ADA Rights, Experience, Virginia

Update from Andrew and SD Ender

A wonderful update from our past client, Andrew, who works as a Crime Prevention Specialist with the Police Department in Virginia, and his Service Dog, Ender!

Dear Laurie,
Ender is doing great! We keep a regular training regimen just so that he stays up to par. He’s still a local celebrity! In fact, our local Starbucks has made him their unofficial mascot! It’s one of his favorite places to go, and it forces me to go out the house and interact at some level with people. (I threw away my coffee pot for this reason as well.) I’m attaching a picture of him there. We actually had his birthday party there in December. I was asked to speak to our local American Legion the other day about Service Dogs. They want to raise funds for local veterans in need of one. Out of that, I (we) were asked to do two presentations next Saturday in Williamsburg, for students entering the medical field, about the benefits of Service dogs. It wouldn’t be possible to do without Ender’s help! I’m a little anxious about it, but I got them to break the students up into small groups and schedule breaks for Ender and I.

Thank you again!

Andrew

Austin, PTSD, Texas

Update from Emmett and SD Daphne

From our dear client, Emmett, with his Service Dog, Daphne. Emmett suffers from PTSD and anxiety-induced seizures.

Hi Laurie. These pictures happened just after I had a seizure. She licked my face during the seizure but it was how upset she looked afterwards that made my heart hurt and feel love at the same time.

These past weeks have been extremely hard. I don’t think I would have coped half as well if Daphne hadn’t been part of it. She’s my best friend. She follows me to the bathroom and sits outside the door just to make sure I come out okay. She curls up at my feet when I study even when she is off leash at home.

I was in class the other day and I had a really severe bout of panic. She got up from her laying position and sat on my feet, ready for me to put my arm under her chest and tuck myself around her. She’s the best medicine.

-Emmett

WE ARE SO GLAD YOU HAVE DAPHNE, DEAR EMMETT!! WE ARE TRULY HOPING THINGS GET BETTER FOR YOU SOON!!!!

Depression, Military, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

CONGRATS TO WOUNDED WARRIOR DON AND SD HERMAN

CONGRATULATIONS TO WOUNDED WARRIOR DON AND HIS NOW SERVICE DOG, HERMAN!!!! THEY PASSED THEIR PUBLIC ACCESS TEST!!!! Don is a Wounded Warrior who suffers from PTSD and Depression, but also does amazing volunteer work at the hospital, church, or Police Department. Now, he and Herman can not only help each other, but will go on to offer comfort to others!

Trainer Andrew writes:

During this first section of the Public Access Test, we went to New Braunfels Feed and Seed, where we went through the test. Both Don and Herman did a wonderful job! We discovered that Don needs to communicate a little more with Herman, and Herman needs to be work a little more on focusing on Don around groups of people; but this is very minor, as Herman just wants to say hello!

Next, we worked special tasks that Don needs for Herman to provide for him. Herman has a habit of putting his paw on Don’s leg when he wants attention, so we turned that habit into something useful by teaching Herman to do that with the command “touch” when Don was feeling anxious or depressed. After that, we brought in the specific ringtone that Don has on his phone which, although it is very loud, Don still has trouble hearing. We taught Herman to alert Don when the phone starts to ring. Next, we worked on teaching Herman to hold things in his mouth, which is the beginning of our work to teach him to fetch items and hold a specific object at the door to help remind Don if he has forgotten anything.

Anxiety, Central Texas, Texas

Kathy and SDiT Olla

From our trainer Andrew, who is working with Kathy, who suffers from extreme anxiety, and her SDIT, Olla.

Andrew writes:

This last session occurred at Kathy’s house. We had planned on going to Lowe’s to practice the Public Access Test, which they are just about ready to pass, but Kathy was unfortunately not feeling well due to anxiety that day. So, we worked on teaching Olla to help Kathy with that by conditioning the Olla to lick a certain spot on Kathy’s arm when she senses Kathy’s anxiety, and to offer her comfort by snuggling. We also learned how train Olla to nudge Kathy and be continue to alert when Kathy begins to disconnect from her world due to her stress levels. We spent the rest of the time in our session working on obedience and basic playfulness, and getting Olla’s energy out. It was a tribute to Kathy’s persistence to continue the training process even when she felt at her worst.

Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, San Antonio, Texas

Greg and SDiT Missy

From our trainer, Jackie, who had her first training session with Greg and his SDIT, Missy. Laurie will continue to work with Greg and Missy after this point. Jackie writes:

I met with Greg on March 1st to work with him and Missy on her Service Dog Training for some cognitive developmental delays, depression and anxiety. Greg has continued to work with Missy on sitting. This week, we worked on having Missy sit at the door before she is allowed outside. If Missy broke her sit-stay once, the door was opened, and she had to be placed back into a sit before being released to go outside. Greg also worked with Missy in “catching in the moment” of her “down” to decrease the amount of time it takes her to learn his new command.

