Pet Taxi
Last February, Tracey Eaton left her job in the civil service after 15 years to start Maccy G Pets, a dog walking and pet sitting service, which covers Norwich and nearby surrounding villages.
The animal lover could not have dreamt her first year would go so well, but as the pandemic hit she saw months of bookings cancelled and received no government support.
Her wedding to her childhood sweetheart Lea McGowen, which was due to take place at Norwich Castle in April, was also postponed.
With a reduced income, she invested in a van to start up a pet taxi service which can transport pets and their owners “anywhere they need to go”.
Miss Eaton, of Carrow Hill, said: “We had a fantastic first year with lots of regular clients. When the pandemic came nobody was working away from home, no-one was going on holiday.
“All of my bookings when the pandemic started right until the end of September were cancelled. “We decided to use the time and used our savings to buy a van and develop it as a pet taxi.
“We can take you and your pet to vet appointments, to drop off at boarding kennels/catteries or anywhere else you’d like to travel with your pet in safety… I love meeting people and I love meeting dogs and cats.”
The van has been equipped with a large crate and has water, a full pet first aid kit and air conditioning aboard. After each trip, the van is sanitised and bedding removed.
The taxi will sit alongside her current dog walking and pet sitting services which have been adapted to be more Covid-secure.
When dog walking, Miss Eaton will arrive to pick up or return dogs from clients’ gardens, using her own leads and personal protective equipment.
Miss Eaton said despite the challenges she has faced she has felt “valued” as clients continued to use her dog walking services even when working from home.
She said: “We want it to be really personal. What I wanted to create is the service that I would want from a pet sitter or taxi. I adore my animals.”
The couple have a bundle of four legged friends themselves, with dogs Teddy, six, Sam, 10, and one-year-old Summer and cats Artie, Belle and Henry.
Therapy Dogs Can’t Wait To Work
Many have been out of work during the pandemic.
That includes Dolly the Goldendoodle, who hails from Fort Dodge.
“She definitely misses work,” said Liana Sears, Dolly’s Trainer. “She was so depressed.”
Dr. Mary Burch, therapy dog director for the American Kennel Club, says the depression that dogs like Dolly are feeling is real.
“Behaviorally, we might describe that as the loss of a reinforcer, which is something pleasing to us,” said Dr. Burch.
Therapy dogs get accustomed to providing therapy service, such as going on a car ride or providing patients with comfort, according to Burch.
“What happens is they miss the activity and they get depressed.”
Burch says the American Kennel Club is encouraging volunteers to go virtual. Many volunteers are doing Skype sessions with their dogs to connect with patients, or even sending cards to them from the puppy, to show the patients that they are still cared for.
Dolly in particular has a very special story.
Jane Hambelton, of Fort Dodge, got Dolly the puppy when she was only 12 weeks old.
“My husband wanted a big dog, and so we decided on a Goldendoodle,” said Hambelton. “And we got Dolly.”
But just three weeks later, Jane’s husband Mark suddenly passed away.
“So I had this big puppy that I didn’t know what I was going to do with, but I was in love with her already and I didn’t want to get rid of her,” said Hambelton. “I don’t know how I put one foot in front of the other.”
But Jane said it was her faith, and her newfound friendship with Dolly and a new trainer she met, Liana Sears, that got her through.
“Jane and I became best friends,” said Sears. “We just had a great bond of friendship with this little one we raised together.” Together, Sears and Hambelton worked to get Dolly trained and registered as a therapy dog. Now, the three of them are inseparable.
Talking To Your Dog
Dogs are known as humans’ best friends, but it’s not like you can talk to them. Well, what if you could? Christina Hunger, a speech language pathologist based in San Diego, says it’s possible.
“A lot of my friends thought I was crazy,” Hunger says. “When I was trying this for weeks, they would come over and they would see me modeling these words and they’re like, ‘Has anyone done this?’”
Hunger uses different kinds of talking keyboards with her clients. These augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) boards feature a series of buttons. Each button corresponds with a word, and can be represented with a label or image. When you press the button for something like “water,” you hear the word water. So Hunger started looking for one, but for her dog, Stella.
“It just seemed so obvious to me. So I researched dog AAC, using speech therapy with dogs-style communication devices,” Hunger says. “And I was actually really surprised when I could not find anything that I was picturing. And I saw these buttons that Learning Resources make pop right up on my screen.”
She ordered the buttons, placed the first one on the floor of her house near the front door, and recorded herself saying “outside” on it. When the button was pushed, it played Hunger’s voice. She pressed the button with her foot each time she took Stella outside.
