When students at Stafford County High School received their yearbooks this year, they found the face of one of their classmates, Alpha. Think that’s a funny name for a student? Not when the student is a dog. Continue reading Yearbook Dog
Rachel Burton of Woburn, Massachusetts brings us George, from the Service Dog Project which trains dogs to help the mobility impaired. The Great Dane was paired with Bella, a 10-year-old girl with a rare genetic disorder called Morquio Syndrome. This disorder makes mobility exceptionally difficult and requires Bella to undergo many operations. Continue reading Meet the AKC ACE Honoree for Service Dogs
To celebrate the dogs that do extraordinary things for their human counterparts, the AKC Humane Fund is seeking YOUR nominations for its AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence (ACE). Nominations open today, April 1, 2015 and winners will be announced summer 2015.
Continue reading Nominations Now Open for AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence
In a somewhat innovative move, Family Court Judge Jim James (Stark County, Ohio) has announced his plans to apply for a court dog from Canine Companions for Independence. Classified as a “facility dog”, the canine would be made available to both prosecution and defense teams to offer emotional support to people who are testifying in stressful cases.
Continue reading A dog’s day in court
When Jared Goering came home after one tour in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan, he had a little trouble getting around because two vehicles had been blown up under him by IED’s. He was also a little shaky emotionally, as you might guess. He wasn’t asking for much, just a nice walk on the North Wildwood Boardwalk with his wife and his service dog, Gator.
Continue reading How NOT to say “Welcome home and thank you for your service”
This is a tough one. Pretend you’re on the school board of a small, rural school district in Southern Ohio. An autistic child in your school needs to bring her service dog with her to class. In your small district, you have only a limited number of special education classroooms, and the room this child is in is taught by a woman who is allergic to dogs. What do you do?
Continue reading Teacher’s Allergies vs. Autistic Child’s Service Dog: What would you do?
Have you ever misplaced your cell phone, then had to call yourself to find it? Of course, that’s not so easy when the phone is set to vibrate! But not to worry; apparently all cell phones contain a substance that gives off a particular odor that your dog can smell.
Many people say the economy is the most pressing problem facing the country today, but Al Franken took the time to introduce a bill in Congress to help our country’s veterans heal from their war wounds by matching them with service dogs.
Continue reading Al Franken: comedian, Senator, and now dog admirer
I’ve posted many times about service dogs, how expensive they are to train, and how valuable they are to the people they assist. It’s inconceivable to me that a school district is now in front of the courts, trying to ban an assistance dog from attending school with his autistic charge, a six-year old boy.
Continue reading Service Dog May Be Banned from Illinois Classroom
Have you heard about Angel Service Dogs? There was an article in People Magazine about the founders, Brett & Sherry Mers of Monument, CO.
Their daughter, Riley, is terribly allergic to peanuts, to the point where she cannot enter a room where there is any possible source of contact with a peanut product. Her mom saw a TV show about how dogs are used in airports to detect illegal foods being brought into the country. She wondered if dogs could be trained to detect allergans, and thus a non-profit organization was born.
The first breed they have chosen for training is the Porti -how Presidential!
They now run a foundation dedicated to training service dogs for allergic people and matching these people to a dog who meets their specific needs. The dogs not only know how to use their noses, they also are trained to get help and can even push a pre-programmed phone button to call 911 for help.
What a great idea!
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!