Delray Teen And His Service Dog

Shane Koch is spreading awareness about Tourette’s Syndrome with his viral “Callum the Ridgy” TikTok page.

The 16-year-old’s connection with his dog has garnered more than 1.4 million followers.

“I created the page to show awareness, to show that you are not different nor normal and it’s better to be weird than normal,” said Koch.

Callum has been by Koch’s side for almost a year, helping him when traditional treatments wouldn’t.

“He notices when I do the ticks, he’ll nudge me.” Said Koch. “He can literally sense when I do those ticks and as I feel it coming and a lot of that stress will go away.”

Koch was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome at eight years old and nothing doctors suggested made his symptoms go away.

Koch explained his journey was not always easy saying “I got made fun of by teachers and students, sometimes I would get in trouble for them.”

Koch says Callum has helped to control the repetitive tics and sounds, and his social media page has given him a voice to tell other kids that different is OK.

The teen says Callum has been by his side for almost a year and since his tics have been under control.

“My dog is what helps me with my Tourettes,” said Koch to CBS 12 News. “Having a dog, it doesn’t even need to be a therapy dog, it will just distract you and want to play, and he just helps so much.”

Humanity’s Best Friend

Police in Halton are preparing to unveil their latest recruit – a therapy dog to be deployed in the coming months.

The scheme, discussed at a recent Halton Borough Council safer policy and performance board (PPB) meeting, would make Cheshire the first force in the North West to embrace the mood-enhancing benefits of humanity’s best friend and potentially the first in the country to do so on an in-house basis.

A report published ahead of the of PPB meeting said it is hoped the dog will not only aid officer wellbeing and victim engagement in the Northern Area division, but also in helping to steer the borough’s youth away from potentially harmful situations.

It said Essex Police is the sole force in the UK with a volunteer therapy dog, Baloo, who was injured in a collision and is now handled by a dog officer.

The report said Baloo has been a “huge success” and helped officers process the trauma of discovering a wagon containing 39 dead smuggled migrants.

Devon Police hires a dog to bolster morale in its control room.

It is anticipated that the Cheshire Northern Division’s therapy canine will be used in school visits and at youth events including across Runcorn and Widnes, Cheshire, as well as to promote mental health and cyber safety campaigns on social media.

The scheme is expected to be funded by a combination of the Cheshire Crime Beat charity, the Cheshire dog unit, and the potential to draw commissioner cash to pay for officer training.

A borough business has also offered to support the initiative.

The report said no other force has adopted a therapy dog scheme assigned to a regular officer, as Essex’s is a voluntary project.

Among those welcoming the plans was Inspector Becky Stokes, of Widnes Local Policing Unit, who tweeted: “Can’t wait for our wonderful therapy dog to land at Widnes – he will be a ray of sunshine.”

Describing the dog’s anticipated benefits, the report said: “It is also proven that the process of patting and stroking a dog reduces the blood pressure, promotes relaxation and changes your physiological state into a more relaxed mode.

“Dogs in a workplace/school can lessen the overall stress of an environment especially when working with younger people.”

Malakai Brings Joy

Malakai not only loves his job, he will also love you unconditionally.

He’s a husky-shepherd pup, growing by leaps and bounds, that brings joy and peace-of-mind to the clients at the supervised drug-injection clinic in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside where his owner, Kelsi Jessamine, works.

The registered nurse wasn’t looking for a therapeutic dog when she adopted Malakai from the Vancouver B.C. SPCA in June, but brought him into work one day and he was a hit with colleagues and clients alike.

“One of my colleagues calls Malakai ‘Mally the Magic Mood Booster,’ ” Jessamine said of the six-month-old, 80 pound pooch.

While Malakai — Hebrew for messenger of God — isn’t a certified therapy dog (yet), Jessamine said his gentle, charismatic nature and adaptable personality make him ideal for the job.

