Gracie The Therapy Dog

Gracie walks the halls of Lewis Cass as if she owns them. Head held high, she makes her way from one student to another, often cutting a path to a teacher before making her way back to the open hallway.

This is her first year at the school. Even though she can be bashful, for the most part, Gracie is very outgoing.

She has to be. Being confident around people is what makes her so great at her “job.”

At only 1½ years old, Gracie is by far the youngest in attendance at Lewis Cass. Yet, her responsibility is one of the most important – Gracie works as a therapy dog, providing comfort and care for students, especially those who need emotional support.

“We don’t have a mental health program, so I thought Gracie would be a way to help students,” said Gracie’s owner, Jenny Hines, who has served for eight years as the school’s junior-high counselor.

A few years ago, Hines had a puppy that was hit by a car. From that moment, she wasn’t positive that she would ever want a dog, again. However, falling in love with a friend’s mini labradoodle led her to Gracie, a mini goldendoodle.

But, it wasn’t until Hines noticed Gracie’s demeanor with others that she believed her dog would make a good therapy agent. At one of her family’s sporting events, Hines said Gracie wandered away and made friends with an individual who had Down syndrome. Gracie sprawled out next to the person, and the two formed an instant bond.

So, at 6 months, Gracie began taking basic obedience classes and then progressed to therapy training.

“Temperament is very important. She has to understand basic commands and listen very well,” Hines explained to a group of high school students during their Animal Science class Friday. “In fact, she probably listens better than any of my kids.”

Laughing at that comment, the noise jostled Gracie into motion. Meandering her way under desks and rubbing against legs, students were overjoyed when Gracie began visiting them. At the same time, Hines explained the process of training a dog, even inviting ninth-grade student, Maggie Taylor, to issue commands such as “lie down,” “sit,” and “stay.”

After obeying each instruction, Taylor rewarded Gracie with a “good girl” and a head rub.

Hines said petting a dog after a command is valuable because “the pet should be rewarded for behavior.” It helps reinforce technique. For example, she said, “you want to make sure the dog will ‘heel,’ which is making sure she stays close … she is good about staying close to someone in a wheelchair. You don’t want her to jump on people at random.”

Instead, Hines showed the class how to encourage Gracie to jump on them if that would be something they wanted. Almost everyone volunteered to try that command. Laughing at the show of excitement, Heather Smith, teacher of the Animal Science class, said this was the perfect ending to the session the class recently completed on service animals.

“They bring such joy to people,” Hines said of therapy dogs. “I have a neighbor who lost her [loved one] and Gracie goes to visit. She gets rocked.

“A dog has no expectation,” she said. “She just wants you to love her.”

And, it’s that lack of expectation students find helpful during counseling sessions. They don’t have to worry about what a parent, a friend or a teacher thinks, explained Hines. Instead, it’s simply the student with a dog. There’s nothing but friendship, fun and love.

Plus, “if you have an overwhelming day, the dog helps calm you down,” said ninth-grader Kaden Benner.

Emme Grisez, 10th grade, agreed, asking if it would be possible for students to bring service dogs to school.

While Hines thinks surrounding a person with animals sounds like a fun idea, there are requirements in place to have service or therapy dogs in the classroom, she said.

And, said Smith, having a dog in one class might work well, but it might be distracting in others.

Regardless of the situation, though, students see value in having Gracie, said Hines, adding that the shout-outs, the smiles and the cuddles that the kids give her dog are all testaments to that. Even though Gracie helps people in various situations, Hines said that “she doesn’t do anything miraculous.”

For those students who need emotional or mental health support, though, Gracie might just be the miracle they need.

Animal Hero Awards

From giving us a reason to go out, to providing cuddles that eased the pain of isolation, pets were a lifesaver for millions of us during months of lockdown.

And to celebrate their incredible impact Helen Glover and Steve Backshall are back to lead our hunt for nominees for this year’s Mirror Animal Hero Awards.

