Dog Rescued Veteran

Jason Manley contacted some local service dog organizations to get a dog but was told the waiting list was up to two years. Feeling he couldn’t wait that long, Manley and his wife, Jessica, decided to try to find one on their own.

One Saturday morning in May 2016, retired Army Staff Sgt. Jason Manley and his wife visited an animal shelter to look at dogs, but he had no idea they would bring home one that would forever change his life.

Manley, 37, of Columbus’ Far South Side, had served five combat tours from 2003 until 2009 in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2010, he was diagnosed with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder from the horrors he had witnessed during those years.

Though Manley eventually received treatment and found a job at a golf course as a maintenance crew member, he continued to struggle with PTSD, so in 2016 he looked into the possibility of getting a service dog.

Manley contacted some local service dog organizations but was told the waiting list was up to two years. Feeling he couldn’t wait that long, Manley and his wife, Jessica, decided to find one on their own.

Thinking back to that moment when he first met Abraham Lincoln, Manley can remember many details and it still gives him chills.

“As soon as they bring him into the room, he runs up and immediately gets in my lap … he’s sitting on my lap, and my wife’s in there, the other volunteer is in there, but he was only interested in me,” Manley said of the meeting at the Franklin County Dog Shelter. “And you know, it was at that point I knew that he was mine.”

Manley adopted the year-old boxer, which he later named after his favorite president. After bringing Abraham home and starting to train him, Manley said he began feeling some relief from his anxiety, depression and fear of new places and people.

“These dogs don’t just change your life. On any given day … these dogs can save your life,” Manley said. “If I didn’t have Abraham, I don’t know how far I would have gone to find relief from the torture that PTSD can be.”

While attending Columbus State Community College for a degree in landscaping, Manley was looking to start a program there to help other veterans train their own service dogs like he had done. He met with the college president, who introduced him to Heather Lane, a local veterinarian who was starting her own program.

Veteran Companion Animal Services helps pair veterans in central Ohio with rescue dogs from local animal shelters and assists them in the first year of the adoption process. Since 2015, the nonprofit program has paired seven to 10 veterans with dogs from shelters each spring and fall.

Manley became board president of VCAS in November 2019. Throughout the years, Manley has visited schools and fundraisers to help VCAS grow and taken Abraham with him whenever he could.

“When Jason and Abe would go and speak with other veterans or other groups of people, (they) could tangibly see, ‘Wow, like that’s what this dog does for him,’” Lane said. “You know, if you’re speaking to a group of veterans, the dog just kind of puts them at ease and relaxes them.”

“We talked a lot just about the impact that Abraham has had over the years. And his story is so special, we wanted to be able to share that,” Lane said.

The “I’m With Abe Club” started in June to increase the number of veterans paired with dogs. Members of the club donate a minimum of $10 each month towards VCAS programs.

Donations go to help defray such expenses as adoption fees and training and dog supplies. So far the club has raised just over $4,000 and is projected to reach $23,000 by the end of the year, Lane said.

The Nick Rozanski Memorial Foundation has donated $10,000 to VCAS and has partnered with the “I’m with Abe Club.”

The foundation was formed in 2012 and is named for Capt. Nick Rozanski, a 1994 Dublin High School graduate who died serving in the Ohio National Guard in Afghanistan. Since its inception, the Dublin-based foundation has provided scholarships to students at Dublin’s three high schools and grants to groups that help veterans, said Jenny Rozanski, Nick’s widow and co-founder and president of the foundation.

“The support animal organizations have come up pretty much every year when we’ve talked about giving money to someone, we just hadn’t landed on one that we were interested in working with,” said Jenny Rozanski. “And so when this came it kind of was a no-brainer that we would partner with them.”

Through the extra money gathered by the “I’m With Abe Club,” Manley hopes to help the veterans — much like him — who cannot wait for a service dog through other programs or who do not qualify for one.

“We don’t require any diagnosis, we don’t require anything from their doctors,” Manley said. “We don’t require any kind of discharge. You know, we don’t care how you got out, we only care that you (raised) your hand and you served your country.”