“Malakai is a name used quite a bit in Indigenous communities,” she said. “One of my clients has a brother named Malakai and she felt very spiritually connected to the dog.”

Clients will often ask if Malakai is on-site before they register to come into the clinic. One client, for example, came into the clinic experiencing complex pain, was in tears and wasn’t ready to engage with staff, but did ask to see Malakai. The pup went over to the client’s wheelchair and she hugged him until she felt better and was calm enough to engage with staff, Jessamine said.

Another client, who was experiencing persecutory delusions and believed staff meant him harm — he had refused support for more than three hours — immediately became co-operative after rubbing Malakai’s tummy.

“Malakai provided a positive distraction and helped the client feel safe,” Jessamine said. “Clients who are experiencing auditory or visual hallucinations, due to mental illness or substance use, generally don’t have the capacity to therapeutically engage with clinic staff. In Malakai’s presence, however, clients experiencing psychosis will unexpectedly strike up conversation with clinic staff and begin telling you about the pets they had growing up.”

Malakai loves his job and can’t wait to get to work, Jessamine added. As they walk to the clinic he gets excited blocks away, and when they enter the building it’s like he’s going to see all his friends.

“The impact he’s had is more than I expected,” she said. “People who are using substances and having mental illnesses and experiencing homelessness, their lives are completely chaotic, they’re functioning day-to-day. Malakai gives people something to look forward to, coming into the clinic and asking for him. The most challenging and guarded clients who we see at the clinic will suddenly start smiling in the presence of the dog.

“It’s really special to witness it and be a part of it.”

Police Force Gets Therapy Dog

During these stressful times, a local police department is making changes.

The North Tonawanda Police Department is expanding and reaching out to the community like never before.

Their newest and most popular officer… has four legs.

Police dogs come in all breeds, shapes and sizes.

Some K9’s are tasked with finding drugs, others find people… and then there’s Remy.

Remy is a 4-month-old golden doodle full of all that puppy energy and curiosity.

“When she warms up to you, she really warms up to you,” said Chief of NT Police, Thomas Krantz.

Remy is in training to become the North Tonawanda Police Department’s first therapy dog.

She’s working on her learning her manners, commands and to handle human touch.

“A couple times a day I will pull her tail, play with her ears, her paws, her feet. Anything that a small child might do to her, I’m just getting her used to that and that she tolerates it,” explained Lieutenant Michelle Day.

Right now, she’s perfecting her skills through the AKC Star Puppy Program.

After that, she’ll head to Florida to attend Paws and Stripes College for national certification.

It’s important because soon, she’ll have a very big job.

“She’s supposed to buffer the stress response. Not only for the officers at the department but especially for the victims,” said Day.

Lieutenant Michelle Day has been with the police department for nearly 10 years.

She works in the special victim’s unit, handling abuse, neglect, sexual assault and any crimes against children and the elderly in North Tonawanda.

Getting people to open up is hard.

“It can be difficult at times because you’re asking them to tell you their deepest darkest secrets,” said Lt. Day.

The idea to bring Remy onto the force began when Lieutenant Day found herself in a tough situation, trying to get a child to tell her story.

She was already thinking about getting another dog, so she asked the little girl to help her pick out a puppy.

That’s when things changed in an instant.

“She stopped crying. We went through all 8 puppies. We kind of went through which one she liked, curly haired, straight haired and she eventually calmed down enough so that I could get a statement and continue on with the investigation,” said Lt. Day.

Lt. Day didn’t just want a new dog for her family, she wanted one that could help the public.

Remy won’t cost the department a penny.

“She approached me about the idea and I let her go with it and you see the result… the new face of the NT police department,” said Chief Krantz.

Remy comes at a time when police departments across the state are implementing new reform measures under the executive order of Governor Andrew Cuomo.

North Tonawanda is working to ease tension and gain trust between their officers and the community they serve.