Throughout the first few weeks, Stella stood near the buttons and looked up at Hunger. Then she started barking and swatting at the buttons. After about three weeks, Stella pressed the “outside” button on her own.
The day after she said “outside,” she said “play,” the button for playing fetch with one of Stella’s balls. The day after she said “play,” she said “water,” which corresponded with her water dish. From that point on, Stella was using the buttons independently. Two years later, she is using 40 different words.
“We’ll talk about where she wants to go, what she wants to do. She notices that something’s different in the routine, and we’ll talk about it,” Hunger says.
Some animal cognition specialists say that Stella isn’t doing anything unique. Alexandra Horowitz is a professor at Barnard College, Columbia University, where she heads the Dog Cognition Lab. She says it’s wonderful that Hunger and Stella have gotten people interested in dog communication, but that Stella isn’t talking. Gadgets that help your dog communicate in human languages aren’t new. Companies started selling what they claimed to be bark translator collars almost 10 years ago. Horowitz says these things aren’t exactly scientific, but they can be helpful when making sense of your dog’s communication cues.
“It’s not like a translator of the dog’s brain or inner thoughts. … It’s an engagement between a person and dog over a long period of time,” Horowitz says. “I’d rather that we just sort of observe the dog on their own terms and try to see what they’re telling us in in their own language.”
Other researchers are more excited about the possibilities. Leo Trottier has a background in cognitive science and artificial intelligence. He set up a company called CleverPet in 2014 that built a gaming system for dogs so people could get a glimpse into how dogs think.
Then last year, he saw something that completely changed how he was looking at his work: Christina Hunger and her dog, Stella. He developed a set of recordable AAC buttons specifically for dogs. They’re mounted on a hexagonal piece of plywood with velcro.
To test his board, he contacted other people who were using AAC with their dogs. That’s how he found Alexis Devine and her sheepadoodle, Bunny. Devine is a Washington artist who saw Hunger’s videos, and decided she would start using the board with her puppy. Now they’re up to 26 words.
“I feel like once a day, Bunny will do something that just sort of blows my mind to the point where like, okay, let’s keep going. Let’s see what happens next,” Devine says. “She’s learning so quickly. It’s just sort of an amazing process. So we’ll take it as far as we can.”
In March, Trottier created a beta test group for a new AAC board for dogs that he wants to bring to market. Trottier says they’re seeing incredible results as dogs start to master their boards. He says he sold out of his new AAC boards in 11 days. Even though there’s still much more research to be done on dog AAC boards, there always will be a market for these devices because people want to hear their dogs speak to them. Horowitz says that is a good thing: “At minimum, it will get people to be listening to their dogs and caring what they say.”
Enjoy A Group Of Dogs
While golden retrievers Bentley, Riley, Tucker and Sugars splashed in the Wyomissing Creek, their owners cooled down with cold beers.
The canine playmates were part of a friendly group of seven dogs and eight people to enjoy Dogs & Brews at the Reading Public Museum.
The seventh annual event benefited the museum’s educational programs and the Animal Rescue League of Berks County.
“Usually, we do some kind of yearly project with the ARL,” Lindsay Crist, museum director of community development, said. “It’s a good relationship.”
Crist said the annual beer tasting event typically draws 500 to 600 people and their pets, but the number of tickets sold this year was limited to 200 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“This year is definitely a lot smaller,” she said.
Other adjustments included social distancing and mask-wearing while walking on the museum grounds.
The $45 ticket price included one adult drinking ticket and tasting glass.
Tickets for designated drivers were available at a reduced price and included unlimited non-alcoholic beverages.
The event also included musical entertainment by Dave and Amy Lewis of Mo7s, food truck offerings and craft vendors.
Sharliene Bowers and her husband, Tom Rhoads, of Ruscombmanor Township relaxed on a bench outside with their dog, Jaeger, at their feet.
Bowers said she had sampled several beers and planned to try a few more. Rhoads, as designated driver, stuck to soft drinks, while Jaeger quenched his thirst at the canine water stations.
An American Kennel Club champion and certified therapy dog, the friendly German shepherd caught the attention of twin sisters Kenley and Rowan Schmidt, 2, and their brother, Carter, 4.
The children were with their mother, Jessica Schmidt, whose husband, Lucan, is cofounder with Josh Taylor of the Schaylor Brewing Company, Cumru Township, one of 12 microbreweries represented at the event.
Though attendance was limited, Crist said, the number of breweries was about average.