Adopt Don’t Shop

The campaign #AdoptDontShop has been trending on social media for a while now. And, while some celebrates are advocating adopting indies and abandoned pets, many have actually adopted strays. Actor Kunal Thakur, who believes in adopting pets instead of buying, is a parent to a kitten. The Kasauti Zindagi Kay actor people to bringing home a furry friend through adoption. The actor recently brought home a new family member — an adorable kitten named Caramel Thakur — feels that this bundle of joy has brought a lot of love and positivity in his life, even in the lockdown. Speaking about his new pet, Kunal says, “I am so happy to have Caramel in my life. She is beautiful. I used to have a pet dog, but that was not adopted. Caramel is the kitten of my neighbour’s cat, who is a rescued cat. Personally I feel there are so many animals around us who are abandoned. Stray dogs and cats, everyone they all deserves to be loved and a shelter. And I am happy that I have adopted Caramel,” says Kunal, adding, “My life has changed and even lockdown has become interesting now. Though cats are more independent and do everything on their own, I do have to give her food and we have scheduled playtime.” Talking about the feeling of adopting an animal and giving it a home and love, Kunal explains, “When you adopt an animal you are actually giving back to mother nature. The feeling is gratifying, you also add good karma.”

On the work front Kunal is eager to be seen in Kasautii…, whose character was introduced in the show, just before the lockdown.

Service Dog Banned

An employee at the Topeka VA said his service dog is banned from coming to work with him after another employee said the dog put his mouth around her arm.

Kyle Stueven said his dog, Warrior, only jumped up on his hind legs and that was it.

“He jumped up, his front paws were about that high off the ground,” Stueven said. “I got him, had him sit and put him between my legs.”

Stueven said he received a letter that Warrior was not allowed back to work after the incident. He works as a peer counselor at the VA and Warrior helps him with his P.T.S.D.

“He is able to do for me those things I can’t do or if i was doing, I would be less effective at my job,” Stueven said.

Joseph Burks with the Topkea VA said he can’t talk about this case specifically, but he said they investigate each case individually to determine the best outcome.

“If there is ever a situation where a service dog is out of control or kind of going against what a service dog should be doing, we need to look at that,” Burks said.

Stueven said Warrior is trained and has never had problems before. He said he just wants to able to bring his dog back to work.

Ace The Service Dog

There’s a new puppy with a purpose at PenFed Credit Union.

In partnership with America’s VetDogs, Ace, a yellow Labrador Retriever, will be raised to assist a military veteran or first responder with a disability.

Andrea McCarren, vice president and chief content officer for PenFed Digital will raise Ace alongside Maverick, a service dog she began raising last year. Ace also joins PenFed service dogs in training Mission and WestPoint who are being raised by PenFed employees.

“Ace is being raised with the purpose of providing enhanced mobility and renewed independence to veterans, active-duty service members, and first responders with disabilities, allowing them to once again live with pride and self-reliance,” said James Schenck, president and CEO of PenFed Credit Union and CEO of the PenFed Foundation. “We are committed to this program and making it work for our employees who are donating their time to raise these dogs for a very noble cause.”

McCarren will spend the next 18 months raising Ace as part of the PenFed family to prepare him for the next step of his training. He will learn additional tasks that are helpful to a person with a disability. PenFed is covering costs associated with the raising of Ace as he begins his journey to becoming a future service dug.

“As someone who is raising her fourth service dog, I have seen firsthand the powerful impact they have on the lives of wounded service members and first responders,” said McCarren. “The ability to help a remarkable organization like America’s VetDogs while on the job is one of the many things that makes PenFed special.”

America’s VetDogs specializes in placing highly-skilled service and guide dogs to individuals with physical injuries, PTSD, hearing and vision loss, and seizures. All services are provided by America’s VetDogs at no cost.

Suly, President George H.W. Bush’s former service dog,  who is currently working as part of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s Facility Dog Program, was raised, trained and placed by America’s VetDogs. Ace joins other high-profile VetDogs, including including the Washington Capitals’ Captain, Scout from Monumental Sports, Atlanta United’s Spike, WBAL’s Brooks and New York Islanders’ Tori and Radar.

“America’s VetDogs is excited to partner with PenFed on this life-changing program to raise a future service dog for a veteran or first responder with disabilities,” said John Miller, president & CEO, America’s VetDogs.

You can follow Ace’s journey on PendFed’s social media accounts.

Dog Attacks On Mail Carriers

A Pit Bull crouches in a yard as a mail carrier approaches in the photo on the USPS National Dog Bite Awareness Week News Release (April 14-20), which reports that in 2019, dog attacks in Los Angeles on U.S. Postal Service carriers rose 23.3%.

