BluePath Service Dogs

Even from a distance, participants at BluePath Service Dogs’ annual Walkathon showed their support by walking with their furry friends during its virtual fundraiser.

Participants during the fourth annual fundraiser were asked to walk with their dogs on their own and post pictures to the organization’s social media pages afterwards.

The organization, which started in 2016, provides service dogs to children with autism. Sixteen children across the Hudson Valley area have received service dogs since its inception, which are trained to provide safety, companionship and independence for individuals on the autism spectrum.

Participants convened on Zoom for a brief kickoff hosted by CEO Jody Sandler, Vice President of Training Programs Caroline McCabe-Sandler and Vice President of Marketing and Development Michelle Brier. They read to the crowd of over 50 virtual participants success stories from families who watched their children’s lives improve with the aid of a service dog.

Brier read a story from autism mom Nancy Flaherty, who shared how her daughter Caitlin’s service dog Chester saved her from bolting, a common occurrence for individuals on the spectrum who tend to wander off or run away.

“Chester gives our family the courage to stand up to autism,” said Flaherty. “There is no price to attach to a parent’s peace of mind that comes with an autism service dog.”

Purchase resident Kim Rosenbaum has also seen the significant impact a service dog has had on her 15-year-old daughter Lindsay. In a phone conversation, Rosenbaum describes how her dog Autumn has helped the whole family.

“Autumn’s actually been great, because she’s not only helped Lindsay, but we have three other kids, and another dog and if someone’s upset, she can sense that and help,” she said, “so she’s actually done amazing for everyone in the family.”

Autumn has gone on vacations with the Rosenbaum family, to Broadway shows and to yoga classes, which has given Lindsay more confidence to be out on her own, according to her mom.

In a time of social isolation, Autumn has played a greater role in helping Lindsay cope with uncertainty.

“My other kids can talk to their friends online, or call each other, and Lindsay is pretty much nonverbal.” she said. “It’s been challenging having her being isolated at home, and Autumn takes care of her and gives her something to do.”

The Walkathon comes at a time when nonprofit organizations, like for-profit companies, are suffering financially due to the pandemic. Brier believes the key to survival for smaller nonprofits is to keep their donor bases intact, which BluePath Service Dogs has been striving to do.

“We use a lot of data to drive our decision making and so we’ve tried to be really smart on how how we’re fundraising and how we’re supporting the community that supports us,” she said.

She has this advice for keeping nonprofits afloat:

“For anyone who supports a nonprofit, if you can give, please do keep giving to the organizations you care about because they need you.”

Advocate For Animals

More than five years ago, a former law -enforcement officer decided he would secure the community in another way.

Sgt. Michellangelo “Mike” Brown is the animal control officer supervisor for Lowndes County Animal Services.

He previously worked as a corporal in the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office jail division and has been a unit director for the Boys and Girls Club, but his journey led him elsewhere.

Brown sought out protecting animals and become an advocate for them.

“The fulfilling part of the job is keeping the community safe from aggressive domestic animals (and) investigating cruelty cases,” he said.

He receives support from local law enforcement, as well as the court system, to assist in the conviction of people who commit animal crimes, he said.

Getting justice for animals that have been abused drives his passion. Brown said he finds purpose in educating pet owners on how to properly care for their pets while also offering resources to them.

He teaches people about laws applying to animals and helps injured animals.

“Animal control is not a job to me but a service to the community that I enjoy doing,” he said. “I have always been active in the community from mentoring kids, helping families that are in need, coaching youth sports, voting drives and helping former incarcerated citizens with finding jobs and adapting to society.”

Brown’s day-to-day work encompasses juggling Lowndes County Animal Control and the Lowndes County Animal Shelter.

His duties with animal control includes reviewing reports, creating schedules, classifying dangerous dogs, addressing complaints, providing support and guidance to animal control officers and assisting with animal cases.

For the shelter, Brown helps the director with administrative responsibilities and helping shelter staff with dogs that are considered aggressive and dangerous.

“I truly want (to) recognize my animal control officers and the shelter staff for their hard work and dedication that they provide daily on the job and the passion that they have for the animals,” he said.

“The animal control officers and the animal shelter staff would not be successful without the caring citizens, animal rescues and local law enforcement that help provide the best wellbeing for our animals in Lowndes County.”

