Molly And Her Service Dog

Two and a half-year-old Molly Chow is surrounded by a loving family of her mom Susan, dad David, and four siblings.

The couple moved to Medicine Hat from Vancouver in 2006 and made the decision to become foster parents.

They’ve been fostering for the last 14 years and their family has grown in a big way.

“And in that time we have adopted all five of our children and range in age from 13, 12, six, three and a half and two,” David said.

Molly arrived as a foster child when she was just five weeks old and was officially adopted by the family in June of this year. Susan says Molly was exposed to drugs and alcohol during pregnancy which has had a significant impact on her development.

“Delayed speech skills, she has sleep association disorder which means she doesn’t sleep at night, she has self-harm when she gets upset or dysregulated she will self harm herself by hitting herself or biting herself or hitting her head into the floor,” she said.

Wanting to improve molly’s quality of life, an idea came to the family by chance while out for a walk with their family dog.

David says usually walks wouldn’t go well or last long as Molly would either wander away or dysregulate.

“When we allowed her to walk our older lab she calmed down and was focused and instead of going 200 metres, we actually went 3 kilometres and she did very well and so that’s when we thought maybe a service dog would be of assistance to her,” he said.

The Chows researched and came across Aspen Service Dogs, who also trained Mulder the therapy dog used by Medicine Hat Police Service.

Now the Chow family is embarking on the journey of getting a service dog for Molly.

The pups were undergoing some training at city hall on Thursday

The dog selected as the best fit for molly will be trained for her needs and the family hopes the dog can prevent self-harm.

“So when she is having her dysregulated tantrums the puppy will help her calm down. She does wander away from the house or when we’re out in public so the puppy will be the one to help her or alert us if she is having dangerous play or dangerous wandering,” Susan told Chat News.

And even support Molly during the night, “For the sleeping part, we’re hoping that the puppy will calm her so when she does wake up she doesn’t hurt herself, the puppy will be able to be with her and calm her down so by the time we get there she’s not hurting herself.”

The service dog will live with the Chows while it spends the next year learning basic obedience, followed by a year of training for Molly’s needs.

By starting Molly with a young puppy, the bonding will begin right away according to Aspen Service Dogs breeder and team leader in Medicine Hat Natalie Gillespie.

“And they almost start helping right at the beginning even though they’re not fully trained yet, their little person will respond very readily to the fact that their pup is going with them and so they’re going too,” according to Gillespie.

But this peace of mind and assistance for the family comes at a cost.

A service dog is $10,000 dollars which includes training. Aspen Service Dogs are accredited and recognized by the Alberta Government.

To help offset some of the cost, the Chow’s friends at Midnight’s Trail are holding a fundraiser on Thanksgiving Monday.

Just in time as the chows are scheduled to welcome the pup into their family later this month.

The Cowboy Challenge benefit for the Chows is on Monday, October 12 at Midnight’s Trail.

There will be horse obstacle courses for kids, youth, and adults.

It also includes a barbecue, silent auction, pony rides, and beef on a bun supper.

Owner of Midnight’s Trail Jessica Tory says she met the family three years ago when their oldest daughter started coming out for riding lessons.

“When they realized that a service dog could be really helpful for her and there’s quite a huge expense to a service dog, we thought we’d like to help out as much as possible with that,” Tory said

Service Dog In Training

Stimpy crawls under a table outside of Eastway Hall, pawing gently at an orange peel a few feet away on the grass. The peel is out of reach. Mission failed. Lindsey Czopek, Stimpy’s owner, laughs.

For the past 11 months, Stimpy, a one-year-old chocolate lab, and Czopek have been almost inseparable. The pair are a part of Freedom Paws, a nonprofit organization at Kent State dedicated to training puppies to become service dogs.

“I’ve taught him literally everything he knows, including his name,” Czopek said.

Czopek, a junior zoology major, is the president of Freedom Paws at Kent. She’s had Stimpy since he was eight weeks old and has been training him every step of the way.

“The best time to train them (the dogs) is definitely (when they are) zero to six months (old). They’re like kids; they’re like a sponge,” Czopek said. “You can teach them everything at that age and they just know it.”