As well as pets, rower Helen and wildlife TV host husband Steve also want to hear tales of animal-lovers who deserve to be honoured.

Steve said: “Lockdown was tough, but one thing is certain – having made it just a bit easier.

“All the things animals give you – unconditional love, companionship, emotional support, or just an excuse to get some exercise, have been more important than ever.

“We can’t wait to hear about the animals that helped people get through this incredibly hard time.”

The couple hosted last year’s award ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House, but there will be no red carpet ceremony this year.

Yet Helen insisted: “The most important thing about the Animal Heroes is the same – shining a spotlight on animals and people who make the world a better place.”

We are searching for the most inspiring and uplifting stories of heroism in the animal kingdom.

Whether it’s a dog or cat who has battled back from neglect, a caring animal who transformed someone’s life, or a simply a loyal companion, we want to hear about them.

The awards, with our friends at pet food firm Webbox and our charity partner Battersea, also honour people who are dedicated to making life better for animals.

Last year’s winners included schoolgirl pals Sophie Smith and Kyra Barboutis, who set up a hospital for hundreds of hedgehogs, and Eduardo Goncalves, leader of the fight to ban trophy hunting.

Four-legged stars on the night included Battersea rescue pooch Fleur, who survived horrific abuse to become a therapy dog.

Tony Raeburn, CEO of Webbox, said: “The strange times this year have highlighted the special bond people have with their pets, which makes it such an important year to share these amazing stories.”

Doggie Bath Business

Ireland’s first self-service dog wash salon has opened in Derry, so owners can wash their mucky pooches without ruining their bathrooms.

Bark ‘n’ Baths in the Springtown Industrial Estate has four dog washing stations equipped with a professional shower and dryer and specially formulated sham- poos and conditioners.

Co-owner Garaidh Tomas Griffiths said the idea came about after many dog owners had to start washing their own pets during lockdown.

“All the dog groomers had to close but they were sharing videos online to show people how to wash and brush their dog’s coat themselves,” said Mr Griffiths.”

People had no choice but to do it for themselves, but they were bent over their bath and giving themselves a bad back.

“Then they had to chase a wet dog around the house to try and dry them before they got that wet dog smell and after all that they had to spend another half an hour cleaning their bath so it could be used by the rest of the family again.”

Mr Griffiths, who also owns the Canine Lodge doggie day care, hit on the idea of opening a self service dog washing salon.

“After lockdown people are looking to save as much money as possible and we are able to offer people the chance to wash their dog from as little as £7.”

“It’s great for people who have taken their dog to the beach or a country park and want to give them a quick wash and get rid of any sand or muck.

“Every station at Barks ‘n’ Baths is set up with an industrial shower and dryer, highly absorbent towels, and PH balanced dog shampoo and conditioner and  disposable aprons and gloves.

“A dog’s PH level is different to a human so using the wrong product can affect their skin, coat and overall health,” said Mr Griffiths

“If we can help someone maintain their dog’s health we are happy to do it.”

A 20 minute session will cost £7 and the price goes up from there to £10 for 30 minutes, £15 for 45 minutes and £20 for an hour which would be long enough to wash and dry a big dog with long hair.

“There is also a private bay for dogs that may be anxious or anti-social.

“The private bay is partitioned off and has its own entrance so it is perfect for dogs that are nervous or aggressive around other dogs or people,” added Mr Griffiths.

“We have had people come to us who have been told their dog isn’t suitable to go to a groomer, so they are delighted this service is here.”

Bark ‘n’ Baths is located at Site 8, Unit 6 in the Springtown Industrial Estate close to Cable & Accessories.

Hero Dog Kuno

During a raid, the Belgian Malinois named Kuno tackled a gunman and was hit by bullets in both back legs.

After losing one of his paws as a result, he became the first UK military dog to get custom-made prosthetics.

The four-year-old will receive the Dickin Medal from vet charity the PDSA.

