First session with Wounded Warrior, James
From our trainer, Barbara, who had her first session with Wounded Warrior, James. James does not yet have a dog to work with, but we will help him find one. James was a rescue worker on 9/11 at the Pentagon while in the Army, and suffers from fear of crowds, panic attacks, depression, PTSD, night terrors, and has several triggers – especially anything that is burning reminds him of burning flesh and jet fuel. September is his most difficult month.
Barbara writes:
“Today’s initial intake session took place at James’ apartment in Irving, TX. We reviewed and signed the Service Dog Express contract, reviewed the Service Dog Express training manual, and discussed James’ needs and expectations. We talked about the items which would need to be purchased for the Service Dog and the veterinary care responsibilities.
Although it was difficult for him to talk about, James bravely shared that burning smells triggers the smell of jet fuel and burning flesh from 9/11. James is not able to handle being out in crowds, and this severely affects family outings. He also is triggered being around people of certain ethnicities; not trying to be prejudicial, but after tours in Iraq he constantly has the feeling of people out to kill him. James wants a Service Dog to alert him to his triggers and help him get in a safe spot to help deal with crowds so that he can stay at family outings. He would also like his Service Dog to help him with his night terrors and interrupt them, which would help his sleep. James’ wife is very supportive of James needing and getting a Service Dog. They have also discussed this with their 6 year-old daughter, explaining the difference between when the Service Dog is working and when she could play with the dog.
We discussed locating a dog for James. They have been in contact with a Rescue, “Operation Kindness” and the Irving Animal Shelter. He has also searched the Service Dog Express website to look at the Available Assessed Dogs. He understands the need for having any dog he is interested in needing to be assessed for temperament and trainability for Service Dog work.
We discussed rotating our appointments once a suitable dog is obtained and possibly meeting in Denton – it also depends on weather this time of year. Currently, James is working nights, and hopes to move to the day shift soon. In the meantime, we will begin our search for the best Service Dog for James!”
Jordan and her American Pit Bull Terrier/Labrador Retriever mix, Bella.
From our trainer Terry, in El Paso, who had his first intake session and assessment with Jordan and her American Pit Bull Terrier/Labrador Retriever mix, “Bella”. Jordan was diagnosed with a seizure disorder, but the doctors are still trying to figure out what kind and how to treat it. Right now, she is experiencing about 4 seizures a week, one of which she was sent to the ER because she stopped breathing and turned blue. Jordan struggles to walk and maintain balance, so sometimes she has to use a transport wheelchair. She had to take this semester off of college as she cannot focus or read well.
Terry writes:
“Today, I provided an assessment for trainability and temperament of 5 year-old Bella and an intake for her owner, Jordan at her home. A temperament test was performed on Bella, and she passed with no issues to record. Bella has had some good basic training from Jordan already, and has a knowledge of basic obedience commands, and upon command, executes them to a good degree of accuracy. From observation, I could detect a strong instinctive bond between owner Jordan and Bella, and Bella’s strong willingness to assist and please Jordan.
Bella is a medium-sized dog, and the living arrangement inside the home is good for Bella. The house has a nicely sized back yard, with a rock wall with no holes where the dog might escape or be placed in danger while playing or exercising in the back yard area. In addition, Jordan takes the Bella out for walks and to the dog park to socialize with other dogs. Bella was checked for any skin discoloration, scars, protruding bones, teeth decay, and any other sign that might indicate a pending health risk, and 
there was none found. All vaccinations and monthly preventatives are in order, and from all indications, I could see how eager both Jordan and Bella are to get started. In my professional observation and opinion, I would recommend Jordan and her dog Bella for the Service Dog Express Training Program.
Kindest regards
Terry”
Denise and her Terrier, Lance
From our trainer, Renee in Austin, who had her first assessment/intake session with Denise and her Terrier, “Lance”. Denise suffers from diabetes, anxiety, and Sjorgren’s Disease (a mild form of lupus) and would like Lance to be trained as a medical alert Service Dog.
Renee writes:
“ We met at Denise’s home for our first session. SDIT Lance met all the criteria of the assessment regarding temperament and trainability. Denise will need to work a little with Lance not being distracted by other dogs, but absolutely no aggression was exhibited. His shot records were already obtained and he is on monthly preventative. They had also had him recently groomed at PetSmart, so he is well taken care of. Lance exhibits a close bond with Denise, which is just the ticket. Her two sons in the home and husband are all on-board with doing whatever they can to make the training go well.
