Paws Program

Paws for Purple Hearts is the first program of its kind to offer therapeutic intervention for veterans and active-duty military. It’s about establishing trust and connection with warriors facing challenges and who better to do that than specially trained service dogs helping on the road to recovery.

Just as playful as they want to be, 1-year old Reagan and 4 month old Andi are service dogs in training. The two are learning commands and skills to eventually be paired up with and placed with a Veteran or active duty service member facing challenges.

“Whether that is standing with them during an anxiety attack or post traumatic stress issue or whether it’s helping them pick something up or with mobility or even turning off a light switch or turning it on,” said Instructor, Melissa Kitko.

Kitko, a Veteran herself said it’s not always easy to ask for help.

“We warriors want to be the helper, not ask for help, so the third option is get their battle buddy to do it for them,” she said.

“We’ve seen what this can do to change somebody’s life,” added Program Instructor, Debbie Zastrow Yanagida.

The service dogs train for 2 years and can start as young as 2 weeks old. They learn mobility tasks. Things like walking along side a wheelchair or tugging to open a door. They’re also trained to recognize signs of post traumatic stress. Kitko demonstrated how Reagan is able to recognize something like an anxiety attack. Kitko tapped her leg repeatedly to signal experiencing an anxiety attack. Soon after, Reagan nudged her leg to help calm her down. Kitko also laid on her back demonstrating the command lay on, which is where the service dog will lay on top of its handler and the weight of the dog provides a comforting effect to a warrior experiencing PTSD.

“They will lay here for as long as we ask,” said Kitko.

Training and placing the service dogs is a bond both instructors say is priceless and a connection that is ever lasting.

“When we make a match of a dog and a person, they, it’s just beautiful,” said Kitko.

“To just see how that can absolutely change somebody’s life is all worth it absolutely amazing,” added Yanagida.

Paws for Purple Hearts has placed 117 dogs and directly improved the lives of more than 8,400 warriors. The organization is also in need of volunteers.

ESA’s Vs Person

The Iowa State Supreme Court looked at a conflict between two people, both requesting “reasonable accommodation”, in a recent ruling.

Origins of the conflict

Karen Cohen has a severe allergy to pet dander. Because of this, she sought an apartment in a building with a strict no-pets policy. The building that she chose does not allow pets at any time. Residents who violate the policy are subject to clean-up fees and an increase in their rental deposit. However, the policy did allow for “reasonable accommodation” to be made.

David Clark later rented an apartment in the same building, down the hall from Cohen’s unit. About a month after he moved in, he asked to be allowed to have an emotional support animal (ESA), a dog, live with him. He presented a letter from his psychiatrist attesting to his need for support.

Before acting on this request, the apartment manager notified the other residents of the building of the potential for a dog residing there and asked them if they had allergies to dogs. When Cohen responded that she did, the manager contacted the Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC) for guidance. While not issuing a formal finding, since his inquiry was informal, the ICRC advised the manager that moving Clark to a building that allowed pets was not a reasonable accommodation and that the manager would have to attempt to accommodate both Cohen and Clark in their current units.

The manager attempted to accommodate both residents by assigning Cohen and Clark separate stairwells to access their units. The manager also provided Cohen with an air filter to clean the air inside her unit. Despite these accommodations, Cohen continuously suffered from allergic reactions due to the presence of the dog. The medications that she took were ineffective in mitigating her allergies.

Seeking redress

Eventually Cohen sued the property manager alleging that the manager breached the no-pets covenant of her lease and that she had been denied the quiet enjoyment of her residence as provided for under Iowa law. She asked for one month’s rent as damages.

Her claim was rejected by the small claims court. On appeal, the appellate court stated that the apartment manager should have ended Clark’s accommodation in having his ESA reside with him when the manager discovered that his reasonable attempts to mitigate Cohen’s allergies were unsuccessful. However, the court rejected Cohen’s claim for damages, saying that the law was not clear on this point.

The Iowa State Supreme Court (ISSC) took up the case under discretionary review. It reversed the ruling of the appellate court that dismissed the case. The ISCC ruled, “we conclude the landlord’s accommodation of the emotional support dog was not reasonable because the tenant with pet allergies had priority in time and the dog’s presence posed a direct threat to her health.” However, the court went on to say, “Our balancing in this case is not a one-size-fits-all test that will create the same result under different circumstances, such as when the animal at issue is a service animal for a visually disabled person.”