Several yards from the event midway, the retrievers and their owners grouped under popup tents near the creek bank.
The friends, who live throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, met three years ago at a Golden Jubilee at Dewey Beach, Dela., and bonded over their mutual interest in retrievers, said Bonnie Thomas of Allentown, who with her husband, Allan, owns Bentley and Tucker.
This was the second year they attended Dogs & Brews as a group.
“We have a lot of fun together,” Allan Thomas said.
Freedom Service Dogs
As part of our Serving Those Who Serve project, Fox31 News is proud to join forces with the Freedom Service Dogs to help train puppies to be future service dogs to vets in need.
There are currently 80 veterans on the wait list for a new service dog, so there is an increased emphasis on bringing more puppies into the program, but there’s not enough trainers.
Freedom Service Dogs is looking for volunteers to train these puppies in their home for 10 months. If you or someone you know that would be a great volunteer please contact Freedom Service Dogs.
Shadow Brings Happiness
Shadow, a one of a kind therapy dog who has brought joy to many in the Choteau area, has now retired to enjoy his senior years on a ranch near Vaughn.
A Great Pyrenees and Anatolian Shepherd cross who turned 10 on June 24, Shadow made his last community visits on March 11. He visited the Choteau BeeHive, Choteau Activities, Benefis Teton Medical Center Extended Care and the Choteau Elementary School “Kids in Need.”
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, all other visits were abruptly halted to protect the many folks he visited weekly.
Rick Kerr of Choteau, who became his handler, first encountered Shadow during the winter of 2013 volunteering at the Bright Eyes Care and Rehab Center. “He had just been returned for the fourth time from another failed adoption trial,” Kerr said. “His rap sheet included wanderlust, lack of interest in hanging out with goats and being overprotective between family members and visitors.” “Having an animal behavior background, I reasoned that Shadow’s troubled youth involved the lack of understanding his breed,” Kerr said. “I also realized in short order that Shadow had adopted Bright Eyes as his home. His
disposition among multiple care givers and fellow dog residents was one of ease and gentleness. After all, he received two square meals a day at Bright Eyes, had a large fenced area to guard against noisy trucks, motorcycles and farm equipment along Highway 221 — as well as an occasional jogger — plenty of dog friends to watch over, and an array of good-hearted volunteers to give him warm human attention.
Kerr said Shadow’s time at Bright Eyes prepared them for their venture as a therapy team. “I always gave the dogs at Bright Eyes special attention to their individual emotional needs, forming special bonds with each and every one of them,” he said. The bond that formed between Shadow and Kerr was exceptionally strong.
Due to timing, Shadow and Kerr were not able to go through the official training of the American Kennel Club’s, so he decided to wing it and take the test for Shadow’s Canine Good Citizenship (CGC) Certification. “All I knew before we tested was that I thought Shadow would come to me when I needed to call him,” Kerr said. “As I assisted in testing the other dogs at the Choteau Weatherbeater, Shadow was stretched out and sleeping soundly in the back of my 1991 Subaru wagon. I was obviously more nervous than he.”
Kerr said he and Shadow tested last. “To my total amazement, and to make a long story short, Shadow not only came when I called him from across the arena, he aced all 10 tests flawlessly to receive his CGC Certification,” Kerr said. “I felt like a proud dad!”
Through the next seven years, Shadow and Kerr made nearly 14,000 visits to the more challenged, confined and young community members. “We have made many memorable friendships and moments through the years,” he said. The greatest rewards have been measured in thousands of smiles, pets, hugs and compliments for Shadow, “the Gentle Giant.”
Sandy Morris, the business manager at Choteau Activities, was sad to hear Shadow is retiring. She said of course he hasn’t been visiting given the current health concerns but has been a popular visitor in the past. “Several residents looked forward to Shadow’s visits,” she said. “It is good for the residents to interact with such a friendly dog, they don’t often have contact with animals. Shadow has always been so easy going around the residents.” Morris also said that his handler has been so accommodating and easy to work with in scheduling visits and handling Shadow when they did visit.
Benefis Teton Medical Center Extended Care residents Lynn Jennings and Elsie Pelzman both have fond memories of Shadow and have always enjoyed his visits. Jennings said he was nice, fluffy and sweet, and Pelzman said he is a nice dog and very friendly.
Shadow has supported Bright Eyes’ fundraisers by greeting participants, most notably at the Fourth of July bake sales. He has also greeted at the Summer Festival in the Choteau Park and at Bright Eyes fall dinner and dance.