We focused on the assessment and on encouraging Denise to have a clear picture of what she would like Lance to do in order to best help her. She will ultimately be teaching him to “Find Help” if she should have a diabetic crisis and then, of course, to bring that help (person) back to her. She feels that Lance is already alerting her when she is having anxiety.
Homework given for the next session was to work on being around the distraction of other dogs while maintaining focus on Denise. She will also get Lance out to the football practice sessions her sons have, thus giving Lance distractions by large crowds and by other dogs. She will also work on a clear picture of what her goal will be with Lance to best help her in the situation of her hypoglycemia and lupus symptoms. Denise will also review and be knowledgeable of the tasks ahead that will be mastered to pass the Public Assess Test. Denise will be ordering the proper vest and equipment. She hopes also to find out about the Flex Account that ideally will help her to pay for the sessions.
Active Duty Janice, and her Chihuahua mix, Bruce.
From our trainer, Beverli, who trained with Active Duty Janice, and her Chihuahua mix, “Bruce”. Janice’s son suffers from autism, so training has been focused on training Janice and Bruce first.
Beverli writes:
“Today, we had our training session at Lowe’s. I brought my Service Dog, Luke, and we worked on Bruce’s ability to heel, obey commands, and respond to his handler with another dog nearby. We started with a sit/stay and down/stay off leash, as well as crossing paths with another dog (my Service Dog), and redirected Bruce to ignore him when needed.
Bruce’s confidence seemed to have improved in new situations, and his responses to commands have improved as well. Bruce needs a little more work on his “heel” and with his focus with another dog nearby.
Homework given was to continue working on Bruce’s scent location skills, as well as ignoring the public on walks and in stores. All in all, it was a very productive session!”
Wonderful update from Julianne about “Khan”
A wonderful update from Julianne, whose family adopted “Khan”, (initially named Blanco). Blanco was found as a stray and so many people helped in saving him, getting him veterinary care, and fostering him – and Julianne’s family instantly knew he would be perfect for Julianne, who was at a summer internship at Harvard. Julianne suffers from severe anxiety, an eating disorder, and OCD. Since she has returned from Harvard, after many “Skype” sessions with Khan so he could learn her voice, they have developed a wonderful bond!
Recently, Julianne wrote:
“Hi Laurie! Great news on how Khan’s training is going! I love him SO much! He instantly applies the deep pressure therapy before I sleep, and it helps me get a good night’s rest without nightmares. Last night, he came onto the couch with me and just plopped down right on me! I said, “Khan, you are not a 2 pound baby but u act like it – you are 80 pounds!!
So, I usually go on long walks with him later in the day when it is cool. Sometimes, due to my disabilities, I sort of “space out” during the day. On this particular day, I was spaced out while walking him and I really don’t remember what I do when I’m spaced out – all I know is I was pulled back because a car was coming at us. Khan actually pulled the leash so that I was alerted when the car was coming. He saved my life! I gave him so many treats for his amazing heroic behavior and we went on our way back home.
He is amazing in every way!!!!
Julianne”
Can Dogs Detect Health Problems in People? | Dog Behavior | Animal Planet
Please read this important article about cancer detection dogs. Laurie had the opportunity to intern at the Pine Street Foundation, and saw with her own eyes the dogs sniffing out breath samples in petri dishes of patients with FIRST STAGE ovarian cancer. They have done the same with breast and lung cancer.
Read on to find out why cancer-sniffing dogs are no laughing matter and learn about the other ways that dogs can detect human health problems.
Source: Can Dogs Detect Health Problems in People? | Dog Behavior | Animal Planet
Meghan and her American Staffordshire Terrier, Precious
From our trainer Austin Maddie, who had her second training session with Meghan and her American Staffordshire Terrier, “Precious”. Meghan suffers from severe anxiety, fibromyalgia, pain management, and PTSD.
Maddie writes:
“Today, at Meghan’s apartment complex sidewalks and the dog park, we worked the whole hour on helping Precious ignore other dogs. I had my partner Allie bring our dog “Chaos” to assist. Allie and Chaos started by walking around far away, and anytime Precious would pull, bark, whine, etc., we would redirect his attention. I instructed Meghan to put a treat at his nose, tell him to sit, and then pull it up to her nose while saying “watch me”. After he mastered it with Chaos far away, we steadily moved closer and closer. 45 minutes later, Allie could walk Chaos in circles around Precious and Meghan and Precious would maintain control and eye contact with Meghan! He did so well!!! We then moved to the dog park to see if he would behave as well off leash… In the dog park (after sniffing and marking everything) he would heel next to Meghan off-leash and pay attention to her. I believe in an unfamiliar place, he would do even better, as the dog park is his usual playtime space.