Freedom Paws puts a focus on preparing its service dogs in training [SDIT] to handle any situation with confidence and obedience. In order to teach this to Stimpy, Czopek had to get creative.

“Literally, from eight to 16 weeks, I was taking him to stores, I was banging on pots and pans, I was falling down the stairs … anything he could possibly see in his life, I was trying to mimic,” she said. “Because if they don’t see it in that time, they’ll be afraid of it.”

Eventually, Stimpy will learn more than 50 commands, but for now he’s practicing basic dog commands used in everyday life, Czopek said. These include commands like sit, down and leave it.

“In his later life, he’ll know so many,” Czopek said. “He’ll know how to hit a handicap button, how to pick up keys, but we can’t teach them that, because if we do it wrong then their future person is going to have to redo it.”

Stimpy is currently in the first phase of his training process to become a service dog. Everyday, he and Czopek are working toward the goal of achieving phase two, advanced training, and eventually phase three, which is working as a service dog full-time.

Czopek explained that most of the puppies in the program won’t graduate from phase one until they’re at least a year old.

“I will say, the average is 14 to 16 months and he (Stimpy) just turned 12 (months),” she said. “So I should have him for two to four more months.”

In advanced training, Stimpy will be assessed to determine what type of service dog he’ll become upon graduating the program.

“We kind of specialize a dog based on what they’re good at,” Czopek said.

According to Kent State’s Center for Student Involvement, Freedom Paws has graduated puppies to become “service dogs, skilled companion dogs, hearing dogs, diabetic alert dogs, emotional support dogs and facility dogs.” The program also helps with seizure alert dogs.

Czopek predicts Stimpy will be a diabetic alert dog.  “I only say that because diabetic alert dogs are trained to detect high or low blood sugar,” she said. “That’s through scent training and he has the best nose of any dog I’ve ever known.”

Once the dogs pass advanced training, they are matched with a person accordingly.

“We’re not trying to change their personalities,” Czopek said. “We just want them to have something to work for.”

For a while, coronavirus added some unexpected challenges in raising a service dog. In March, when Kent State moved to remote learning forcing some students to return home, Czopek brought Stimpy with her.

Czopek said the first two weeks back home allowed her to have a more personalized, constant training experience with Stimpy.

“Then, quarantine came,” Czopek said. “He was obsessed. If I left the room, he would lose his marbles … He’d start screeching … I realized we had spent so much time together … he needed me to be OK.”

Though this was only a matter of circumstance, Czopek understood that Stimpy needed to be able to socialize with other people besides her and her family.

“The coronavirus made it really hard for these guys, because for practically three months they couldn’t be in public,” Czopek said. “I wasn’t going to the store. I wasn’t going anywhere and neither was he.”

Besides being around other people, one important part of training an SDIT is to make sure they’re able to be around other dogs.

At Kent State, Stimpy is one of seven puppies in the Freedom Paws program. He interacts with the others quite often.

Sometimes, the dogs will get to play at the dog friendly park on campus. This gives the raisers a chance to spend time with one another, as well.

“It’s nice to have a group of people who understand,” Czopek said. “We all go through the same struggles, successes and everything.”

Although it might not always be easy, Czopek admits that she’s formed a strong bond with Stimpy, as well as with her previous SDIT, Georgia.

“It’s not all cute puppies and everything,” she said. “I promise you, they have their bad days, but the good outweighs the bad.”

Czopek said in the 11 months of raising Stimpy so far, one of her favorite parts has been watching him learn.

“With him, I have seen his firsts,” she said. “I saw the first time he had to walk up a stair. I saw the first time he ever barked. I saw so many of those firsts.”

Czopek and Stimpy will part ways in the coming winter months, but she hopes that his future person will reach out by sending occasional pictures and updates.

“You’re heartbroken when they leave,” she said. “But, you would never not do it again, you know?”

In the future, Czopek hopes to eventually raise another service dog. As a junior looking for internships, she might hold off for the time being due to her busy schedule, but her love of dogs remains strong.

“As much as I’ve changed their lives, they have been such a life changer for me,” Czopek said. “They are my little best friends.”

Service Dog Denied

Three disabled veterans with ADA trained service dogs say they were kicked out of the same bar and restaurant in Port Orange twice.