So, the ISSC has set a precedent that who was there first is a consideration in determining the party to whom preference is given when attempts at reasonable accommodation are incompatible with each other. However, by signaling that the severity of the disability for which the accommodation is being made can trump this consideration, the court ensures that future litigation will be required to sort out this hierarchy of disabilities. Until that happens, apartment managers will remain in the middle trying to find a route to accommodate all parties without a roadmap.

Dogs Bringing Relief

Patients at Allegheny Health Network’s Saint Vincent Hospital were greeted with wagging tails as the pet therapy parade made its way to the local hospital on Thursday.

Dogs and their owners made a visit to give patients and front-line workers a break.

Typically, Therapy Dogs United partners with hospitals to bring dogs into the hospital to comfort patients, but due to visitation policies, they had not been able to visit.

Dr. Chris Clark, President of Saint Vincent Hospital, said this provides a distraction from the pandemic.

“This is something we’re not able to do,” said Clark.

“We’re not able to offer to patients right now. Much like volunteer services have been suspended for the short term. We can celebrate what value they bring to patients under normal circumstances.”

The parade made loops around the cancer center as well as the main hospital building.

Animal Therapy

Animals help relieve stress and heal injuries to mental health caused by a discriminatory society.

Prejudice takes a toll on the LGBTQ community and our mental health, but dogs, provided one is not allergic to them, can be stress relieving.

While the phrase, “animal therapy,” may conjure images of reclining on a couch while talking to a dog psychologist, most of us are more likely to encounter an animal therapy team in less stereotypically psychological settings.

Georgia Voice interviewed Melissa Saul of CAREing Paws to find out more about how animal therapy works.

CAREing Paws engages in two types of animal therapy. The first is when they visit facilities to help relieve the stress of people there. The second is the Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) program, in which children read out loud to dogs.

Before the pandemic, therapy dog teams would visit facilities like hospitals and nursing homes, where the opportunity to pet a dog could help patients feel more comfortable or remind elders of beloved pets at home. Therapy dog teams would also go to elementary schools and libraries to encourage students to read.

Speaking of therapy dog teams’ work in nursing homes before the pandemic, Saul said “It brings a smile, it brings joy to their day, physically, it helps to calm them and make them feel happy.”

The pandemic has, however, changed the opportunities for animal assisted therapy.

According to Saul: “The pandemic has impacted us more than any other time I can remember [with the closure of most of the places we go to], but during the pandemic we were able to provide support to the doctors and the nurses and the [hospital] staff. We just had to restructure our visits. We were outside versus inside, we practice social distancing, good hand hygiene. It was just so needed because the doctors and nurses were certainly stressed.”

When asked about the risk of zoonotic COVID-19 transmission, Saul said: “The virus does not live on the pet’s fur, so it cannot be transmitted from a pet to a human.”

CAREing Paws now also offers online R.E.A.D. appointments, which can be scheduled through their website.

Very little research has been conducted on the effectiveness of R.E.A.D. programs in promoting children’s literacy.

According to a 2016 review of the literature base published in the academic journal, PLOS ONE:“To date there exist no systematic reviews on the effects of [human-animal interactions] in educational settings specifically focusing on the perceived benefits to children of reading to dogs. With rising popularity and implementation of these programmes [sic] in schools, it is essential that the evidence base exploring the pedagogic value of these initiatives is well documented.”

While the scientific community has yet to seriously study the effectiveness of Reading Education Assistance Dogs, R.E.A.D. programs have become a major part of animal therapy organizations throughout the nation.

What is clear from scientific research is that therapy dogs do generally reduce people’s stress levels, and from this it may be reasonable to hypothesize that this could be beneficial to students struggling with anxiety over their reading performance.

According to Saul: “It makes the child feel confident to be able to read aloud to a dog, because the dog will not make fun of them, will not laugh at them. It’s a very safe and comfortable environment they can feel completely comfortable just reading to the dog.”

The ability of therapy dogs and other therapy animals to help reduce stress and promote calm and relaxation could also be beneficial to helping people recover from the psychological anguish caused by prejudice.

According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) by National Center for Transgender Equality, transgender people face significantly more psychological distress than the general population. This is particularly true of younger transgender people.

The survey authors note: “while all age groups of USTS respondents reported substantially more distress than their counterparts in the U.S. population, younger survey respondents were more likely to report current serious psychological distress. Fifty-three percent (53%) of USTS respondents aged 18 to 25 reported experiencing current serious psychological distress.”

The psychological distress transgender people face as a result of transphobia translates into a higher rate of suicidal ideation: “nearly half (48%) of all respondents reported that they had seriously thought about killing themselves in the past twelve months, compared to 4% of the U.S. general population.”