Precious did so amazing ignoring Chaos today! Last session, we were outside working and another dog came by, and Precious was completely out of control. So much improvement was made this session; Precious is an incredibly smart dog.
For homework, Meghan is supposed to practice the “sit” and “watch me” anytime they are outside walking around. Next session, we are going to the Boardwalk to practice in a busier place with more dogs.”
Wounded Warrior Amber and SDIT Holiday
From our trainer, Beverli, who had her second session with Wounded Warrior, Amber, and her SDIT, hound mix,“Holiday”. Amber suffers from Bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, and back problems.
Beverli writes:
“Today we began Holiday’s introduction to the Public Access Test rules and skills at Petsmart. We worked on “heel”, “leave it” when Holiday got distracted by smells or other people, and a calm, controlled “entry” into and out of different stores. We also worked on “sit-stay” and “down-stay”.
I brought my own Service Dog, Luke, to test Holiday’s distraction with other dogs. Holiday was focused on Amber, regardless of Luke’s location and proximity to him.
Amber and Holiday’s bond has grown since our last session. He responds quickly to basic “sit” and “down” responses, and this shows Amber’s diligence in working with him.
Holiday’s overall comfort and ease in public locations needs improvement. He needs work with socializing and experiencing many new places.
Homework for next session is to work on “touch” in public, and to work on Amber’s handling of Holiday in public in a calm manner.
Recent posting by the mother of Jayna
The most recent posting by the mother of Jayna, who suffers from Complete Agenesis of the Corpus Collosum.
Katherine writes:
“We started off on Saturday loading up the family and heading down to Waco to meet with our trainer Jackie and her boyfriend, Dominic and their Service Dogs, Ellie & Diesel at Toys R Us. We met outside to chat and let the dogs get re-acquainted with each other, and then headed inside for a busy store with lots of kids and families.
We began in the front of the store refreshing Jayna & Brian’s lesson of intersection; etiquette of coming to the intersection, stopping, looking both ways, and then continuing down the aisle. Both did fabulous and did exactly what they were supposed to do! Jayna’s SDIT Brian was very comfortable with Diesel and Dominic and Ellie, and decided to go to another part of the store since Ellie and Brian have some tension between the two of them. Their training together came later.
We walked around the store, found loud and interactive toys; the first toy was a walking Dinosaur and Brian did NOT like that ONE BIT. As we went back and forth and played the toy again and again, he became much more tolerant of the toy and began to ignore it. He continually looked up at Jayna and we had to continually remind her to make eye contact with him throughout the training and walking. We played with a ball bouncing which was a huge distraction, but again, Brian quickly became tolerant of it. Next was a 6″ car that we rolled in their direction. Brian went into a “cover” position around Jayna no matter what side we rolled it on, and he soon became tolerant of that as well.
Then came the training of walking Ellie in front of him. They both got rather vocal, so that will be something that we continually work on. At one point, a father carrying a baby carrier ran past us and Brian began barking. We asked the father to come back by and see if the carrier or just the father was a trigger, and Brian didn’t budge… so we just assumed it was that he was in a rush and ran “out of nowhere”, which startled Brian. We also decided that with Halloween coming, it would be a good idea for us to train with masks. When our other daughter Jillian walked up with a Ninja Turtle mask on, Brian immediately went into a front cover with Jayna and growled. Jayna was on the floor with him, and he was ON her to protect her applying deep pressure. Then came my husband, Dave, with the same mask – but he walked up out of nowhere and came in quickly, which then set Brian off and he was, again, in front cover of Jayna. Perfect job, Brian! Afterwards, we allowed him to sniff the mask, but he still wasn’t sure of it when we put it on our faces. We have a video of that.
Then there came the man with green hair and his child. Brian was cautious of him, but we told the man that we were training a Service Dog and wanted to know if he would come up to Brian and Jayna and introduce himself and properly introduce himself to Brian (show back of hand to be smelled, then licked). Brian loved that guy! LOL! Figures…he likes men with green hair! One thing we noticed was that Brian is startled and alarmed with men in general. That will be something that we have to work on. Dave and I plan on inviting men over to introduce to Brian and allow him to build up that tolerance. Brian knows when something is “wrong”…so we don’t want to take that effectiveness away, but big men, tall men, or men with hats alarms him. Go figure.