The owner has since apologized but as WESH 2’s Claire Metz reports, the veterans are angry and more than disappointed.

Stephen Harmon is a disabled veteran with PTSD and other health issues and his service dog Major has been a lifesaver.

Harmon said he was stunned Friday when an employee at the Port Hole told him there were no dogs allowed.

“I was crying because I was just so hurt that someone would actually do this to a veteran,” Harmon said.

Harmon’s dog was actually trained by Alexandra Clark through the local nonprofit organization K-9 line.

Port Hole General Manager Mike Knight says the business has had a no dog policy but admits staff is not educated enough about service animals.

“We plan to change the environment of the restaurant to where we will accommodate service animals,” Knight said.

Knight says he comes from a family of veterans and that the business would never deliberately disrespect them. He says he welcomes them.

“I can’t apologize more than I am today,” Knight said. “We offered to do some fundraisers and be educated by their organization.”

The veterans said though they appreciate Port Hole will welcome service dogs going forward and that the bar-restaurant regrets the incident.

However, they say it doesn’t change how they felt when it happened to them.

Orbit The Facility Dog

MTSU’s Police Dog

For MTSU Police K9 handler and patrol specialist Zachery Brooker, the loyalty he receives from his K9 Bobby “can’t be compared.”

This month marks the anniversary of the dog’s first year of service for the campus police department. Bobby and Brooker have been “very fortunate to have a really good first year” and the other officers “love having Bobby here,” Brooker said.

Bobby is a 2-year-old German shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix. Brooker, originally from Michigan, joined the MTSU department in May 2017. He had been a member of the military and graduated from the Walters State Police Academy before meeting Bobby, but K9 training was “seriously the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

In addition to the dog’s capabilities of tracking others and alerting to the presence of illicit substances, the K9 adds an important safety aspect to the community: suspects are more compliant because of Bobby’s presence, and he can “defend and protect both officers and civilians,” Brooker said.

He encourages the other officers to get to know their furry coworker. They’re always welcome to play and spend time with Bobby because the stronger the relationships are between Bobby and his human team, the more successful they’ll all be in the field, he said.

The dog feeds off of everyone’s energy. “It’s what he lives for,” said Brooker, “that ‘good boy,’ that praise, and his toys, of course.”

One winter night, Bobby’s keen sense of smell and training helped to safely reunite a child, wandering out in the cold, with his mother. Most recently, he tracked down and apprehended a suspect.

Bobby also has helped the Murfreesboro Police Department and the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office.

Brooker’s job doesn’t stop when he clocks out. Bobby comes home with him. The dog’s lifestyle is like that of an athlete’s: healthy treats like carrots and apples, hydration, rest and recovery and plenty of training and exercise. Brooker starts each morning by taking Bobby out for a 30-minute game of fetch.

Being the department’s sole K9 handler also means long hours at work.

“There are days when it’s tough, you’re tired,” said Brooker. “There’s been more times than not with him where because of his capabilities, he’s had to stay late. It’s always worth it to see the officers’ reactions to him doing his job well.”

Bobby has been out to several campus events where people “love on him,” and all of his interactions have been positive, Brooker said.

“We work really hard together, and we do it for the campus community,” said Brooker. “I can’t express enough that it’s for them. This department really cares about the community it serves.”

Robotic Dogs

ll of us who live with dogs know the many ways they benefit us. Chief among them are companionship, love, affection, and a sense of calm and happiness. Numerous research projects have studied these real, measurable effects and have unequivocally proven dogs’ positive impact on both our health and well-being.

Recently, some in the world of health care are taking the concept a step further by studying the benefits robotic animals may have for the elderly. Research is finding that this traditionally isolated social group can derive great solace from a robotic “pet.” Though sometimes costly, they have been shown to decrease stress and anxiety and reduce the need for pain and behavior-related medications.

Difficult times often inspire innovation, and a handful of institutions—among them, hospitals, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities—have adopted the use of robotic pets as companions for their patients. Because the Food and Drug Administration classifies the robot as a biofeedback device, Medicare will cover its purchase and use by therapists. (We aren’t sure if this also pertains to real, live therapy pets; if it doesn’t, it should.)