Now retired and rehomed, Kuno – who was trained to detect explosives, weapons and incapacitate enemies – will be awarded the medal for valour at a virtual ceremony in November.

Kuno and his handler had been deployed to support elite Special Boat Service (SBS) forces during a night raid targeting al-Qaeda extremists in Afghanistan last year when they came under attack.

The forces, pinned down by grenade and machine-gun fire from an insurgent, were unable to advance.

Kuno was sent in to break the deadlock. Without hesitation, he charged through a hail of bullets while wearing night vision goggles to tackle the gunman, wrestling him to the ground and halting his attack.

Kuno ultimately changed the course of the mission and helped the forces successfully complete it.

But during the assault he was shot in both his hind legs and was treated by his handler and medics in a back of a helicopter as they made their way to safety.

He suffered severe injuries – including a bullet narrowly missing a main artery – and needed several life-saving operations before he could be flown back to the UK for further treatment.

Vets had to amputate part of one of his rear paws to prevent a life-threatening infection taking hold.

After returning to the UK on an RAF plane, he underwent extensive reconstructive surgery.

Just like injured soldiers, Kuno began a lengthy rehabilitation programme to restore function to his nerves and muscles, and is said to have particularly enjoyed his sessions on the hydrotherapy treadmill.

Within months, he was fitted with a custom-made prosthesis to replace his missing paw and an orthotic brace to help his injured limb.

Kuno, who was on his second deployment when he was injured, is the first UK military dog to be fitted with such devices, which allow him to run and jump unencumbered – giving him many more happy years in retirement.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “Without Kuno, the course of this operation could have been very different, and it’s clear he saved the lives of British personnel that day.

“This particular raid was one of the most significant achievements against al Qaeda in several years.

“Kuno’s story reminds us not only of the dedicated service of our soldiers and military dogs, but also the great care that the UK Armed Forces provide to the animals that serve alongside them.”

PDSA director general Jan McLoughlin said Kuno’s “bravery and devotion to duty” made him a “thoroughly deserving” recipient of the Dickin Medal.

The prestigious award was first introduced by the charity’s founder, Maria Dickin CBE, in 1943. It is the highest award any animal can achieve while serving in military conflict.

Training Guide Dogs

The Guide Dogs Association is the first NGO in Turkey that helps the visually impaired by providing them trained dogs, who in turn help them navigate their way.

These special pets are free of charge for applicants with more than 90 percent visual loss.

Established in 2014, with the leadership of Maggie Moore, the wife of the then UK ambassador and lawyer, Nurdeniz Tuncer, the association is a member of the European Guide Dog Federation (EGDF) and a candidate for the International Guide Dog Federation.

There are only five guide dogs in Turkey, and they have each been trained and brought up to be a companion for the visually impaired. All their expenses, such as food and veterinary care, are taken care of by the Guide Dogs Association (Rehber Kopekler Dernegi). The number will one day be added to, not least because currently, more dogs are undergoing the necessary and unique training.

The President of the Guide Dogs Association, lawyer Nurdeniz Tuncer, lives a less complicated and less impaired life thanks to Kara, Turkey’s first guide dog, whom she calls “my two eyes” and “my best friend”.

Kara, a purebred female Labrador, was born on May 21, 2015 in Istanbul. She had a year of training with a foster family in Ankara, then received further education from Alan Brooks in England for twelve weeks so that she could successfully go on to deftly guide the visually impaired in any kind of environment.

After this long and arduous education, Kara became a guide dog who could assist those with little sight in all scenarios, allowing them safe and independent movement, and help them carry out their daily tasks.