This jump from 60 in 2018 to 74 in 2019 also maintains Los Angeles’ position as the #2 dog-bite city in the entire U.S.

The Los Angeles city increase occurred even though the overall national number declined by over 200 bites. California again ranked as the #1 state in the country with 777 of the national total of 5,803.

Two other CA cities made the USPS 2019 dog-attack list again–San Diego and Sacramento–but each had fewer bites than last year. Long Beach, which was not on the list last year, rose to 21 attacks on carriers.

Dog attacks inside Los Angeles city animal shelters also increased 59% last year–jumping from 59 in 2018 to 94 in 2019. The victims were the public, volunteers, and employees.

Since LA Animal Services is budgeted for almost $50 million next year as a public-safety agency, we have to wonder what GM Barnette is doing to earn her annual $314,534 tax-funded salary. Calsalaries posted this in 2018, with the analysis: “Brenda Barnette’s total compensation is 168 % higher than average Los Angeles salary.”

DOG ATTACKS HURT EVERYONE

These painful figures impact all Californians, because increasingly — with more violent attacks causing death or extensive damage to victims — larger insurance payouts result in higher premiums for liability insurance — whether or not you own a dog.

If you are a home owner or a renter, you are footing the bill for the costs of Los Angeles Animal Services failing to pick up stray and menacing dogs and releasing many — especially Pit Bulls — with a history of aggressive behavior and prior attacks on humans and other animals.

We also pay for dog attacks in our health-insurance premiums.

The Insurance Information Institute reported on March 25, 2020, that the average cost paid for dog bite claims nationwide was $44,760 in 2019, up from $39,017 in 2018. Nationwide dog-bite claims rose from 17,297 in 2018 to 17,802 in 2019.

Augie The Retriever

The Internet has fallen in love with a golden retriever whose owners believe her to be the oldest living dog in her breed.

August, also known as Augie, turned 20 on April 24, 2020, and lives with her family in Oakland, Tennessee.

Augie was adopted back in 2014, though recently garnered viral attention after a golden retriever interest group wished her a “Happy Birthday” on Facebook.

“She’s a really sweet girl,” owner Steve Hetterscheidt told “Good Morning America,” adding that Augie loves to eat blueberries. “She’s kind of quiet now. She does a lot of laying around. She’s very alert and always paying attention to what’s going on.”

Hetterscheidt and his wife Jen first fostered Augie when she was 14 years old. At the time, Jen was the intake director at Golden Retriever Rescue of Southern Nevada.

Augie was first adopted at 7 years old through a Craigslist ad near Sioux City, Iowa. That owner had her birth certificate, though there was no pedigree or record of her original descent. With this information, along with a public list of the oldest living dogs, the Hetterscheidts think Augie could be the world’s oldest living golden.

“If you stuck Augie on that list she’d be number 19 and there were no other, older golden retrievers,” Hetterscheidt explained. “We don’t have proof, but we call it a preponderance of evidence.”

Guinness World Records told “GMA” it does not monitor separate categories for different dog breeds.

The current title-holder of world’s oldest dog is a 21-year-old rat terrier named Jake.

Hetterscheidts own three other golden retrievers — Belle, a 7-year-old certified therapy dog who visits children at St. Jude’s Hospital, Sherman, 10, who was born at Golden Retriever Rescue of Southern Nevada and Bruce, 10, whose previous owner, a friend, left the pup to the couple in their will.

On her birthday, Augie enjoyed a carrot cake made specially for dogs.

Pooches Parade

Of all who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, residents of nursing facilities and their families have perhaps suffered the most. Not only in terms of the threat of the virus itself, but the social isolation wrought by it.

This made the general cuteness of a “pooch parade,” organized by Hospice of the Western Reserve and held last Thursday (June 25) at Willowood Care Center in Brunswick, all the more touching.

Many of the therapy dogs have been regular visitors at Willowood over the years.

“He knows certain people — he runs down the hall and into their rooms before I get there,” laughed volunteer Katie Garra of the regular 10-minute visits with Willowood residents made by her therapy dog, 7-year-old golden retriever Cody.

“We have been doing this for four years. When we started, this was the first place we came.”