In one study, patients who were paired with a robotic pet were monitored over a six-month period. The staff reported that the robots—“which acquired names and, at holidays, festive outfits—helped calm residents, increased their social behavior and improved mood and appetite.”

At the high end, with a price tag of $6,120, is the PARO Therapeutic Robot (above), a popular model from Japan, that mimics a baby harp seal in looks and behavior.

The robotic seal pup has sensors that register touch, light, sound, temperature and posture, and can perceive people and the environment. For example, its light sensor enables PARO to recognize light and dark. The tactile sensor allows the robot to respond to being stroked, and the posture sensor, to being held. Its audio sensor allows it to recognize voice direction and words such as its name, greetings and praise.

A much less expensive (and simpler) device retails from $65 to $130 and is produced by Ageless Innovation, a spinoff of Hasbro. They offer dogs and cats who look very much like traditional plush toys but are specifically designed and marketed to families who “seek engaging products that foster meaningful connections through play, joy and happiness ….” These battery-operated pets contain built-in sensors and speakers that enable the devices to interact on a basic level. Features include a calming heartbeat, lifelike coat and authentic barking sounds that respond to the human voice.

Robotic pet companions were initially tested with adults diagnosed with dementia, the idea being that those with reduced cognitive capacity would accept the robots as real animals. A 2017 randomized controlled trial that assessed the effectiveness of PARO pets with these individuals found the animatronic seals to be helpful to those involved and, by extension, to their families and the institutions who cared for them.

Later, when trials were run with seniors who were not similarly impaired but were suffering from loneliness, positive results were also reported. It seems that having a beneficial relationship with a robotic pet does not require a suspended sense of reality.

These relationships have been compared to the relationship one may have had with a favorite doll or plush toy as a child—which, for many, served as a beloved companion, confidante and source of comfort. Most people have embraced the value of therapeutic visitation dogs, many of whom are rescued from animal shelters and trained specifically to work as therapy dogs. While the practice has grown steadily, the need, sadly, outpaces the supply of volunteers. As long as that’s the case, perhaps robotic pets are the next best thing.

While some may see them as a step toward further dependence on machines and computers for emotional well-being, it is difficult to argue with the beneficial results. As we face a growing and increasingly difficult social and medical challenge—providing our senior population with quality care—they may be a valuable tool.

Have you experienced either positive or negative effects of a robotic pet interacting with a family member or friend? We’d love to hear from you about it!

Therapy Dog Bringing Comfort

Pet Pampering

Massage therapy for animals. While unconventional, it’s not a far-fetched idea. Muscles are muscles, according to April Begosh, and they all need care.

The 25-year veteran massage therapist is a lifelong pet owner and animal lover who decided to apply her knowledge and experience to help pets too.

“Going from massaging humans to animals was a natural transition,” said Begosh, owner and operator of Concord-based Healthy Pets NH; the organization works with veterinarians and other small animal health professionals statewide (including in the Monadnock region) “to bridge the gap between traditional medical services that pets need, and the complimentary therapies that their owners are seeking.”

“If you have a dog or a cat or other domesticated animal, you’re petting them all the time,” she said. “If you’re a massage therapist [for humans] and you have pets, why not apply therapy in that?”

Massage therapy was first practiced on animals in the 1970s by Jack Meagher, the massage therapist for the U.S. Equestrian Team. His work is now formally known as sports massage, which he also put in practice for numerous NFL athletes.

There are several techniques suitable for pets, all of which use different parts of the hands; exactly which techniques should be used depend mainly on the size and build of the animal. Begosh notes that for smaller pets such as cats or guinea pigs that have smaller extremities, the best technique is “digital kneeding.” This method uses just the fingers rather than the entire palm of the hand.

For larger pets with larger muscles, namely dogs, effleurage works well. This method is a continuous stroke using the flat/palm of the hand. While it incorporates gentle touch, effleurage also involves some pressure as it moves across the muscle. This massage technique warms the muscle area and encourages toxic release in the body. According to Begosh, the simple act of petting an animal is an example of the effleurage method.

“When you learn how to do this and other techniques properly, it will be more effective,” she said. “Learning massage for them provides benefits in a more organized and structured way.”