Such psychological distress is sadly only more prevalent for transgender people of color, who face both transphobia and racism.

Perhaps we should request therapy dog teams at LGBTQ community centers.

K9 Officer Loki

The borough’s top canine cop has received a grant.

The money comes from Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. a nationwide charity located in East Taunton, MA, whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States.

The organization presents their “Healthcare for K9 Heroes” medical insurance program for 2020 which covers annual policy premiums. Since 2016, the charity has donated over $125,000 towards medical reimbursement programs for self-funded K9 units.

Loki was chosen as a 2020 recipient of the “Healthcare for K9 Heroes” grant. Those departments that receive the award use them to support the financial burden of raising funds to support their K9 unit, who have no more than three K9s, and who have previously been awarded a vest through Vested Interest in K9s, Inc.

Law enforcement dogs ages 2 through 7 are eligible. The annual medical reimbursement insurance policy, administered by Trupanion, will cover illnesses, injuries – including those sustained in the line of duty – diagnostic testing and therapies.

The plan allows the freedom to use any licensed veterinarian, specialty center, or emergency hospital in the United States.

Trupanion offers injury and illnesses coverage for working and service dogs – both on and off duty.

In addition to the healthcare reimbursement program, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. has provided over 3,917 law enforcement dogs with U.S. made, custom-fitted, NIJ certified bullet and stab-protective vests in 50 states, at a value of over $6.9 million dollars.

How Therapy Dogs Can Help

Dogs are wonderful creatures, and they have always been man’s best friend, but nowadays they can be used as therapy animals to aid a variety of people with emotional or behavioral issues, including mental illnesses, anxiety, and even panic attacks. Therapy dogs can help those in need of support and companionship when other techniques fail to work. Read on and take a look at the fascinating world of animal therapy and how dogs are on the leading edge of this innovative therapy. The definition of “at-risk” can often be described as being quite broad. However, the basic definition is children who struggle to become successful adults. This could be due to many factors such as abuse, drug use, criminal activities, mental illnesses, or even very poor grades, etc. As stated, it is a board umbrella and these types of children could often be viewed as juveniles. However, they can go for being “at-risk” to accepted members of adult-hood.

Therapy Dogs With Kids

Tallahassee kids are improving their reading schools virtually through T- READ Program.

Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare’s Animal Therapy Teams are working virtually with young readers this summer through their Reading Education Assistance Dog program.

The READ program helps kids practice and improve their reading skills by reading out loud to therapy dogs. It helps boost their confidence since the dogs are always excited to be read to.

According to TMH, reading to a dog is not intimidating, the dogs listen attentively without interrupting or make fun, and the dogs do not judge or criticize.

Some students don’t have books for their reading level at home, so READ gives them a book to keep.

But they need help getting the books they need.

If you want to help buy books for the kids visit TMH’s website.

Robotic Pets At Care Home

Hythe View nursing home in Hythe, Kent has had to restrict all non-essential visitors, including the dogs.

Staff at the care home noticed many of the residents were missing their interaction with their furry friends.

Bonzo the dog and Simba the cat respond to interaction and help the residents who engage with them, the home says.

“The response from the residents has been remarkable, especially for those who have dementia,” said Heather Heath, the activities co-ordinator at the care home.

“Those residents who routi nely engage with them have become less agitated, their mood has improved, and it’s reduced their reliance on calming medication.”

Ms Heath said residents had increased their social interaction thanks to the robotic pets.

“Beatrice and Hazel love sitting together with their pets – they stroke the animals while chatting to each other.”

She said another resident, Joan, was more alert and talkative, and Jackie, who is usually quite anxious, finds the interaction “very peaceful” and her anxiety “just seems to disappear”.

Hythe View, which has 40 beds, closed its doors to all but essential visitors in March.

“They may be mechanical pets but they’re very lifelike – many of the residents with dementia believe them to be real,” Ms Heath said.

“They promote a very relaxing environment and bring a lot of joy to the residents, often triggering memories of their own pets.”

Puppies Helping Firefighters

The newest members of the Hanford Fire Department aren’t fighting fires – instead, they’re helping firefighters fight off the stress of the job.

“The one in the red harness, this one’s Tiller. The other one’s Asher,” said Connor Kurtz as he pointed at two English Cream Retriever puppies laying in the fire station. He and Matthew Martinez are both firefighters at Hanford and have recently been tasked with training the two pups.

The dogs are there to work as a distraction from the stresses of the job.