Cody was joined by four other therapy dogs, which are among the nearly 40 across the Hospice of the Western Reserve system and more than 25 at the Hospice of Medina County program.

Sully The Therapy Dog

A Tampa family’s therapy dog that was missing all weekend and into Monday has finally been reunited with his owners, and it took a village to do so.

The search for Sully captivated the attention of an entire community. All eyes were glued to Laura Holland’s Facebook page all weekend for updates on her son’s missing therapy dog. Laura’s son Liam is a brain cancer survivor.

Laura initially posted about Sully’s disappearance Saturday at 9:52 a.m. She said the dog was accidentally let out by staff at Pet Paradise, a boarding service.

At 12:47 on Saturday, Laura took to Facebook again recruiting anyone who can “confidently help comb” a 2-mile radius in a wooded area in Wesley Chapel.

“If you have tall boots and aren’t afraid of critters, please meet my husband right behind BB&T Bank off Route 56.”

Laura was told Sully escaped Pet Paradise while still attached to his leash and was thinking her dog got stuck on something in the woods and was “desperately trying to survive in this heat.”

At 2 p.m. Laura asked her Facebook friends if anyone knew a police officer who may have a K-9 that could assist in the search.

About two hours later, Laura and her family began placing flyers up around the community.

Later that afternoon, Pet Paradise announced a $500 reward for Sully’s return. Laura considered reaching out to the media.

By 10 p.m. Saturday night and after over 12 hours of searching, Sully was still missing. Laura’s husband left the house to check a spot where they left their clothes and some food and water earlier that evening. No Sully.

The cash reward for Sully was now over $1,000, Laura estimaged, as the community was offering to chip in on top of Pet Paradise’s $500 reward.

Sunday morning around 9:20 a.m. Laura said they received a possible Sully spotting at a Walgreens in the Westchase area. It was a false alarm.

By Sunday evening, Sully was still missing. The entire day, starting at 6 a.m., was spent looking for him with food stations, professional traps, and prayers. Thermal cameras were planned for after sunset.

Monday at 2:57 p.m.: “WE GOT SULLY!! This absolute hero (John) in the navy shirt ran his little heart down the ramp off 75 and rescued our boy.”

Laura said a tip came in around 1:15 p.m. that Sully was in a Haverty’s parking lot — about two miles from the family’s home near State Road 56 and Interstate 75. As Sully was being surrounded, Laura said he took off and ended up on the interstate.

“At one point everyone stopped running and I thought he was gone again but then I saw John carrying our boy in his arms and walking back towards me – straight out of a movie.”

Police assisted Sully’s rescue team safely off the interstate.

Laura said Sully is “Safe. Filthy, but safe.” The dog was taken to the veterinarian for a few hours for hydration and grooming. Over $5,000 has been raised for the “heroes” that helped bring Sully home.

Service Dogs For Veterans

A company with ties to Burke County has made a commitment to support local veterans with a special project.

Synergy Labs, a Florida-based pet product manufacturing company with a facility in Hildebran, has committed to sponsor two dogs to be trained as service dogs and then donated to help two veterans in Burke County, according to Highland Canine Connect, the nonprofit organization that will handle the training.

Highland Canine Connect is based in Iredell County and “works with the community to create fulfilling and engaging connections between dogs and people in need,” according to its website. Erin Purgason, owner of the related business, Highland Canine Training LLC, said they train 3-4 service dogs per year.

“Synergy was networking for any local nonprofits they could work with to provide a service dog for a veteran,” Purgason said. “Highland Canine Connect was mentioned as a possibility, and we were introduced in the fall of 2019. We finalized a plan at the beginning of 2020.”

She said Synergy requested the dogs provided be donated by a reputable breeder or come from a shelter or rescue.

“We were able to find one of each,” Purgason said. “Koda Bear is a 1.5-year-old German Shepherd mix that was located at Henderson County Animal Services by a dog trainer friend in the area. Alvin is about a 1-year-old Shepadoodle (a cross between a German Shepherd and a Standard Poodle) donated to us by Country Poos and Doos of North Carolina.”

She described how the dogs have responded to the training.

“Koda has been working with us about five months now,” Purgason said. “He has come so far. When we first got him, he had never been on a leash. He now performs basic and advanced obedience tasks, such as deep pressure lay and touch, and has been started on tracking. We are concentrating on keeping him out in public, since COVID-19 has limited our public outings and socialization time. His tasks will also be changed or added to once we find his forever handler. We like to really get to know them so we can customize what tasks they will need from a service dog.