To be employed with animal services, a person must have a passion for working with animals, exhibit patience, possess good observation skills and have situational awareness, he said.

Brown advises anyone faced with animals that are in distress or require assistance to contact Lowndes County Animal Control, (229) 671-2760, rather than approaching them.

“Distressed and injured animals can seriously hurt you if you do not have the training in handling them in those situations,” he said.

Therapy Dog Bringing Comfort

Magnus The Lazy Dog

Are you someone who would rather stay in with a good book than go out for a run? Do you have an extensive collection of comfortable onesies and sleepwear that you are often spotted donning around the household – even when it is nowhere close to bedtime? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions asked above, then you probably identify as a homebody. If so, then this video of a therapy dog named Magnus will speak to your soul. Even if you’re an outdoorsy person, the cuteness of this clip will probably entertain you hugely, nevertheless.

This recording was shared on the dog’s very own Instagram account on September 30. “Magnus is perfect the way he is. I wouldn’t change a thing!” reads the caption shared alongside the post.

The clip shows a comparison between Magnus and other dogs. It starts by showing a recording of a pooch quickly running through some hurdles. Then, it switches over to show Magnus sleeping with a stuffed toy on a bed, wearing an onesie. If that description has got you excited, then wait till you watch the whole video. It will leave you gushing.

Since being shared on the photo and video sharing platform, this post has received a whole lot of love. The share has amassed over 2.2 lakh likes and many appreciative comments.

Here is what Instagram users had to say about the pooch. One person said, “Same lol”. Another individual wrote, “Haha, I so want your dog. He looks so cute”.

Montgomery County’s Therapy Dog

Montgomery County has a new tool to help give crime victims some support. That tool’s name is Zurg.

Zurg is the new therapy dog for the Montgomery County district attorney’s office. Montgomery County District Attorney Daryl Bailey introduced Zurg as the newest member of the team Monday.

Coming from Canine Companions for Independence, Zurg will assist his handler, victims services officer Stephanie Moore, in helping children who have been abused or neglected.

Zurg isn’t just there to help children. He’ll be there for victims of all ages.

“But he’s not only here just here for the children. He’s here for anyone that needs him. There are adults whose houses may have been broken into and they’re scared to come in and take part of this process. Zurg is available to go into the courtrooms with them. You may have one of our seniors who’s been taken advantage of in a financial scam or physical abuse. Zurg is available to go into the courtrooms with them,” Bailey said.

Zurg has had two years of specialized training for this role. The district attorney’s office says this training normally comes at an estimated cost of $50,000, but each facility dog is provided at no cost.

Zurg comes to the Montgomery County district attorney’s office through the HERO program. This is a statewide certified facility dog program to assist in helping victims throughout the criminal process. The program is executed by the Alabama Office of Prosecution Services and funded by a grant reward through the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

Las Vegas Therapy Dogs

Therapy dog visits have slowly started to pick up again throughout the valley.

As you can imagine, pressing “pause” on a pet visit has been very difficult for all involved.

Kirsten Joyce caught up with volunteers with Michael’s Angel Paws.

At this time volunteers and their dogs have not been able to resume their normal visits at hospitals and schools, but we were able to visit with them at an adult daycare center in Henderson with COVID-19 protocols in place.

Retired air traffic controller Jerome Keever and his shelter dog Ari volunteer with Michael’s Angel Paws.

“Ari is about 10 years old, therapy dog for two years. She loves coming down here to meet you guys,” Keever says.

It’s all about creating smiles through wagging tails.

“She loves meeting new people,” Keever says.

The pair, joined by fellow pooch volunteers Ginger, IMAX and Kobe Bear, waste no time in spreading joy.

“We have about 300 teams that volunteer in Las Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City, as well,” says Stephanie Gerken, executive director at Michael’s Angel Paws.

In March, Gerken made the difficult decision to stop.

“We do work with a lot of immunocompromised individuals, and we just didn’t want to take that risk,” she says.

But now more than ever, the love of a dog is needed.

“Just bring some joy during a day and a season when we all need a bit of pick me up, and need that interaction.”