In workshops and classes Healthy Pets NH offers around the state, including locally via the Monadnock Humane Society, pet owners learn that and other techniques that are specific for targeting different muscles. Common among all techniques is working with or against the muscle. Massaging the length of the muscle helps with stretching and overall relaxation, Begosh said, while massaging across the muscle helps release toxic buildup within the body. Improved mental health and behavior are additional perks.

Therapy dogs are great candidates for massage therapy. According to Begosh, behavior and engagement between a person and their therapy dog is largely based on energy. The dog must be relaxed, calm and ready to work for their person. So, if the person is anxious or upset, it has a similar negative impact on the dog. Teaching the person massage therapy for their dog (if possible) is relaxing for both the human and the dog.

“It brings them down to the same level of calm,” Begosh said.

Sick pets can benefit greatly from massage, too, as such therapy helps with the break up and ultimate release toxic buildup. The physiological benefits of massage for the body — whether human or animal — abound, Begosh said.

Massage therapy can aid pets after surgical procedures — such therapy can help reduce inflammation, Begosh said, increase circulation and even decrease healing time.

Aging pets can also benefit, as massage therapy relieves arthritis and other movement problems.

According to Begosh, it’s important to teach pet owners the massage therapy techniques, as it allows them to ensure their pet gets that type of help and care as often as they need it, without having to wait for appointments with animal health care professionals.

“When people call me about massage therapy for their pets, the animal needs it, and most often they need it more than once every four to six weeks,” she said, adding that going for an office visit that often could eventually become a financial hardship. “If you teach people how to do [massage therapy] at home for their pets, the pets benefit all the time.”

Another benefit of pet massage: bonding and trust.

“It’s a super bonding experience for people and their pets. There’s a lot of trust in it,” Begosh said. “The animal gets relief from their owner, which builds trust and an even stronger bond.”

Autism Service Dogs

Over the last year-and-a-half Kim Rosenbaum has witnessed firsthand the positive impacts that her family’s four-year-old Yellow Lab-Golden Retriever mix Autumn has had on her household.

But Autumn isn’t really a pet. She was trained and adopted by Rosenbaum from BluePath Service Dogs for her 15-year-old daughter Lindsay, the oldest of her four children. Lindsay is autistic, has been mostly non-verbal and like many others on the spectrum is prone to wandering and elopement.

However, Autumn keeps Lindsay anchored, whether it’s in a department store, a restaurant or anywhere else the family may go.

“It’s difficult for us to do activities as a family, and when I took Lindsay out, we were always worried about her safety because she tends to wander off, and yet having Autumn has allowed us to do more activities as a family,” said Rosenbaum, a Purchase resident. “And Autumn has really become Lindsay’s best friend. She’s been a wonderful addition to our family, particularly during this pandemic. Not only did she help Lindsay, but at some point, almost everyone in the family.”

BluePath Service Dogs founder Michelle Briar said the dogs are particularly effective for children who are smaller. The dog can more block or help guide a child to where he or she is supposed to go or to stay in place.

“Our dogs and kids are connected by a specially-designed tether system, and when the child goes to bolt, the dog anchors the child, and each dog has its own anchoring position, that they effectively stop that child from getting into a dangerous situation,” Briar said.

But a specially-trained service dog that can offer crucial safety, companionship and a chance at independence for autistic children and young adults takes resources. The Hopewell Junction-based BluePath Service Dogs, which was established in 2016 and has paired 16 people with a canine service companion, breeds and trains its dogs, which costs about $40,000 each, Briar said. Another 40 dogs are currently being trained, she said.

BluePath charges a relatively nominal fee of $1,200 for a family who is adopting a dog for a family member, she said. The rest of the cost must be raised through donations and fundraising events.

That’s why for the fourth consecutive year, BluePath was scheduled to hold its annual walkathon at FDR State Park in Yorktown on Saturday morning, Oct. 3. Similar to hundreds of other events, though, the COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation and turned it into a virtual experience.

There will be a 15- to 20-minute online warmup and introduction and then participants can head out into their neighborhoods or wherever they feel most comfortable to complete one of three distances ranging from a half-mile to three miles, Briar said.

“We encourage everyone to go out and walk, and our theme is separately but together, and while at the event there’s varying distances that people walk at. It’ll be the same thing as the live, physical event,” she said.