Now to Sunday…
Brian did great in the youth group! He was comfortable with everyone who came in, and loud noises too (kids playing ping pong and yelling, etc.) When we went to the Sanctuary for worship, Brian was vocal again when people clapped. No one seemed to mind (in fact, they all gave a “thumbs up” when we looked at them). At the end of the service, there was a LOT of clapping and Brian became VERY vocal and barked quite a bit. When we tried to leave, we were urged to stay and were told (by no less than 5 people) to please not leave…that he was just fine and they approved of him being there and barking. It was at that point that our youth pastor got up and called our family forward to explain about Brian and why we have him and why he was coming to church now. So we did. When they clapped us out, Brian barked and barked…everyone laughed and had a great time. Of course, we realize that we will have to work on stopping Brian from barking, as that is not allowed in excess for a Service Dog.
We’ll try to see how we can keep the barking at bay – perhaps using the Pet Corrector or a spray bottle. Saying, “Good Boy” and constantly comforting him with praise when the clapping began kept him quiet for a good while, but at the end, it was just too much for him.
EVENING SESSION WITH YOUTH GROUP…
So we had an evening Bible Study tonight with the youth, and when a young boy came in a little late, Brian could sense his fear and he was uncomfortable. We told the young man that we were sorry, but we would definitely work with he and the dog later and see if there was a way we could get that behavior to stop. At the end of Bible Study, we went out into the open area, out of the classroom, and invited the young man to come out with us to formally introduce Brian and to work with him on not being afraid, and for Brian to get familiar with him and not bark. When the young man walked in with Dave, Brian began wagging his tail the whole time but then began barking. So, after settling Brian down, we told the young man to extend his hand out with the back of the hand facing outward and to gently approach Brian saying “good boy” and being calm. Brian then walked up to him, licked his hand, wagged his tail and was fine! We then asked the young man to sit on the floor with Dave and to, again, extend his hand out. Brian did great there too. (All this is happening after I sent a text to our trainer, Jackie, asking how we were to help this situation…we had NOT heard from her until we got home…so this was all Dave and I acting on instinct). Once the young man got on the floor, Brian began licking him and was quite happy. We then took off Brian’s vest to “play” for a minute and several other youth joined us. We had a GREAT time of playing and loving on Brian…the young man included. We asked the young man if he would like to give Brian a treat and he did beautifully! We told him that the next time he sees Brian, to be confident that we are in control, and to approach with his hand extended backwards again for a “reaquaintance” and then we’ll allow the young man to treat him for his good behavior.
When we got home, I texted the situation to our trainer and she was SO reassuring to us! What would we do without her?! She is AMAZING! I asked her if we did ok and what she would have done differently in that situation and her response was amazing….
From Jackie:
No that’s perfect!! I wasn’t sure if the young man would have been comfortable interacting with Brian. This was terrific for a few reasons. The young man’s fear probably plays out in his body posture, which actually probably sets off other dogs in other settings which then adds to the fear. By doing what you did, this young man is more likely to have different body posture. Also, Brian in some ways did good because he probably picked up on posture/movements out of the ordinary. For instance: when we were at the mall and the people were just kind of standing and watching, or when your husband’s approach too quickly with the costume yesterday and when that man ran by yesterday… You all taking the time to redirect Brian lets him know that not everything is a threat and there are more appropriate ways to respond. IF he continues to have problems with the young man now that the initial barrier has been broken, we could actually use that as an opportunity to redirect him much like we did yesterday with the costume. It’s awesome how you guys handled the situation! And the fact that you noticed the situation is good too because that will help with narrowing in during the future for any troubles he might have. It will also help for Brian recognizing his own triggers.”
I should also mention that YOUR donations are truly making a difference!! Without your support, NONE OF THIS would be possible. Training is hard. It’s hard on the dog, but equally hard on the handler (Jayna). Spending as much time with Jackie as possible is so beneficial, and we try to get as much time in with her as possible when we meet with her…she lives in Temple…we live in Arlington… 2 hours away.
So thank you. Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts. Thank you to Tate Springs Baptist Church, our church home, for loving us and supporting us in this transition. Thank you for allowing Brian to “praise” when we praise. Thank you to #tatezone youth group for enveloping our family into your group and for treating our Jayna as just “one of the kids”. It truly means the world to us. She finally has friends…and that is priceless!
In Him,
Katherine”