“I know if I were hospitalized, or I couldn’t have my dog with me, I would appreciate someone bringing me their dog, so i could love on them, and pet them,” Keever says.

And these dogs know it’s time to get back to work.

“She found her place in life, this is what she does,” Keever says.

“They start getting so excited, because our therapy dogs teams when they go out have specific equipment, those dogs know when that stuff comes out, they get excited, they’ve missed the interaction with everybody,” Gerken says.

“We’re here to do a job, and let’s go do it,” Keever adds.

The nonprofit is always looking for volunteers. If you are interested in joining the group, you must attend a 12-week training course.

Service Dog Changing Lives

Middle school can be tough for anyone, but it was particularly challenging for Tabitha Bell. Muscular dystrophy had weakened her muscles to the point that it was challenging to walk at school without the help of friends. Sometimes they’d leave her standing next to a post and run off without her.

“When I tried to walk a few steps, I would just fall,” she says. “People really didn’t notice when I would be missing for a while.”

By the time she was in eighth grade, she’d had a spinal fusion and two orthopedic surgeries to help her walk. But the muscles in her feet had atrophied so much that she could only walk on the sides of her feet, which was “super painful.” She would lose her balance when trying to use a cane, walker, or crutches.

“My parents and I were accepting that I may have to be in a wheelchair soon,” she recalls. “My whole body was just so weak that I couldn’t really take too many steps without anyone’s help.”

Then the family learned about a specific type of service dog: “balance-and-brace” dogs. They invested about $20,000 in a German Shepherd Dog named Sunny who was privately trained for the work.

It took a little time for the two to figure out how to work together. Initially, Tabitha fell a fair bit. Then one day, she stepped off a curb without needing to grasp her mother’s hand. At her next doctor’s appointment, she walked—barefoot—down the long hallways at the hospital to the amazement of her orthopedic surgeon. “He was calling out all of his colleagues and he’s like, ‘Look at her! She used to not be able to walk with shoes on by herself!’ I was walking with Sunny, but I wasn’t having another human helping me.”

Thinking of his other patients, the excited doctor asked how much it would cost to buy and train a service dog. When she told him, he deflated, saying none of his clients would be able to afford it because of their steep medical bills, and health insurance doesn’t cover service dogs.

“That got me thinking,” Tabitha says. Work toward the organization’s first placement started after Tabitha’s surgeon mentioned a girl her age with a soft bone disease who could benefit from a service dog. Tabitha and her friend Morgan Kane organized fundraisers at their school. AT&T matched half the funding for a dog, a Labrador Retriever named Atty. It was a resounding success. “Now she’s walking and not in a wheelchair anymore,” Tabitha says.

Since then, by hosting fundraisers like concerts and fun runs, Pawsitive Pawsibilities has raised over $130,000 to purchase, train, and donate dogs to people with disabilities, ranging from a young military veteran with PTSD to a girl who needed a hearing-   assistance dog and a first grader with a diabetic-alert dog.

“It’s really amazing to see how they get their life back,” she says. A key aspect of Pawsitive Pawsibilities is engaging children in fundraising through the program “Puppy Paws.” Tabitha’s pediatrician mentioned that for birthdays and holidays, her children ask for donations rather than gifts; if they host a lemonade stand or bake sale, it’s for charity. Inspired by that concept, Tabitha developed ways for Pawsitive Pawsibilities to offer online and in-person support at schools to help kids fundraise with bake sales, lemonade stands, and garage sales. While helping a child get a service dog, the students learn about the role of service dogs and the joy of giving back.

In one instance, a second-grade classroom in Idaho held a “Pennies for Paws” fundraiser and donated over $200 in pennies to the organization to help a first grader get a diabetic-alert dog named Curly.

“They got to Facetime with the little girl and got to see pictures and videos of when the dog was working with her,” she said. “It was really great to connect them with that. … And it’s really fun because they all love dogs.”

Now Tabitha is 19 and studying to become a child psychologist at University of California, Berkeley. She volunteers at an elementary school with her new service dog, Nox, another German Shepherd Dog. (Sunny is retired and “living the good life” at home with her parents.)