“Based on the phone calls and the interest we’re getting from other departments and other states, I think you’re going to see it. I don’t know if every department will go in this direction, but I think you’re going to see a number of departments go in this direction if they’re not already doing it,” said Chief Krantz.

Chief Krantz believes his department is setting an example.

“I mean, you see how everyone reacts with dogs. She’s going to break the ice and people are going to see us as not just police officers. We’re not there in a negative way, this will bring a positive so people can see us in a different light,” explained Chief Krantz.

“Ice breaker” might be her nickname… but you could argue she’ll be doing a little more than that.

Like most dogs, Remy provides a sense of purpose and takes away the constant worry and stress of what we’re all experiencing these days.

“She alleviates some of that,” said Krantz.

Whether in the office, or patrolling the streets — her service comes during a time, when a little puppy love is needed the most.

Schools Intervention Dog

Kingston Secondary School will be getting a new staff member before the end of the 2020-21 school year with the addition of Indie, a black standard poodle.

Indie, working with adolescent care worker Emma-Jane Hamilton, will be the first intervention dog placed within a Limestone District School Board school.

“My job is to support students who might be struggling with things at home, school, friendships, relationships, stress, mental health, those kinds of things,” Hamilton, an adolescent care worker at Kingston Collegiate and soon to be at Kingston Secondary School, said. “So what Indie’s role will be is to enhance the work I’m doing. So if there is a student that’s hesitant to open up or maybe they’re really anxious about coming to talk with me, it’s just another …. well, it’s a little hard to describe.

“It opens doors that you don’t even know need to be opened. Sometimes it’s building that rapport with a student, which might start off with (questions), ‘Oh, have you met Indie? Do you have a dog?’ So it kind of opens up conversations.”

Hamilton has found that having a dog at a school can be a calming presence. She has helped in the training of another dog for a different organization and had them with her at school before.

“It brings (the student) more into the moment as opposed to focusing on the stress or worries or whatever kind of brought them down to me,” Hamilton said. “One thing I love about having a dog at school is it helps reduce stigma. So, I can be in the hallway talking to students of all different grades, different social status, so to speak, and it’s not seen as, ‘Oh, you’re talking to the school counsellor in the hallway.’ It’s just students are talking with me. It makes it OK to be seen talking with me.”

Indie is currently training with Ability Dogs Canada.

“Ability Dogs Canada is an organization that specializes in training service dogs,” Hamilton said. “Right now, (Indie) is training five hours a day, seven days a week. It’s getting her exposed to different situations, sounds, (and) smells. Getting her used to being in public, interacting with people and staying calm in situations.”

To receive an intervention dog designation, a dog must pass a number of training certifications, with training starting from the time it is a puppy to over a year old.

“We train service dogs as well as intervention dogs,” Samantha Cooper, Ability Dogs Canada owner and trainer, said. “They are different. A service dog is trained for a (specific) individual for a medical condition. An intervention dog works with a handler. Now not to confuse that with a therapy dog.”

Cooper has been training dogs for over 20 years, as service dogs, therapy dogs and K9 intervention dogs.

“A therapy dog goes through one course for six hours and gets that stamp of approval,” Cooper said. “An intervention dog works more like a canine crises worker — working in an area where there might be situations where students are difficult to reach emotionally or are going through a crisis — so we have to train these dogs to be really good around all emotions. The dog has two different roles: one is to be a tool in the counsellors/social workers toolbox, then there’s also the comfort part that a dog can provide.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the training Indie needs has been delayed, such as training to deal with crowds and public noises.

“It’s hard because we had to pull all our dogs out of public access back when COVID started,” Cooper said. “Indie has been doing really well, and I am anticipating certification around (spring of 2021).”

Hamilton approached the Limestone board early in 2020 to see if it was interested in having an intervention dog within its schools.

“I had to meet with the board,” Hamilton explained. “I noticed there was something lacking, so I approached the board, through email first, saying, “Would this be something that I could do, apply for my own service/intervention dog to help support the students.”