In the spring, Shadow has greeted classes of preschoolers and grade schoolers visiting Bright Eyes.
The following summarizes the priceless value of the “gentle giant” over the years, said Kerr. He has been: Bright Eyes guard dog, comforter to abandoned and surrendered dogs, socializer of new dog residents, blood donor for dogs in need, protector of small dogs from avian predators, classroom inspiration, therapeutic friend of people, young and old, dog friend to cynophobics and Bright Eyes greeter and ambassador.
In 2019, after losing their Great Pyrenees, a breed knowledgeable and caring couple out of Vaughn offered a retirement home/ranch for Shadow. Shadow’s retirement adoption was a “soft” one performed over a month’s time, Kerr said. “He made several visits to his new ranch while still living at Bright Eyes and his new guardians visited him several times at Bright Eyes,” he said.
Shadow and Kerr kept their weekly visiting schedule and that also helped make his transition to the ranch go smoothly. “Living residentially, I could never give Shadow the acreage he needed to live robustly,” Kerr said. “Otherwise, I would have proudly and happily offered him a retirement home in Choteau. Meeting his needs has always been a priority of mine. His age now limits his ranch wanderings to an acceptable range, and he has a few bird dog (setters) friends and a cat buddy.”
Kerr believes he is relatively happy. “I have visited him a few times since the coronavirus halted our weekly visitations,” he said.
Ironically, Kerr said at a time when residents, staff and students would benefit the most from Shadow’s uplifting visits, we had to cease our therapy visits to health concerns with COVID-19. “This was hard on the psyche of the therapy team, which has worked together every week (except during bad weather and muddy paws) since June of 2013,” he said.
The future is always unknown territory, Kerr said, but fingers are crossed for a record timeframe in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. “Shadow and I will try to pick up where we had left off visiting, as long as he is able and willing to jump up into the Subaru wagon,” Kerr said.
Zoo Program Trains Service Dogs
The Memphis Zoo is full of wild animals, but a domesticated one is calling the zoo home for a few months. A Memphis Zoo curator is helping train a dog who will eventually go on to be a service animal.
But like the saying goes, it takes a village. Several people in the Mid-South have been instrumental in raising future service animals.
A group of service dogs visited the Memphis Zoo Friday. It’s not quite the crowd you’re expecting on a summer day at the Memphis Zoo.
Just like the Zoo’s regular visitors, the service dogs in training are interested in the animals, and the animals are very interested in them.
“It benefits both parties because not only is [the dog] getting exposed to a lot, the zoo animals are getting to see an incredibly well-trained service dog,” said Memphis Zoo Curator Courtney Janney.
Janney is training a Golden Retriever named North until November when he’ll go off to service dog school and eventually serve a person with a disability.
For the first year of North’s life, he learned the basics from an unlikely group — inmates from the Hardeman County Correctional Facility.
“We get them in at eight weeks and train them to do their 30 basic commands,” said Hardeman County Correctional Officer Cassie Graham.
Graham heads up the Canine Companion for Independence program in Hardeman County. Inmates there have helped train 23 service dogs since 2017.
After they train the dogs, they go to what are called finishers, like Janney, who introduce the dogs to a home environment.
Clearly North is seeing more than Janney’s home. He also comes to work at the Memphis Zoo with her.
“At work, I have an incredible support system here to go on this adventure with me,” said Janney.
Only a few dogs from Hardeman County go to finishers in West Tennessee. Most are shipped out of state, and Graham hopes more people in the Mid-South are willing to open up their home for a short time to make the dogs the best service animals they can be.
“Whenever we get them out people are very interested,” said Graham. “It’s just getting them out more to let people know about the program we have.”
Pet Therapy Movement
Annette Lumbis and her daughter have both been dedicated to the wellbeing of animals for many, many years. In fact, it was her daughter, Hope, and their pet, Rex, who inspired Lumbis to become a pet therapy volunteer.
Married at 21, Lumbis and her ex-husband moved to Sioux Lookout in northwestern Ontario.
“Because Charles was a geologist,” said Lumbis, “we relocated eight times before settling permanently in Garson 28 years ago.”
Hope, now 35, has been a huge influence on her mother’s commitment to pet therapy.
“Ever since she was seven years old, my daughter was interested in helping animals. In fact, at that young age, she was already mapping out how to become a veterinarian …. as well as a cashier and a teacher.”
Then, a tragic accident changed everything for the Lumbis family.
A car crash took the life of their precious dog, Sasha, and left Lumbis and her daughter injured. Despite such a serious accident, her daughter not only reached her goal to work in animal health care, she taught a course in the vet tech program at Collège Boréal.