She and Nox are a hit at the school. Many teachers create “Puppy Paws” projects in their classrooms, so Tabitha brings Pawsitive Pawsibilities coloring books, a banner students can write on, T-shirts, little notebooks to track their transactions, and receipt books so if they receive a donation, they can send it to Tabitha and she’ll generate an official tax receipt. “They can learn about what service dogs are, but also learn about what service is and what giving back to the community is in a fun way,” she says. “We try to make it as fun as possible for them.”

Tabitha said she’s grateful to her mother, Jennifer, for helping her with Pawsitive Pawsibilities—particularly with finances, since she’s an accountant. Naturally, her mother is incredibly proud of her.

“My daughter inspires me every day,” she says. “It is humbling.” Tabitha also inspired her high school. When her private school wouldn’t allow her to return for ninth grade with a “pet”—despite the fact that service dogs like Sunny are legally permitted at schools and other public places under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—the family opted not to fight it. They moved to Salt Lake City where Tabitha’s high school campus was huge. But she gradually built the strength to cross it with Sunny by her side.

“She and Sunny had a huge impact on her high school,” Jennifer says. “Watching her learn to use a dog and watching the dog work, watching him get something off a printer … it became obvious that life was different for her with Sunny than before she had Sunny.”

Rick Reigle, DPT, physical therapist with Neuroworx, a physical therapy organization in Salt Lake City, started working with Tabitha when she was about 15 years old. He helped her learn to work with Sunny to avoid obstacles like curbs and cracks in the sidewalk. Later, when she was preparing to leave the state for college and to get her own apartment, they practiced how to use Nox to help get off the floor if she fell alone at home.

He’s been impressed with how balance-and-brace dogs like Sunny and Nox can assist people with disabilities, and with the positive impact Tabitha had on the community—especially helping young adults with spinal-cord injuries get custom-trained service dogs through Pawsitive Pawsibilities.

“She didn’t accept certain things in her life, and she was able to make changes,” he says. “And she presented those changes to other people and she was able to make tremendous changes in their lives.”

Ty Brown, owner of Ty the Dog Guy, a dog-training company based in Salt Lake City, trained Nox as well as many of the service dogs placed by Pawsitive Pawsibilities. Typically, the dogs are about 18 months old and were bred for agility or conformation shows but didn’t quite show champion potential, so they arrive healthy and well-trained in obedience. The dogs live in a home with Brown or someone on his team during training that’s customized to the needs of their future handler.

“Working with an organization like Pawsitive Pawsibilities is really cool,” he says. “They find some amazing people that need real help, and it’s really neat to be able to have this overall experience with a lot of the folks that we’re working with.”

He also enjoys working with the dogs themselves, since they each learn such different skills, whether detecting blood-sugar fluctuations, assisting during panic attacks, or bracing to help with mobility.

“Pigs are smarter and monkeys are smarter. Cats are easier to live with. But there’s something so unbelievably incredible about the dog,” he says. “The amazing capacity they have for learning, combined with that desire they have for bonding with humans. … It’s so darn cool to have one creature that can do all these different amazing things and just love doing it.” Brown hopes his four young daughters will be like Tabitha when they’re older. “Tabitha really is a dynamo,” he says. “From a young age, she realized she had a lot to give to the world. I’ve never seen somebody work so tirelessly while also dealing with her own challenges to just selflessly create scenarios where she can raise money and get service dogs for people. It’s awesome.”

Therapy K-9 Millie

Middlesex Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian recently introduced Millie – the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office (MSO) first therapy dog. Millie joins fellow MSO working dogs who are tasked with searching for contraband, explosives and missing people.

Unlike her K-9 colleagues, Millie – a one year old English Lab – is trained to help provide comfort. Throughout her initial training period, Millie was already making a difference in the lives of those she came in contact with, including officers, incarcerated individuals and loved ones – especially children – visiting them at the Middlesex Jail & House of Correction.

“From day one, Millie has made a huge impact during her visits with officers, civilian staff, incarcerated individuals and community members,” said Koutoujian. “Whether it’s visiting with staff, individuals inside the jail or people in recovery coming through our counseling center, Millie has an incredible ability to put people at ease, break down barriers and provide comfort.”

Named in honor of the Mill City of Lowell where she will be based, Millie was acquired by the MSO last year. She recently completed her therapy dog training with Absolute K-9 Solutions in Lunenburg and is partnered with Lowell Community Counseling Director Jillian Ketchen.