Rosenbaum said since adopting Autumn in April 2019, the dog has helped Lindsay in multiple ways. Not only does she keep her daughter safe but also provides an important connection with other people. When she is out with Lindsay and Autumn, Rosenbaum said people seem to gravitate to them, ask questions and look to pet the dog. She said it helps her daughter with socialization and even verbalization.

“It’s been incredible,” said Rosenbaum, who will be participating in the virtual walkathon with her family. “We’re so thankful for BluePath and we like to support them any way we can.”

K9 Salute Team

The (MWDM) in South Lyon gives the canines that once served our country, troops, police and firefighters, along with therapy and service dogs, a proper sendoff. The memorial cemetery, first established in 1932 as a pet cemetery, was rediscovered and renamed in 2010 as the MWDM, and it has hosted services to honor the dogs since 2014.

The MWDM K9 Salute Team was at the memorial cemetery nearly every weekend from mid-May through October in 2019, honoring 17 fallen heroes with services that included missing-dog formations, a color guard, bagpipes, bugler, funeral flag, headstone and a personalized hand drawing of the deceased dog at no charge to the dog’s handler.

Until late June 2020, K9 Kaiser—an exceptionally large German shepherd, weighing 160 pounds—was one of 22 dogs on the MWDM K9 Salute Team. In ceremonies honoring dogs at the MWDM, Kaiser performed a howling salute, much like a 21-gun salute, that would resound and recognize the honoree being interred during a service.

Unfortunately, the MWDM K9 Salute Team has lost a few of its dogs, including Kaiser; to memorialize them, the team has hired Suanne Martin ’84 to sculpt a statue of Kaiser’s likeness, representing all the Salute Team dogs that have passed. The statue will accompany a granite wall which will bear the names of the MWDM K9 Salute Team dogs memorialized.

“I am beyond honored to be chosen as the sculptor for this important memorial project,” Martin said.

When Martin first attended K, she aspired to be a painter, until an art professor, the late Marcia Wood 55, encouraged her to take a sculpting class.

“I was intimidated, to be honest, but she pushed me out of my comfort zone,” Martin said. “Once I got my hands in clay, I never looked back.”

After graduating, Martin desired more training in anatomy to enhance her skills in sculpting life forms. She studied for three years at the Center for Creatives Studies in Detroit before she earned her master’s degree at the Pratt Institute in New York.

That training led to sculpting characters and figures that were later cast and used for magazine illustrations or put into production in the toy industry. She was also contracted by a studio to be one of the people sculpting portraits of the U.S. Constitution signers for the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Later, as she owned dogs, they were natural subjects for new sculptures. First was a lean and muscular boxer; years later there was a French mastiff, which Martin described as a dream breed.

“Being in New York City, this huge, red, wrinkly puppy became a celebrity in his own right,” Martin said. “I made a lot of good friends through him.”

When her mastiff died unexpectedly after five and a half years, sculpting him was part of Martin’s grieving process. When she posted the end result on Facebook, friends and their acquaintances took notice. That garnered Martin attention on social media that allowed her to earn more commissions before connecting with Julie Fentner, who was Kaiser’s handler, and earning the job of sculpting Kaiser.

“It’s exciting,” Martin said. “This is the first outdoor monument sculpture that I’ve taken on all by myself. I’m not only creating the original artwork, but doing the molding and casting. This is not just me doing a piece to please one person. I want to honor all the canine officers, military dogs and service dogs under that whole umbrella. I want this to inspire a lot of people.”

The nonprofit Michigan War Dog Memorial so far has raised about $5,000 toward a $20,0000 goal to fund Martin’s project. Those interested in making donations toward the sculpture are invited to do so through Facebook or GoFundMe. If all goes well, Martin hopes to start the project in October and finish it around mid-2021.

“For the last six and a half years, Kaiser has brought joy and happiness doing therapy with veterans, seniors, mentally challenged adults, fire departments, police departments, rehabilitation centers, a few human funerals and many other places, as do many of the other MWDM K9 Salute Team member dogs,” Fentner said. “His ability to bring happiness to others knew no bounds. I am so honored that my boy Kaiser is going to represent the MWDM K9 Salute Team dogs and be memorialized himself.”