The first licenced guide dog in Turkey, Kara knows and understands the English and Turkish languages and is President Nurdeniz Tuncer’s dog. She calmly accompanies Tuncer to concerts, exhibitions, theatre productions and similar cultural, artistic and social events. She travels, the NGO materials say, comfortably and without any problems from mass transit to airplanes. During busy meeting schedules, she likes to lie down under her owner’s feet. In her free time, she likes to run, play, be petted, be brushed, sleep, and snore. She loves social activities but is a bit shy when being photographed.  Kara has been commemorated by the Turkish Postal Service (PTT), who placed her on a stamp in March 2020. The commemorative envelopes were typed with the Braille alphabet and were added to the collection within Ankara’s PTT Stamp Museum. This marks the first time guide dogs were officially recognised with a commemorative stamp in Turkey. The Guide Dogs Association in Turkey has prepared the Guide Dog Accessibility proposal for the Turkish assembly (TBMM). This law would allow guide dogs and their owners to easily walk around in social spaces and enter public and private institutions. If this law passes, the visually impaired will have more mobility, assisted by guide dogs, on many levels – from using public transport to enjoying public spaces. The law would also allow veterans with special needs to take advantage of all a guide dog can offer, and will facilitate the establishment of a school in which to raise and train these unique animals of service.

Nacho, a golden retriever born in May 2019, has been living with the Beydagi family since she was three months old. She has been with them for the past eighteen months, receiving basic training and socialising skills. After that, she will begin her twelve-week training to become a guide dog for the visually impaired. “It takes time and patience,” says Ece Beydagi, about raising a dog from being a puppy, especially one selected to become a guide dog. “She has made great strides, and now understands basic commands like sit, stay, wait, and the like.”

Beydagi says these special animals are usually golden retrievers and labradors, breeds that take well to training. If they are for some reason deemed unfit for being a guide dog, they make a ‘career change’ and become service dogs, where they are paired with differently-abled people (such as people on the autism spectrum) or become animals that help with therapy (visiting nursing homes, for example).

Nacho will now be going from the Beydagi home to her trainers. There, they will teach her how to be a responsible guide dog. “There are other dogs, who are also being raised to be guide dogs, in Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara,” Beydagi says.

Overall, Ece Beydagi and her family have had a positive experience as a foster family. “We’ve already put in our application to be a foster family again,” she says, “if the association can find us a puppy once more.”

Companion Dogs For Veterans

Chappie Gets New Friends

Our service-dog-in-training “Chappie” is back in our studio for the first time since March. He’s been training strictly at home except for a routine vet checkup.

Right before the COVID-19 shut down orders were issued, Chappie and I were invited to meet students at a Mothers-Day-Out Program and shot this story.

That’s why you will see the little ones close to each other and not wearing masks in the video.

Our new friends asked to see a few of Chappie’s twenty-five commands. By November he’ll know thirty before he goes to advanced training or “puppy college” in Orlando at the Canine Companions for Independence Southeast campus..

Chappie adores children and was in Labrador Heaven with a ton of gentle little hands giving him lots of love and attention. Five year old Luke tried to buy Chappie for ten bucks. He grinned, “Like I could be the boss of Chappie.”

Luke said he would teach Chappie to play Lego Batman, to fetch juice boxes and help with his baby sister. Luke suggested, “Maybe Chappie could give her a bottle and maybe Chappie could give her her pacis and stuff.”

The man with such good plans turned the tables and soon I was the one getting grilled. He asked me, “Does he ever take your food?” I explained that Chappie is only allowed to eat his special dog food because people food would give him a tummy ache.

I somehow wrestled control back and asked Luke what he does when he sees dogs wearing vests in public. He was quick to share that he always advises his parents and other shoppers to “not touch.” Luke continued, “Because they’re work dogs and have to work super hard and can’t touch ’em cause their mom and dad won’t want you to cause they’re busy doing their work.”

As Chappie and I have roamed far and wide, I’ve noticed many times it’s children cautioning adults to “look, and not touch”.

It always impresses me. But when allowed after the program, the kiddos and Chappie alike couldn’t get enough cuddles.

Before we left, a smitten three year old Emiliana also tried to buy our puppy. She offered up just half of what Luke did, showing me five fingers and said, “Five.”

I asked her, “Five dollars, do you have five dollars?” She shook her head and I shared that I didn’t either.