From there, Hamilton had several meetings to go over the logistics and to get the approval.

“This is something new. It hasn’t been done in our board before,” Hamilton said. “(The board) had to do their due diligence as to what this would look like because she’s not a medical service dog.”

Hamilton then applied through Ability Dogs Canada and was matched with Indie, who has just turned a year old in the middle of November.

Hamilton is hoping Indie will be certified and ready to work at Kingston Secondary School before the end of the 2020-21 school year.

“She’ll be in my office, with me,” Hamilton said. “(Having Indie) doesn’t really change my day-to-day, except in the interactions with students. That’s where (Indie) will have the biggest impact. She’ll be part of the team.”

The cost to raise and train an intervention dog is $18,000, and fundraising is already underway to help make this resource a reality. The cost is not covered by Education Ministry funding.

A GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign has been started to help offset the costs, so far raising over $1,000 of its $2,500 goal.

NY Shelter Aniamls On Thanksgiving

About 80 dogs and over 150 cats at the Stevens Swan Humane Society in Utica, NY got a special Thanksgiving meal last week thanks to local couple Rob and Hillary Dunn.

Rob has worked at the no-kill shelter for the past nine years and Hillary has volunteered there for the past five. The shelter is how they met. Now, for the second year in a row, they have worked overtime to continue to give to the Stevens Swan community.

Each dog got a plate of plain white meat turkey without skin or bones, canned and no salt added green beans, and plain canned pumpkin.

Oscar The Blind Dog

In the weeks leading up to a heated presidential election, another close race played out that had dog lovers across the country faithfully voting online every 24 hours for their favorite furry friends. For four weeks, from Sept. 10 to Oct. 9, nearly 1 million votes were cast in Garden & Gun magazine’s Good Dog Contest.

In the end, out of nearly 12,000 canines entered in the contest, it came down to just two dogs who were neck and neck for the lead – Oscar the Blind Dog, a bluetick coonhound from Mobile, and a puckish-looking blue heeler from New Jersey named Hank. The final tally: 45,238 votes for Oscar and 44,054 votes for Hank. The next runner-up, Lilly, a standard poodle from Florida, had fewer than half as many votes as either Oscar or Hank, with 20,641.

Oscar licked ’em all, just as his supporters believed he would.

“People got extremely competitive about Oscar winning,” said his owner, Jenn Greene. “It became a Mobile mission.”

When Greene heard about the contest, she decided Oscar might have a shot at winning. She chose the perfect photo – Oscar standing on a low branch of an ancient oak tree in Washington Square, right in the middle of the Oakleigh Historic Garden District – and did her best to encourage others to vote for her sweet, blind pup. Her Facebook posts, each accompanied by an adorable photo of Oscar, told his story, from how he lost his eyes when he was an 11-week-old puppy, to how much he loves his “brother” Charles, to his fondness for burgers from Callaghan’s Irish Social Club.

For many, the voting process was something to look forward to every day.

Cheering Oscar on through social media shares became something of an obsession, especially in Mobile. One friend, Jason Valentine, created and shared several funny memes featuring Oscar.

Tom Andrews, another friend of Greene’s, shared a heartfelt post about Oscar:

“He’s gregarious, never meets a stranger, he’s nearly fearless and lives life with a joy that any of us would be lucky to experience,” he wrote. “Better than all that, he shares that joy freely with all that he meets. You cannot walk away from an interaction with Oscar without having had your day improved.”

Greene and Oscar were invited to a virtual Mobile City Council meeting via Zoom. When Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson mentioned Oscar in his online newsletter, Jenn couldn’t help throwing a little shade toward his closest competitor: “There’s no way Hank’s mayor is showing him this kind of love,” she commented on Facebook.

As the winner of the most votes, Oscar was named top dog in the readers’ choice category. Another dog, Dylian, a pool-loving Chesapeake Bay retriever from El Paso, Texas, was selected by editors of the magazine as the overall winner.