“Alvin we received as a puppy. He has been trained to fetch items dropped, open cabinets, turn on lights and walk beside a wheelchair or walker. Again, we will add or change his tasks as well, once we find the perfect handler for him.”

Veterans in Burke County may apply to receive Alvin or Koda Bear as their service dog by visiting highlandcanineconnect. org, clicking on “Service Dog Donation” and filling out an application. The deadline for applications is Aug. 1.

Purgason explained how Highland Canine Connect staff will evaluate the applications.

“We have a detailed application process where we learn about their day-to-day life and what they are wanting a service dog for, meaning tasks,” she said. “We explain that having a service dog is a commitment and make sure applicants are ready or prepared for the training and bond process. We also get references for character, as well as the financial aspects of food, vaccines, medicines and other care for the dog.”

Once the veterans are selected, they will be trained by the organization on how to handle their dogs.

“Once we select the handlers, they will come meet the dogs so we can make sure the personalities are a good fit,” Purgason said. “We also deliver the dog to their home and work with the handler and dog one-on-one for three to six days, depending on what’s needed. Also with everyone local, we are available anytime for questions or concerns in regards to training both in and out of the home. We also provide the handler with a take home video of the tasks and commands that they can refer back to at any time.”

She envisions the dogs becoming a vital part of the veterans’ lives.

“I am hoping the dogs will provide them independence, comfort, stability and of course, a partner,” Purgason said.

Service For Pets

Spurred by their own negative experiences, a team of five friends – mainly students – are looking to take the pet world by storm after launching what some have dubbed the animal equivalent of booking.com.

Going under the name of Docalp (a verbal cluster taken from the words dog-cat-help), the service was founded by Maciej Kardas, a student at King’s College London, with the help of Karolina, Artur and Jasiek of Kraków’s AGH University of Science & Technology and Jacek, the team’s graphics and UX designer.

“Although it’s more or less accurate to call Docalp a booking.com for household animals,” Kardas tells TFN, “I think a more relevant comparison would be to describe us as Booksy for pets – while we have a separate section for pet hotels on our website, that’s just a part of the wider offer.”

Seeking to bring together a range of animal services and present them under one, easy-to-use umbrella, the idea for the nascent platform was born after Kardas found himself hit by near tragedy.

“My dog Wincent was seriously poisoned and was left fighting for his life,” he tells TFN. “I was shocked that I couldn’t find enough information online to choose a vet that was able to deal with such a specific case, and while I thankfully found a vet that was able to save him the whole experience really opened my eyes.

“Speaking to my friends,” continues Kardas, “we realized not everyone would be so lucky.” It was to prove a lightbulb moment.

“Most industries have platforms with aggregated information on companies so that customers can choose the services they require more easily,” says Kardas, “so we figured it would be great to create such a marketplace for the pet industry and thus help their owners.”

By no means was this straight-forward.

“It actually took a lot of time,” admits Kardas, “in fact, it’s probably taken far longer than it should have.”

Having taken over a year to launch, Kardas is frank that the biggest hurdle has been Docalp’s zero-based budgeting approach.

“We didn’t spend money creating the website, but instead constructed a team of ambitious students who started working with us without payment (but instead received equity in our business). However, that alone created many challenges with most of the team unable to engage full-time.”

Though still very much in its infancy, the project has already elicited praise and featured in several heavyweight titles. Despite that, Kardas is under no illusion that the hard work remains out in front.

“We’ve had so many positive reviews,” he says, “but selling our service to the businesses in the pet industry is difficult as the market is so saturated that many don’t feel they need to actively seek new clients – others, meanwhile, are suspect of allowing things like honest customer reviews.

“However, we believe that the effects of scale will ultimately work for us, meaning that the more businesses we attract, the easier it will become to draw even more.”

With an ever-expanding database featuring kennels, vets, pet hotels, groomers, schools and trainers, hopes are high for the future of Docalp and already the team have their eye on foreign soils.

“We’re planning to launch in the UK very soon given that I myself am based in London for much of the time,” says Kardas, “and though I think that we’ll focus on Poland and Britain in the short-term, we’ll see how we can develop further and where else we can expand.”