She assured me that she did have a lot of pennies in her penny bank. I had to share with Luke and Emililiana that Chappie just isn’t for sale, now or ever. He will be given, free of charge to his future partner and forever person.

Future Service Dogs

Yonder, 11 weeks old and 15 pounds, had two choices. In a white-walled room at Duke University, the wiggly Labrador mix faced a neon green squeaky squid toy and an upturned bowl topped with a piece of kibble. “OK!” a researcher said perkily, and the puppy didn’t hesitate — she scurried straight toward the treat. Yonder was bred for an exceptionally difficult job: to become a service dog for a human who needs her — by alerting to a doorbell or pulling a wheelchair while remaining composed and quiet, in crowds or on trails, and never chasing squirrels. Whether she’s capable was being gleaned in this room, with tests aimed at measuring her problem-solving, self-control and communications with people.

That was the hope, at least, for Yonder and her six furry cohorts. Early this year, they were the newest subjects of a $1.6 million study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, to help untangle a question long asked by breeders and trainers and now increasingly scrutinized by scientists: What makes a successful service dog — and can it be predicted in a puppy as young as Yonder?

At stake are a lot of money and a lot of dogs. Our expanding understanding of canines’ unique skills has fueled interest in service dogs among people with disabilities and the military, but it has also spawned scammers and years-long wait-lists. Although large organizations have honed the use of breeding and training to produce calm and obedient dogs, only about 50% make the cut. By that time, nearly two years and as much as $50,000 have been spent on one dog.

That is where another booming field — canine science — is coming in. Over two decades, the study of dog minds, genetics and behavior has given rise to laboratories at universities around the world. And in service dog organizations, with their controlled breeding and noble missions, canine researchers see ideal study populations.

“We’re trying to understand the dog side of the leash and how we get more dogs helping more people,” said Brian Hare, an evolutionary anthropologist who is co-director of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, which is studying puppies bred by the California-based Canine Companions for Independence (CCI).

Some discoveries have already been made. Hare and a colleague found that successful service dogs more often make eye contact with a person when facing an unsolvable task and use inferential reasoning to find a hidden reward. Another study concluded that puppies with “helicopter moms” are more likely to fail as guide dogs, while young dogs that quickly solve a multistep problem are more likely to succeed. A neuroscientist who scanned the brains of service dog candidates found that washouts had higher activity in the area associated with excitability.

Other revelations are farther off, but potentially revolutionary. One canine geneticist is collecting thousands of DNA samples in a bid to pinpoint the genetic markers of star service and working dogs.

“It’s huge, huge,” Brenda Kennedy, CCI’s director of canine health and research, said of the impact the research could have on a donor-funded group like hers, which provides dogs at no cost. “It really comes down to numbers. Every time we increase the percentage of dogs that succeed in our program, the more we’re going to be able to have an impact.”

That is why Yonder and her peers — Arthur, Aurora, Westley, Wisdom, Zindel and Zola — were enrolled in a sort of boarding school for future service dogs on the campus of one of the nation’s elite universities. Duke calls it “puppy kindergarten.”

Pups that make it will become one of the five kinds of service dogs CCI provides, which include hearing dogs and assistance dogs for veterans with PTSD. Washouts might be “released” to another organization for a different job, but often they become pets.

In March, the spread of the novel coronavirus forced Duke to close, and Yonder’s cohorts were sent to live in private homes. But the research has continued with puppies being raised off-campus, and Hare said he expects the kindergarten to resume at the university in 2021.

In normal times, this is how it works: A new group of puppies arrives each semester and bunks, for 12 weeks, in the brick biological sciences building home to the Canine Cognition Center or in dorms with students. During the day, all romp together around a linoleum-floored room that amounts to a puppy daycare, with plush dog beds, soft lighting, birch tree decals on a wall and a white noise machine playing forest sounds. Outdoors is an artificial turf play area, where the sight of tussling puppies regularly stops passersby in their tracks.