While Oscar hasn’t met any of the dogs he competed against, he harbors no ill will toward any of them. It seems he’s never met anyone he didn’t like, whether it’s a human, another dog or a cat. “He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body,” Greene said. “He doesn’t get aggression – growling or barking. He thinks it’s a call for love.”

In the eight years since she moved to Mobile from Boston in 2012, Greene has become a shining light in the community. She has co-founded two nonprofit organizations: the Delta Dogs, which raises money to help low-income residents take care of their pets. Her “day job” is working for the city of Mobile as acting director for programs and project manager, working on large-scale infrastructure and livability projects like the Three Mile Creek Greenway Trail, St. Louis Street rehabilitation and Langan Park Lake dredging and environmental restoration.

Though she’s known for her love of dogs and her commitment to rescuing animals of all kinds, from birds to cats to, just last week, an injured pelican on the Interstate Highway 10 Bayway, Greene didn’t grow up with dogs. In fact, she’d never had one until she moved to Mobile, where she knew no one. She found Charles, a hound mix, at a rescue event, where, as the dogs around him barked and growled, he looked at her casually, paws crossed, “like, ‘Greetings,’” she said. They’ve been inseparable ever since.

Charles was a search-and-rescue dog until he was paralyzed in a training accident three years ago. Greene nursed him back to health. Now white-faced, he has cancer but still manages to accompany Greene to work at the Delta Bike Project.

A year after adopting Charles, Greene found Daisy at the county animal shelter. Daisy had suffered mistreatment and extensive injuries over the years, and Greene became a familiar sight at events around Mobile with the regal purebred redbone hound riding in style in her converted bike stroller.

Once she had Charles and Daisy, Greene got involved with the American Black and Tan Coonhound Rescue organization. “I have lost track of how many I’ve fostered,” she said, guessing it’s about 50 dogs.

Last year, Greene got a text from Trisha Davis, the director of the Monroe County Animal Shelter in Monroeville. “She’s amazing,” Greene said. “She does so much with so little.” When Davis texts, Greene knows it’s because there’s a hound in need.

“The text was just a photo of Oscar at 11 weeks,” said Greene. “It was horrible.” The puppy had been surrendered by a breeder and was suffering from congenital glaucoma. One of his eyes had fissured down the middle.

“He must have been in terrible pain,” she said. “But hounds are tough.”

He went straight to Dr. Jennifer Wilder, Greene’s best friend and partner in Delta Dogs, at Ark Animal Clinic, where he was stabilized. She thought she might be able to save one of Oscar’s eyes, but ended up having to remove both of them.

Greene agreed to foster Oscar but soon knew she had to add him to her little menagerie. She remembers the sound of his howling in the kennel as he recovered from surgery, “in a little tiny baby hound voice, with his eyes sewn shut.”

During surgery, the veterinarian was able to expertly leave two brown patches of fur right where his eyes would be. So sometimes it’s difficult to tell that not only can he not see, but he has no eyes at all. He wears a thick collar that says “Blind Dog,” but occasionally he’s still mistaken for a seeing-eye dog. Greene explains that she can see, but he can’t – she’s his seeing-eye human.

Shortly after Greene brought Oscar home, Daisy died of pneumonia at 18. It was almost as if the old girl waited until her mother had another companion to take over before she departed. And she left Greene in good hands – er, paws.

Even though he can’t see with his eyes, Oscar “sees with his heart,” as Greene told Garden & Gun magazine. He’s smart and has mastered 25 commands.

He goes into the front yard with Charles and knows to stop before he gets near the street. And while he might try to lope along behind anyone who walks by, he always comes back when Greene calls him.

“Everyone is drawn to him,” she said. “He is so loving. He never has a bad day unless he’s in trouble, like when he ate five pounds of dog food. He’s just such a sweet boy. He has no idea he’s blind.”