Hope’s career path and passion inspired Lumbis to follow in her footsteps working with animals.
“After the accident, we adopted a dog. Rex became a source of emotional support. I was amazed at how much good he did for my daughter and me.”
It inspired Hope to pursue volunteering with the SPCA and, subsequently, become involved in pet therapy with Rex at St. John Ambulance.
Lumbis’ daughter became a pet therapy evaluator with the organization at a young age.
“When Hope moved away from home to attend Seneca College, I promised to continue working with Rex. That’s when I discovered just how effective pet therapy was for my own physical challenges. When I was volunteering, my chronic pain literally dropped from level six to three.
“For me, it was a lightbulb moment. Pet therapy was not only helping those we visited, but it impacted my own wellbeing, too. That inspired me to get involved full-time and, in 2011, I launched Magical Paws Pet Therapy.”
At last count (pre-pandemic), Magical Paws had 64 dogs and three cats in its program. The organization evaluates around 45 dogs each year.
The evaluation process helps the assessor determine how social the pet is and how they interact with humans, as well as with other dogs. Temperament and behaviour are observed.
“The process covers several possible scenarios that the owner and pet could encounter during a visit. It is intended to ensure the team works well together.
“For cats, it’s important that they travel well. No matter how calm and friendly they are on their own turf, a cat that becomes physically or emotionally stressed by vehicle motion will either be frightened or too upset to visit someone in an unfamiliar environment.”
Lumbis has been “living and breathing dog therapy” since 2003.
“I’m so blessed to be living with my daughter and two-year-old grandson, Mayson. Hope’s passion for animals is my passion. Over the years, we have bonded with so many wonderful dogs and cats and their pet parents.”
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to virtually everything. It has certainly impacted the pet therapy program, in that the dogs cannot make their weekly trips to nursing homes.
“Many of the residents are frustrated and missing our visits,”” Lumbis said. “What people may not realize is just how much the dogs also miss these weekly visits. Some members have told me their pets bring their Magical Paws bandanas to them, or cry at the door at the time they would typically make a trip to the nursing home.”
To generate hope and maintain some semblance of normalcy, Lumbis produced two six-minute videos for nursing home residents to enjoy.
“It helps lift their spirits, reuniting with their furry friends in this way, and knowing that they are doing okay.”
A Magical Paws member produced a thousand origami paper flowers and 300 paper airplanes to help celebrate Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, but local residences were unable to accept anything from outside up until June. For Canada Day, however, 250 of the flowers, along with an additional 300 note cards containing photos of the therapy dogs and messages of hope for the future were ready for delivery.
“We all look forward to the day we can resume our visits with dear friends in the nursing homes.”
Annette Lumbis’ Volunteer Words of Wisdom
Don’t be afraid to step into a volunteer activity you would never think of trying. You may find personal healing and where you truly belong. Despite my love for animals and nature, I wouldn’t have considered pet therapy, but it has become my life’s passion. After an accident that turned our lives upside down, that first step as a pet therapy volunteer literally changed life for the better in many ways.
Service Dog Scrappy
A PTSD service dog named Scrappy who was reported missing last week in Memphis has been found safe.
Scrappy’s owner, Randy Holmes, said he was driving through construction traffic on U.S. 78 south of Shelby Drive in the afternoon of July 14 when his companion disappeared.
Police said the windows were rolled down, but Scrappy — who was wearing his service dog vest at the time — is so well trained that he wouldn’t have jumped out on his own.
Holmes expressed concern to police that someone may have reached into his SUV and snatched Scrappy while traffic was at a standstill, but there were no suspects at the time.
After the story aired on WREG last week, Holmes and his girlfriend received several sighting reports in the area of Jackson and Ayers. The pair had been searching the area for the dog when he was located Monday morning behind a Family Dollar store.
The little dog had lost some weight and had a scrape on his hip, but is expected to be okay. He even enjoyed a treat of Vienna sausages that were given to him by the woman who found him.
Holmes said he still doesn’t know how Scrappy ended up where he was found. He was just thankful his dog was discovered safe.
Happy Therapy Dog
Iowans are sharing their “Happy Moments”, including a smiling therapy dog that is ready to get back to work and a glimpse of a comet.
We are all missing parts of our pre-pandemic life, including Dolly the golden doodle.
She’s a hospice therapy dog and hasn’t been able to go to work for a while because of COVID rules. She’s practicing her smile so she’s ready to go back to her therapy visits when the time comes.