The puppies are cared for and cuddled by student volunteers, who were, unsurprisingly, eager to help. (About 600 — one-tenth of the undergraduate student body — responded to a call but were winnowed down to 150 after being required to take a five-hour online course about dog cognition and attending a meeting, Hare said.) The pups face 14 cognitive tests every two weeks from the time they are 8 weeks to 20 weeks old, the most rapid period of brain development. At 16 weeks, Hare said, their brains are the equivalent of a 6-year-old child’s.

Hare has been working with CCI for about a decade, since, he said, he was shocked to learn at a conference that behaviorism — the idea that a person or animal’s behavior can be explained or altered by conditioning — was still canon among dog trainers. He and other canine scientists had known since the 1990s that dogs have different individual cognitive abilities.

Sitting in his office down the hall from the puppy daycare in February, Hare described a test his laboratory gives to gauge a dog’s tendency to rely on its memory or a human’s gesture: A person hides a reward under a box as a dog watches. Then the human points to a second box, and the dog makes its choice.

“There is no right answer. And what you find is some dogs really rely on their memory, and they completely ignore you, and other dogs really listen to you. So it’s not one dog is smarter than the other,” Hare said. When testing service dog candidates, he added: “Our challenge now is even more specific, which is, can we figure out which outcome is best for you, given your cognitive profile?”

Hare said he and other scientists have already found, for a study not yet published, that puppies’ performance on some tests at 10 weeks mirrors how they do at 18 weeks. The Duke project aims to get even greater “resolution” on when these skills develop, Hare said, and how early they predict later success.

Innate skills are not everything. To an unknown degree, environment matters, too, and another side of puppy kindergarten is a socialization experiment. Might an increased social environment in these formative weeks provide a sort of “head start,” as Hare puts it?

Before starting training at 18 months, most service dogs are raised in homes by individual or family “puppy raisers.” The Duke puppies are being raised around one another and a stream of humans. Any student can visit the nursery and cavort with puppies, and 4,000 did so last fall. The puppies visit pediatric patients at Duke University Hospital. Medical students perform exams on the pups, as practice for interacting with nonverbal young children.

“When we see him starting to get frustrated, we can just re-engage him,” Margaret Gruen, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, said as she held Zindel, a yellow Lab, on an exam table in the Duke cognition lab. Next to Gruen, who is co-directing the research at Duke, medical student Laura Noteware gently felt for Zindel’s lymph nodes.

“Good boy! Good job! Lovely lymph nodes,” Noteware said. Zindel, sitting calmly for the prodding, eagerly gobbled a treat. Service dog providers have long used behavior and temperament tests — to measure fearfulness, say, or aggression — during puppyhood and training. But there has been little large-scale data collection or consistency, researchers say. “There are programs that change their policies with the wind — this year it’s Test A, and this year it’s Test B,” said Evan MacLean, who directs the canine cognition center at the University of Arizona and frequently collaborates with Hare. He said he’s optimistic the wave of research will boost providers’ success rates, but he warned that it will take time. Some providers that breed puppies also use genetics, analyzing pedigrees to estimate the likelihood that a breeding pair will pass along certain traits, such as hip dysplasia or fear of thunder. By collecting this information over three decades, the New York-based Guiding Eyes for the Blind, which provides seeing-eye dogs, has raised its success rate from about 20% of puppies born to nearly 40%, said Jane Russenberger, its senior director for breeding and genetics. (Dogs’ most common reason for failure, she said, is not being able to bounce back into work mode after something alarming occurs.) But each year, about 170 puppies graduate from the program, and about 400 applications for dogs come in, she said. Its wait list is about 150 people long. That is why Guiding Eyes is now working with Elinor Karlsson, a geneticist at the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. Karlsson studies the genetics of dog behavior, and she sees working dogs — a group that includes service dogs and those that do jobs like drug detection — as key subjects, because they are mostly selected for behavior, not looks. By sequencing working dogs’ DNA, she hopes to discover patterns that correlate with success. She figures she needs samples from 10,000 dogs to make this work; she has about 1,600.