The 72-pound dog enjoys running, going on hikes and riding in a boat in the Mobile River Delta with Greene, and he’s learning how to swim while wearing a life jacket. “He’s up for anything,” she said. “He’s good off-leash and listens very well.” At the Delta Bike Project, he is the “emotional support dog,” giving out hugs to “anybody who asks.”

Since he won the contest, he has become a celebrity around Mobile. At a recent visit to the nearby dog park, Greene overheard two people whispering, “Is that Oscar?” People walking by her house will shout out to him, “Congratulations, Oscar!”

For his celebration dinner, he enjoyed a Conecuh sausage burger at Callaghan’s. “He was super pumped about that,” Greene said. “Oscar has no idea about fame, but he loves attention. He was blissfully unaware of how much joy he was giving Mobile, how much fun people had.”

On a recent afternoon, Greene sat talking on her blanket-draped couch.

Curled up beside her on one side was her current foster dog, Jubilee, an elegant, elderly bloodhound with epithelial cancer who recently suffered a stroke; on the other was Oscar, “still a giant puppy,” who lay with his head between two of the back cushions, sound asleep.

“Just because a dog is a little different or has health challenges doesn’t mean they can’t be saved,” Greene said, nodding toward the three dogs sharing the sectional with her.

Oscar’s only reward for being named the readers’ choice winner in the contest is “15 minutes of fame and hugs from the whole world,” she said.

For Greene, the contest has given her “a good opportunity to talk with people about dogs who are different,” she said.

“He’s perfect.”

Genius Dog Challenge

Six dogs are competing to become the world’s smartest dog – a title reserved for the pooch that learns words the fastest.

Shany Dror is a driving force behind the Genius Dog Challenge, which is live streamed on Facebook and YouTube every week until December 16, when the winner will be announced.

The canine challenge is part of Dror’s research for her doctorate at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary, in which she focuses on the ways dogs and miniature pigs understand human language.

Dror grew up in a kibbutz in Israel, where she spent hours with horses, and she completed military service as a dog trainer for the Israeli police.

With her own dog, Mitos, she represented Israel in several IPO world championships between 2015 and 2017.

However, these days her dog seems “dumb” in comparison with about 50 dogs she is helping to train to learn the names of objects.

Her team spent more than two years finding six of the cleverest canines to compete in the Genius Dog Challenge.

“For me this project is a personal passion, fulfilling my childhood dream of trying to understand dogs,” she said.

Three of the finalists in the challenge are female and three are male, but all are Border Collies.

Other breeds, such as Yorkshire Terriers and Belgian Shepherds, also pick up words the way other dogs fetch sticks.

“If you don’t have a Border Collie, don’t despair – your dog might still be able to do it.” Dror said it was easy for most dogs to learn commands, such as ‘sit’, ‘stay’ and ‘down’, but it was rare for dogs to be able to fetch objects because they had learned the names of them. “But those that learn can learn fast.

“They can learn the names of objects in one or two exposures.”

Some dogs were able to learn categories, fetching a new frisbie after learning the name of the toy, she said.

A dog called Chaser, owned by the late American ethologist John Pilley, is believed to have picked up the most words.

The names of 1022 toys were written on them, because Pilley could not remember the names of all the objects his dog would fetch on command, Dror said.

For the challenge, she tells the dog owner which toy the dog needs to fetch and the dog is put in a different room, without the owner present, to carry out the task.

Dogs are adept at reading tiny cues from people – a cunning skill, but not the one Dror is testing.

“We have a lot of people telling us ‘my dog is very smart’ and they think their dog knows the names of objects, but once we do the test from the other room, then they realise… ‘my dog is just super good at reading my own body language’.”

The aims of Dror’s research are to understand how dogs perceive human language, to uncover what makes some dogs more capable of learning words, and to look into the evolutionary origins of human language.

