and pre-COVID, there were 16 volunteer therapy dog teams who visited four schools. Demand for the program outstripped the supply such that in the last school year, the eight-week program shifted to four weeks to double the number of participating students.

Volunteers are the heart and soul of the organization, according to Stevens, and many volunteered at multiple school sites every week to help meet the demand. To build trust, teams met with the same students each week. A bond quickly developed, Stevens related, and each week, the children ran to greet their dog friend.

The idea behind ARF!, according to Stevens, is that a child who struggles with anxiety, low self-esteem, a learning disability, or a language barrier can overcome these issues by reading aloud to a specially trained dog. The program gives disadvantaged children the opportunity to experience the unconditional love dogs offer. For many of these students, Stevens shared, this may be the only one-on-one time they receive, and they love the experience. Students improve their reading and increase their self-confidence at the same time.

Volunteer Kim Lieberman joined the ARF! Program seven years ago after retiring from a 30-year teaching career, where she worked with 2nd and 3rd grade English learners. Reading aloud to a dog, according to Lieberman, adds an element of joyfulness to a task that has been a struggle for many of these students. Away from the classroom and engaged with the dogs, Lieberman related, the kids’ anxiety about reading is lowered immediately. “They start to feel safe in taking risks and making mistakes because there is no judgment from the dogs.” Confidence builds, and, in just a few sessions, reading fluency improves. as well. Many kids share that they now actually like reading.

ARF! and Mindful Kids both offer the additional benefit of easing fears that kids may have toward dogs. Since fear can lead to mistreatment, related Stevens, this is a valuable component of the program.

Therapy Dogs also has a Wag Well, Be Well therapy dog program at Santa Barbara City College that adapted to COVID by going online earlier this month. In this Zoom-based event, about 25 SBCC students signed on to meet nine therapy dog teams, with each human introducing her dog and sharing some of their ARF! experiences. According to SBCC Student Health & Wellness Services Advisor Becky Bean, the event helped students de-stress and connect during this challenging and isolating time. During finals week next month, Therapy Dogs will do another virtual event.

Since 2014, therapy dog teams have visited with SBCC students on campus the week before finals and starting in 2019, during a monthly Wag Well, Be Well event. According to Stevens, there is science behind the practice:  Petting a dog lowers the stress-causing hormone cortisol and increases the happy hormone, endorphin. SBCC students, according to Lieberman, are really enthusiastic about the program and very hands-on with every dog. One can almost see their stress melting away, Lieberman related, which is especially helpful before finals. During these visits before finals, 400-500 students and faculty would participate.  Stevens shared that many students have said that it is their favorite day of the year.

Other sites that Therapy Dogs of Santa Barbara visited last year were Assisted Living S.B., CALM (Child Abuse Listening & Mediation), Carpinteria Family School, Girls Inc. (three sites), Jodi House, Maravilla, and the Westside Boys & Girls Club. Stevens related how people of all ages benefit from the visits. The elderly reminisce about dogs that they owned and loved earlier in life, and for those with dementia, who communicate little, a therapy dog can produce sudden smiles and engagement.

In January, Therapy Dogs will resume its five-week therapy dog training program for prospective volunteer teams. The course is not required but is recommended because it teaches not only basic commands but also specific, relevant skills like being comfortable around medical equipment. Teams must pass an evaluation to participate in the organization’s programs. In the past six years, about 550 dogs have completed the class.

PTSD Service Dog

Six years after Warrior Freedom Service Dogs was established, the organization is expanding their one of a kind program that connects veterans to trained service dogs rescued from local animal shelters.

Executive Director Adam Keith says the organization’s main goal is to help veterans reconnect with society, while providing service dogs with a loving home.

“The main goal is to reconnect these veterans who fought for us, when they come home, it’s our duty to take over and help them, you know, get reconnected back into society and it’s not an easy task for them. So to just shine the light on that, partner with a dog that we work through local shelters so they become service dogs – so it’s like a repurpose for them too,” says Keith.

Training Director Julie Jones-Thorton says that the service dogs are uniquely equipped to handle veterans struggling with PTSD. Aside from offering comfort, they can even sense when their cortisol levels are rising, and can alert them when they need to take action to reduce their stress.

“The dog gives them the confidence to be able to go outside their home, to go to the grocery store, to go to their doctor’s appointments, the chiropractor – we have one that goes and sits while he does his martial arts class. They also provide tasks out for those veterans, they provide space. They actually learn to indicate when cortisol levels are rising,” says Jones-Thorton.

The Warrior Freedom Dogs are hoping to raise awareness about their mission to connect veterans suffering with PTSD with a service dog, free of charge.

Their program already has ten graduates and eleven dogs have been rescued.

Service Dog For Christmas

We have all heard the phrase “man’s best friend” when referring to a dog. But when a dog is a special partner for a special needs child, the bond goes beyond friendship.

“Blade” is an English Crème Golden Retriever, adopted at the age of 6 weeks by the Bovaird family last March. The family’s 16-year-old daughter, Katelynn, has Down syndrome and Blade was in training to be her new service dog.

At the end of November, the Bovaird family moved from Cibolo to the Westfield Ranch subdivision off F.M. 775 near La Vernia. During the moving and unpacking Nov. 28, a heavy rainstorm hit La Vernia and scared Blade. He got out of their new home and has not been seen since.

The Bovairds have looked everywhere for Blade, to no avail.

Sometimes, animals try to find their way back to familiar territory that used to be their home, so the family has taken as many as three trips a day back to Cibolo to try to retrace Blades’ steps, in case he tried to run back to their old house. They’ve spoken with some former neighbors in Cibolo to see if perhaps the pup has shown up in someone’s back yard.

He’s friendly and was frightened, so perhaps someone took him in and is caring for him. His collar could have been lost, perhaps, in his travels.

From the time Blade — now 9 months old — was adopted, the pup has slept with Katelynn and has been in training as her new service dog. Her other service dog unexpectedly passed away from bloat several weeks ago, which devastated the family — especially Katelynn. With Blade’s disappearance, Katelynn asks her mother, Pamela, each day where he is, and if he’s in heaven with their other dog.

Pamela said Katelynn cries every day and prays for Blade’s safe return. She is appealing to anyone who may have found the pup, asking them to please return him to Katelynn, who needs him and misses him desperately.

Pamela has put up posters of Blade and flooded social media with photos of him and their story of loss, and placed “lost” ads in the La Vernia News and Wilson County News. One of their new neighbors flew a drone over their neighborhood and nearby areas to see if they could spot him, but had no success.

Blade is creamy white, with long, wavy fur on his back; he weighs 75 pounds. At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing a collar and tags bearing his family’s name and phone number.

The family’s new home in Westfield Ranch is close to Legacy Ranch on F.M. 775.

If you happen to see a white dog with long, wavy hair, please contact the family and help make a Christmas reunion happen for Katelynn and her beloved service dog.

Man Gets His Service Dog Back

Last Tuesday, a five-year-old chihuahua named Skyp Dim was taken from 71-year-old Pedro Carrion, who has been a fixture by a Burger King restaurant just north of the Palmetto Expressway on 67 Avenue for years. He camps out there with his few belongings and he always had his service dog by his side.

He said he left Skyp Dim on a leash by the Burger King as he went across the street to a McDonald’s restaurant just after 7 a.m. He said someone in a white SUV stole his dog and he was not able to stop him. The thief left Skyp Dim’s leash behind.

Since then, Carrion had been distraught. “My dog is my son, my family, my son, understand,” said Carrion. “I love him more than myself. I love my dog so much. He is my life. I have no family, no children. My dog is my medicine. He means so much.”