“If you had a predictive test that would be able to tell you whether a dog is likely to be successful, you could do that as a puppy and decide whether you want to invest the resources,” or even test shelter dogs, Karlsson said.

Russenberger’s bar is lower. Her hope is that Karlsson’s work will help Guiding Eyes hone its selection of breeding dogs, leading to higher graduation rates.

“I’m not out to breed couch potatoes, even though they’re lovely pets. It’s really that we want as many guide dogs as possible,” she said. “Just think of the years of savings by being able to serve more people who are blind and visually impaired.”

Back at Duke’s test room in February, Anya, a 7-month-old giant compared with little Yonder, spilled over the black floor mat. The Labrador-golden retriever mix was a member of the puppy kindergarten’s fall cohort. She then lived off-campus with a puppy raiser, but the lab was still following her progress.

Ahead of her was a transparent tube covered in an opaque sheath, open at both ends, with a treat inside. In this warm-up portion of the test, she was figuring out how to get it. Next, research coordinator Kara Moore removed the sheath, and Anya watched as Moore placed a treat inside.

What Anya did next would be a measure of her inhibitory control, known as an “executive function.” Would she ignore her impulse to go straight for the treat, which she could now see, or use the information she already had and detour to the end of the tube?

Hare and others have done this test on many species. Lemurs, Moore said, “just cannot do it at all,” and bump into the tube repeatedly. Detection dogs Hare and MacLean tested did poorly, perhaps because their search tasks require a go-get-it lack of inhibition, Hare surmised. But successful CCI dogs did well.

Anya chose the detour. She was still many months away from starting service dog training, but on this small measure, she performed like a pro.

Retired Guide Dogs

At the Shanghai Guide Dog School in Pudong New Area, Zhang Wenbo, 30, gently pats Ta Zhang, a 14-year-old guide dog, and takes him for a short walk.

After many years of faithful service, two aging guide dogs who have been waiting four years for warm-hearted owners to take care of them in their twilight years finally have a home.

The life span of Labradors is about 14 to 15 years, affecting the decision of adoption for most.

“I have a very complicated feeling,” Zhang told Shanghai Daily at the school in Lingang area. “I am very excited and happy to adopt Ta Zhang, but I am very frightened when thinking of his approaching departure given his age.”

Fang Yun (female) and Ta Zhang (male) are both 14-year-old Labradors, and both have assisted visually impaired people for almost a decade. Since their retirement, they had been waiting nearly four years for someone to adopt them.

They were among the first batch of guide dogs which started service in Shanghai back in 2008. Some of these dogs remain with their service persons; others have died. Only Fang Yun and Ta Zhang were without homes.

Adoption agreements were signed on Sunday at the school. “It is very different from raising a pet and I struggled psychologically for a long time over the adoption decision because I know I am the person to accompany him to spend the last moment of his life,” said Zhang.

“It will be hard to say goodbye when we have a very deep bond,” he added. Zhang rescues a number of stray dogs.

“Company is the most important thing for Ta Zhang, and he appreciates it when I touch him,” he said. “Other pet dogs and cats have a lot of attention and care, which are taken for granted, but guide dogs like Ta Zhang devote most of their life to humans, and nobody cares for them after they retire. It is a pity.

“I was in tears when I learnt he needed adopting and saw his photos. “I feel very sad because they deserve love and care and they should not be forgotten after loyally fulfilling their duties.” Zhang is starting up his own business in advertising in Ningbo City, neighboring Zhejiang Province. He said he has a flexible schedule. “I will take Ta Zhang to my work place and accompany him 24 hours,” he said. The working studio also has a garden for Ta Zhang.

“As a work dog, Ta Zhang is not as vigorous and active as pet dogs and he tends to be quieter,” he said.

“I will give him care and love in the last period of his life and makes him happy.”