“If you find similarities in the ways dogs and humans understand language, that might indicate something more deep about how our human language evolved,” she said.

Finding Homes For Dogs

Adoptable Animal Rescue Force gives back to the community by finding the right homes for dogs. We’ve been a Teller County nonprofit, no-kill rescue since 1999.

Social networking has allowed us to expand our services in recent years to include dogs coming in from high kill shelters in New Mexico and Texas. There are times when dedicated volunteers make the nine-hour drive from New Mexico to Colorado Springs to deliver dogs to us. Our dogs also fly in with “Dog Is My Copilot,” a nonprofit partner who is also helping dogs connect with a safe and warm place to stay.

Our commitment is not to just find homes for dogs, but to find just the right homes. We work alongside potential adopters to find them just the right companion. And sometimes, it becomes more than just finding a companion; we are pleased to have been able to provide service animals for disabled veterans and emotional support animals for children with anxiety issues.

We like to say, if you’re going to give up your precious time for a volunteer cause, let it be fun. You’re welcome to join us on Saturday mornings at PetSmart on Powers Boulevard in Colorado Springs for our adoption events.

We appreciate the help we receive from donors, which includes discounted services, free pet food and the dollars necessary to keep our program running. For the dogs who don’t get adopted immediately and who don’t have foster homes, we work with Woodland Kennels and Tumbleweed Country Kennels to keep them safe and warm until they find their forever home.

AARF participates in Teller County events such as Greater Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce Business Expo; the Dinosaur Resource Center’s Critterfest; ENT Credit Union Customer Appreciation Day; and Property and Paws with HomeSmart (Tom and Deb Idleman).

As you can see, we can’t do what we do alone. We are always looking for people to help with adoption fairs on Saturday mornings and for help with transports during the week. We are looking for people to volunteer to play with our dogs at Tumbleweed Country Kennels in Fountain, and to help us come up with new ideas to help our dogs find their forever homes. We can be found on Facebook and Instagram.

Please, help us by spreading the word about our mission to your family and friends. We believe their new best friends are waiting for them at AARF!

Service Dog Retiring

Talking to police or giving testimony at a courthouse, can be a scary experience for many.

Since 2014, service dogs have been allowed in the courtroom to provide emotional support for those in need.

For Emery Baert, having Madison with her made a huge difference.

“If she wasn’t there, to this day, I wouldn’t know the strength I have now,” Baert told CTV News in an interview. “She helped me stay strong. She was there when I felt like I couldn’t do it.”

Madison is from Dogs With Wings, a Calgary-based organization that breeds, raises and trains yellow and black Labradors to be used as service dogs. She’s helped hundreds of Lethbridge Victim Services clients in her five-year career.

Sarah Selnes suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and felt anxious and sick every time she had to go into a courtroom. She said having Madison with her was the only way she got through giving some difficult testimony.

“Going into the courts was very emotional and was she able to go right in and on the stand and she was there for me.”

However, Madison’s career is now coming to an end. Those who work with her say she takes on secondary stress and is aging a little harder than normal dogs would.

They brought in her replacement, Marlee, in March. Although, there’s no retirement date set, the two will work alongside each other until Marlee is ready to take over full-time.

“We call her ‘mama dog’,” said Lindsey Gehring with Lethbridge Victim Services about Madison. “She’s such a good mom and nurturer with dogs and people and she’s immediately become that amazing big sister to Marlee. She just took her right in and is teaching her the ropes.”

While volunteers are sad to see Madison retire, they’re excited for Marlee to start helping people.

As well as training together, the two have teamed up for a calendar fundraiser. Since the dog program is 100 per cent privately funded, all of the proceeds will go towards paying vet bills and purchasing things like leashes, collars and dog food.

Gehring said what these dogs do matters and they want to ensure the program continues to be successful for the long-term.

“It’s so amazing to see what they can do and how they can really ground somehow.”