“In her brief time with us, we’ve already seen Millie’s ability to be a calming influence and help reduce anxiety amongst those she’s met,” said Koutoujian. “We’re glad to have her as a member of our MSO team and look forward to expanding her role to assist crime victims, witnesses and others in the community who may benefit from her presence and support.”

Pets In Stores

It’s happening more and more often — nearly every time Milford resident Kara-Anne Canfield is in a store with Stella, her service dog, other dogs distract Stella, according to Canfield’s mother Sandy.

This can result in a life or death situation for Kara-Anne, 30, who suffers from mast cell activation disease (MCAD). Sandy Canfield wants to raise awareness to this issue and her daughter’s condition.

“We have been faced, over and over, with many stores that are allowing pets to come in, and it causes our service dog to be distracted,” said Sandy, adding sometimes the pet dogs nip or bark at Stella, a poodle and Basset Hound mix. “I’ll ask for the manager and I’m told no pets are allowed, but they won’t ask a customer if it’s a pet or service dog,” she said. “My goal as a mom is to spread the word about the disease and about service dogs.”

According to the ADA, businesses must allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals into all areas of the business where customers are normally allowed to go. Typically, restaurants, stores, and other businesses with a “no pets” policy must make an exception to the policy when a customer has a service animal. In addition to MCAD people with diabetes, ALS, epilepsy and numerous other serious conditions also have service dogs.

Stella is trained in scent. If she smells a trigger, she alerts by blocking Kara-Anne, and then pulling her out of the environment. When Stella alerts, Kara-Anne has rescue medications to take to prevent the anaphylaxis from coming on.

Sandy Canfield said while Stella has greatly helped improve the quality of Kara-Anne’s life, she is now faced with the problem of running into other dogs everywhere she goes. There seems to be dogs in stores more often than ever these days — and store owners are allowing it, she said.

“It’s hard for me to navigate around the store when there are other dogs in the store, since it’s hard for Stella to work when she’s distracted,” Kara-Anne said.

According to Kara-Anne, when Stella is distracted, she will “stop sniffing around, and will start looking around and will get nervous.”

“Thank God Stella is a rock star dog,” Sandy Canfield said. “But God forbid she misses an alert and it happens to be one that could have saved Kara-Anne’s life.”

Kara-Anne was diagnosed with MCAD when she was 11. Her reactions to triggers for the disease vary widely.

“It was never cookie cutter,” said Sandy, who, along with her husband Scott, have two other children. “She could be having a conversation and then go unconscious, or sometimes she will sound like she has marbles in her mouth. Other times, she gets hives, or her throat will just close up.”

To help control the disease, she receives a monthly injection. When she does have a reaction, sometimes she requires an EpiPen or Benedryl.

Kara-Anne gets reactions as often as three times a week. As a result, they have completely prevented her from leading a normal life, according to her mother.

“Her childhood was robbed from her,” Sandy Canfield said.

She had to leave St. Ann’s middle school in Milford due to her condition, and received private tutoring at home. She returned to school in the eleventh grade, attending Foran High School. The Board of Education supplied her with a one-on-one nurse at the time.

After graduation, she attended Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, studying occupational therapy.

“I went to school with her for two-and-a-half years,” Sandy Canfield said. “I drove her every day and I sat outside every class she took.”

In 2015, Kara-Anne started improving.

“The reactions got less and less,” Sandy said. “We had a good medication plan going.”

Kara-Anne got a part-time job, a driver’s license, and started driving the 30 minute commute to school by herself. She became an occupational therapist for the Stamford School System. After three years, her symptoms returned and she started getting serious reactions again — and going into shock.

“It happened four times within a two-week period,” her mother said. “One time, she was driving when it happened. She has not driven since.”

Kara-Anne had to resign from her job and is now on disability. She has used a walker since August of 2019 and the dog has not left her side since. Since the pandemic, she has gone into shock a total of 25 times, Sandy said

“If I can get one person to leave their dog at home when they go to a store, I’ve accomplished my goal,” she said.

Dominique And Bowie

As a diabetic, Dominique Trappio needs help to safely get through her days and nights. That’s where Bowie came in. The connection was immediate when they met.