Fang Yun has been adopted by 33-year-old Shanghai resident Alex Liao. It was his second visit to the school.

“When I read the adoption news, it touched my heart,” Liao recalled.

“Fang Yun served people most of her life, now, I want to give her a family and makes her happy and enjoy her final days.”

Liao said he was moved by the life of guide dogs.

“l know she will have many problems as an aging dog and her remaining days are counting down, but I am fully prepared for anything as the adoption decision was not made out of impulse,” he said.

“I will treat Fang Yun like a family member.”

Liao said he would take Fang Yun to work in Baoshan District.

“Our company colleagues love dogs as well and Fang Yun needs company all the time,” he said.

At night, Liao said he will take Fang Yun back home.

“I am a very sensitive person and I think I will cry when she departs, but it will not affect my decision to adopt,” said Liao.

“I am more determined when seeing Fang Yun and I will take good care of her.

“Fang Yun has a very mild temper and she can not walk fast like young dogs due to aging. I will hold her when climbing stairs and take her for a short outings on weekends if her health permits.”

Zhu Jun, a guide dog training teacher at the school, had mixed feelings about the adoptions.

He has cared for the two dogs for two years, nicknaming Ta Zhang “old grandpa Ta Zhang.”

“It is a departure for me and I am sad,” he said. “But I am happy they will have a warm home at the same time. The adopters have a good family environment and a strong sense of responsibility. They will care for Ta Zhang and Fang Yun from the heart, which made me relieved.

“I told them the eating habits and schedules of the duo in detail and we will keep contact with them over the remainder of their lives in their new homes.”

He said the school had received many gifts from warm hearted people for Fang Yun and Ta Zhang, including food, beds and other products.

The owners of Fang Yun and Ta Zhang could not accommodate them after they retired. Their days at the school were mostly spent resting.

Fang Yun served a visually impaired person for eight years until he started moving slower when clambering up stairs and became short of breath when walking. With these health problems, he was taken out of service.

Ta Zhang was also retired due to age and poor health. Most retired guide dogs are either fostered by their service persons, adopted by the families who assist in their training, or return to training centers for adoption, said Zhu.

There are currently 37 guide dogs in service in Shanghai, and there are dogs retiring every year. Guide dogs serve as “eyes” for the blind. About 45 days after birth at training bases, they are placed with families who acclimatize them to domestic life and interaction with humans. When they are 1 year old, they return to training centers, where they receive four to six months of professional training. They need to pass a series of exams before they are allowed to start work. Eight guide dogs are being trained at the school at present.

Autism Companion Dog

In May, Good Dog! Autism Companions expanded services to help more children and families – they are now providing programs for autism and other related disabilities – and they are now doing business as Good Dog! Service Canines.

In an emotional and unique graduation ceremony, four families with special needs children received service dogs trained and placed by Good Dog! Service Canines Friday, Aug. 14. The graduates are the first to don the new name and logo on their service vests.

The celebration was restricted to graduating families and members of the Good Dog! staff due to the social mandate restrictions. Good Dog! was also able to share the event online with friends, families, donors and volunteers via Zoom. The rebrand was the first step in the organization’s plan to serve more of those in need. The plan is to one day have a facility in Fallbrook where team trainings can be held; but primarily be a location where persons with disabilities can help train dogs while learning about the canine/human bond. The graduation was the culmination of a two-year process that starts with Good Dog! identifying pups that have the intelligence, compassion and energy for service work. The pups are trained to respond to over 50 commands, After about 16 months, they are carefully matched with their forever families. In the final week leading up to graduation, a parent from each family is required to attend Good Dog! Team Training Week. The students learn approximately 10 commands per day of team training. The commands lists are taped to the wall after each lesson so they can be viewed by the students. In this graduate class, four mothers were taught everything they need to know to be the dog’s leader and handler. Helping fund this year’s Team Training Week for Good Dog! was the Elizabeth Wilson Endowment of the Legacy Endowment.