We noticed Missy is obedient but has a short attention span as many dogs do that are new to training. Training accommodations and recommendations were made and written down for Greg to continue working with Missy. They are: 1) Missy must sit and “wait” at door before going out. 2) Practice with Missy from only 10 minutes at a time three times a day at this point because Missy has a short attention span. This amount of time will increase as we continue to help you train. 3) Keep Missy in a harness for now so that you can easily put a leash on her if someone comes to the door 4) Do not assume that Missy understands the “stay” command yet. For example: I would not let loose of the leash anywhere thinking that Missy will stay. Do not let Missy off leash at parents’ home in backyard because Missy could easily escape through the barbed wire fence until she learns “come” and “home”. 4) Whenever there is food anywhere (table, counter, tray table, etc.), assume that Missy can reach this food while still untrained.

Overall, it was a very good and enjoyable training session!

Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, Houston, Texas

Elisa and SDiT CB

From our dear trainer, Kendra, in Houston, with Elisa and her SDIT, “CB”. Elisa suffers from bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression. Kendra writes:

I met Elisa at her house for the initial evaluation. At first, CB was shy; she was hiding behind Elisa when I came in the door. I had a treat in my hand and she would not take it. So Elisa and I sat down and talked about what she wanted a Service Dog to perform for her and more about the process.

After being there awhile, CB warmed up to me and I was able to do the evaluation. CB has already finished basic obedience at the Pet Store, so she knows “sit”, “lay (down)”, “off”, “leave it”, and loose-leash walking. I was able to handle CB with little problems. She is treat motivated, and has a strong bond with Elisa. We went outside to see how CB did outside of the home, and CB was much more outgoing when she was away from the other dog that’s in the home. I asked Elisa to work on getting CB to focus on her when out for walks by stopping at times and having CB do a “watch me”. The homework for Elisa and CB is to practice “watch me”, “sitting at the door” to go out, and socialization. We also talked about shedding, as CB sheds very badly. In one of these pictures, Elisa was having an anxiety attack and CB was comforting her!”

San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Prayers to Nate Perry

Please send prayers and positive energy to Nate Perry, the son of one of our beloved clients, Linda Koler. His mother a veteran and our client, died unexpectedly last night (not sure if due to her cancer or diabetes complications).  She was training her SDIT, “Sadie”. He posted a picture of her this morning, saying how much he loved her and that now she had no more pain.

ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, El Paso, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Attack, Texas

Melissa and SDiT Bjorn

From our wonderful trainer, Terry, in El Paso, who is training with Melissa and her SDIT, Bjorn! Melissa suffers from have major depression, anxiety, ADD, and OCD. Her anxiety has many triggers; the biggest two lately have been extreme amounts of stress and claustrophobia. She also has naturally low blood pressure, and when she gets sick, it tends to drop even lower and she has been known to lose her balance or pass out. She has appointments at the end of the month with a Rheumatologist. Her PCP thinks there is a likely chance that she has Lupus and RA.

Terry writes:

This is a great picture of Melissa and Bjorn successfully completing “controlled load into vehicle”. Additional training covered; proper leash control, “sits on command”, “noise distraction”, “off lead heeling”, and “controlled unload out of vehicle”. All in all, things went exceptionally well, especially for the first session of hands-on-training. Melissa has only had this dog for two weeks, but you can definitely tell during the session that she has put a lot of work into training, that Bjorn already had training despite being a rescue, and that Melissa and Bjorn absolutely love each other. From all indications, she will continue to provide this passion as long as she has this dog. Melissa and Bjorn are a wonderful fit, and will do well throughout the program.”

General

KayCee shares Charlie’s First Gotcha Day Video

A wonderful update from our past client, KayCee, who suffered with anxiety, and her Service Dog, Charlie!! She writes:

Hi, Laurie! Today it has officially been one year since Charlie and I met and he came to live with us! He has done a great job for me so far, and he will keep doing so until his replacement is old enough to take his place (she’s only 7 months old right now.) Anyways, I made a video of all of our memories and photos of him throughout this past year and I thought you might be interested to see some of how he’s doing.

Much Love,
KayCee and Charlie

What a beautiful video tribute to her journey with Charlie!!!! Try to fast forward to the wonderful pictures of KayCee and Charlie, Charlie with KayCee’s mom, etc. The ones of them together are beautiful. The music is perfect!!!

 

Agoraphobia, Anxiety, Depression, El Paso, Experience, Texas

Elizabeth and her “Bro”

From our wonderful trainer, Terry, in New Mexico. He is training with Elizabeth, who suffers from anxiety, depression, and agoraphobia, and her SDIT, “Bro”. Terry is doing a wonderful job of methodically working on each command required for the Public Access Test. So far, they have mastered Six Foot Recall on Lead, Downs on Command, and Sits on Command. Terry writes:

This latest session was wonderful. Elizabeth is completely committed to the training, and she and “Bro” have an exceptional bond. Today, they mastered “Off-lead” walking!!

They are progressing beautifully, and it is a pleasure to work with them.