“After we come back from a bad call, if we could just kind of relax get our mind off the call and what happened… it’s nice just to come back home, maybe get your mind off, pet a dog, and kind of relax and get our minds off things,” Kurtz said.

Kurtz got the idea after seeing how firefighters reacted to a dog at a wildfire.

“It’s actually learning our stressors even right now… they can still read the different stress between stress to going into an incident and then stress coming back from an incident,” Martinez explained.

“You hear a lot about first responders committing suicide. And that’s something that we want to battle,” Kurtz said.

“There’s a lot that’s been going on lately between the virus and everything else going on, but one beautiful thing with these dogs is, everybody just comes together with these dogs, everybody supports them, it just gets your mind off of things,” Martinez said. “So, hopefully, it’s one of those things that just kind of helps to, you know, bring us back together again.”

The puppies were provided by the Visalia-based California Service Dog Academy. The team there also helps local veterans by providing them with service dogs for free, or by helping to train their dogs to become service animals.

Chris Dushane is a Navy veteran who was stationed in Lemoore. The academy helped train his dog Dodge to become a service dog.

“Emotionally, he really pulled me out of a dark place. With him, he gives me more confidence to go out and about when he’s with me. He’s a comfort,” Dushane said.

“The dogs for the first responders are more of therapy dogs, where their presence is supposed to help make everybody feel better. With our service dogs that we train for our veterans, they are specially trained to mitigate the disability that the veteran has, so maybe go get their bag of medicine for them if they need it or turn the lights on if they’re nervous about going into a dark room,” said Rebecca Corso with the California Service Dog Academy.

Kurtz says he’s also pitched the idea to other first responder agencies in the area.

Dog Therapy Day

I wonder if on July 4, 1776, when our forefathers declared independence from England, they celebrated by firing their muskets as a tribute to freedom.

I imagine this is why we commemorate the greatest declaration of liberty by shooting off fireworks on the Fourth of July. Why else would we terrorize the collective canine population of our country every year?

If we really wanted to properly recreate what happened in Independence Hall, we would put on wigs, cram ourselves into small rooms and turn off all air conditioners to have the full experience of the original proclamation of freedom. Instead, we don swimsuits, grill burgers, watch Joey “Jaws” Chestnut win Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, and scare the bejeezus out of vulnerable dogs by setting off fireworks.

These poor little pooches that suffer from the clinically diagnosed condition of ABCDE (Atmospheric Booming Canine Disorder Episodes), either hide, shake, curl into a ball, frantically pace and/or escape down the street, fleeing for their lives.

Through multiple methods, such as soothing reassurance, medication, music therapy and occasionally interpretive dance, I can manage my 95-pound bundle of nerves during the scheduled town displays, because I know when they will happen. Researching ahead of time what towns will celebrate on which evenings affords me the courtesy of limbering up prior to executing my game plan. I can prepare for these occasions.

The issue arises from the homegrown pyrotechnicians that insist on setting off their roadside rockets anytime between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. Depending upon where you reside, this cycle of pet paranoia-inducing celebrations can go on every evening for a week or more. Living in the heart of a summer tourist town, this is my most sleep deprived week of the year.

This is why I book my dog’s annual veterinary appointment just prior to Independence Day, thus insuring we have enough Trazadone to get us through a week’s worth of doggie anxiety attacks. For those not aware of what Trazadone is, it’s Xanax for dogs. For those that don’t know what Xanax is, kudos to you for whatever stress management program you practice.

I apologize for coming across as Debbie Downer. I assure you prior to dog ownership or even becoming a parent I was out there celebrating with the rest of the happy unjaded revelers. However, years of canine panic attacks and little people who woke up at 1 a.m. from the sound of neighborhood firecrackers turned me into a bleary-eyed, crotchety, anti-celebratory, middle-aged adult.

Last year, I reached my limit on night 10, which was July 7. I felt compelled to defend my terrified greyhound from the pyrotechnic hoodlums, who were clad in pastel colored shorts adorned with alligators and crabs, and were setting off fireworks right in front of my house. I stepped outside at 1:30 a.m. in my bathrobe and took it upon myself to declare to those visitors, while applying the basic principles of my New Jersey vernacular, that the holiday was officially over. I’m still not sure if it was my persuasive remarks, the fact that I extinguished their fireworks with the garden hose or my appalling appearance that scared them off. But they packed up and left.

This year, Newport’s official fireworks display has been cancelled. But there will surely be many unofficial demonstrations. So, here I am again, armed with a refill of Trazadone, Jersey colloquialisms and, thank goodness, our country’s declaration of freedom to save me.