This could have been yet another horror story of an abandoned puppy, and had she not been found, she most like would not have made it. Instead, it’s a story of love and inspiration.

For a 9 week old birth defect puppy, St. Patrick’s Day really was a lucky day! Someone had tossed the tiny dog into a garbage bag then in a dumpster because she was born with only three legs, most likely someone who was attempting to breed and didn’t know what they were doing.

From Dumpster Dog to Therapy Puppy

Clover, as the little Cock-a-poo mix of some sort has been dubbed, not only has a home where she is loved, spoiled and pampered, at only nine weeks old, she has a job too!

Laura Chase, whose friends found the little abandoned puppy, is a physical therapy assistant at Oakmont Nursing Home and Residential Care Center in Union. She knew right where Clover would fit in and do something inspirational. Clover is now a tiny little therapy dog at the nursing home and you can bet she revels in all the attention and love and the residents just love her too.

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Yet another case of service dog discrimination despite all the federal and state laws the school district is breaking.

In the latest incident in a year long battle, John Cave and his hearing service dog, Simba, were turned away at the entrance of W. Tresper Clarke High Scool in East Meadow by principal Timothy Voels. Despite a ruling and the support of the state Division of Human Rights, Voles persist in denying entrance to the dog citing that it poses a danger to other students.

Human Rights Commissioner Kumiki Gibson said in a 24-page decision that the district was in violation of two sections of state human rights law while East Meadow Superintendent of Schools Leon Campo is determined that the district will appeal the decision.

“I don’t think they know what they’re doing,” John Cave said of school district officials. “I think they’re going to be in big trouble with the state.”

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Chewey, a 5 1/2 month old Labrador retriever with a heart problem that could cut his life span to just a couple of years. His heart beats at about 3 times the normal rate and if this isn’t regulated it could kill him.

Now we all know that all our pooches are special but Chewey is even a bit extra special, he’s in training at Autism Service Dogs of America in Oregon and will be placed with an autistic child.

Mary Shimmel, Chewey’s Trainer: “He will be an autism service dog. He will go with a child who has autism and help that child socialize to his environment.”

The procedure that Chewey will undergo is a 6 hour surgery called radio-frequency catheter ablation which is only performed at the Cincinnati Animal Referral and Emergency Center and costs about $6000. While this procedure is only done about a dozen times a year, dogs from all over the world travel to Cincinnati to have it done.

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Dogs have been trained to assist people is all walks of life for decades and beyond. This is not a new concept.

Some brief description of the more well known types of service dogs are:

• Guide Dogs - they assist blind or sight impaired persons by guiding them safely around obstacles, through traffic and sidewalks, up and down stairs, etc.
• Hearing Dog - they alert the hearing impaired to sounds such as the phone, doorbell, microwave, alarms, etc.
• Mobility Assist Dog - they can do such things as pull a wheelchair, carry things in a specially designed backpack, pick up items and open and close doors
• Seizure Alert Dogs - these dogs are trained to help when their handler has a seizure by staying with them or going for help as need be. Many are trained to call 911 for assistance through an already set up system. Many of these dogs can even alert their handler or help when a seizure is coming on due to the fact that they can sense the chemical changes.

And then there are the Ssig Dogs, dogs trained to work with autistic partners.

How do service dogs help children with autism? Service dogs for autism assist children in several ways: Service dogs provide the child/adult challenged with autism an opportunity to safely access different environments which result in improved communication and social skills. The autism service dog’s presence offers a calming influence and provides a sense of security to the child and the parents. Abstract and concrete thinking advance, focus improves, and the length of attention span increases. Emotional outbursts occur less often. The important role of an autism service dog is affording the individual more independence and autonomy, helping those individuals become a viable part of the community at large. Here’s the story of how one child’s life was changed by one of these incredible dog heros! Read more… »

For most of us who share our homes and our live with our furry canine companions, it’s not much of a secret but it’s always kind of nice when the rest of the world finally realizes what we knew all along.

A recent study in Britain has come to the conclusion that dogs are the secret to health and happiness because dog owners feel obligated to walk their pooches regardless of how they feel, thus they get exercise and just getting out can improve mood.

The 65 dog owners who were interviewed for the study said dogs brought them into contact with the owners of other dogs and bolstered their social lives, said Sarah Knight, a doctoral student in psychology at the university.

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Yes, Ruby is a pit bull. One of those dogs many claim is a vicious and dangerous dog, unpredictable and prone to attack at any time.

Well, Ruby is a certified therapy dog and not only that, she’s also received the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association Animal Hall of Fame Companion Award and was recently given an achievement award from the Animal Farm Foundation in New York. And to top of this list of achievements, she’s also taken a turn on the stage in “Cheaper by the Dozen” at the Lakeshore Players in White Bear Lake about a year ago.

Yeah, she’s a scary dog, look how terrified the residents of Croixdale, an independent assisted-living and memory care facility in Bayport, are. She cuddles and loves, get pets and attention and brings joy and smiles to all those the encounters. Scary, hunh?

Ruby’s life wasn’t always so idealic. When she was found as a puppy three years ago she was starving and abandoned in an empty building. Most of her fur was missing and she spent weeks recovering and recuperating before an attepmt could even be made to find her a foster home.

In come the Bettendorf’s. They hadn’t planned to add another dog to their family but after being asked three times to foster, they finally relinquished and agreed to take her for the Thanksgiving weekend. After Thanksgiving dinner, Ruby crawled onto the loveseat and fell asleep in the lap of a family guest and the rest is history.

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That’s Why I’ Here

My children have always been involved in 4-H. Heavily into the animal
divisions, with a few other projects, they took their county fair presentations
very seriously. I was a professional dog trainer and handler, and one year,
my two youngest children entered our registered dogs in the Beginner
Obedience class. My fourteen-year-old son, Jeremy, wanted to do
something with the dogs too, but he was very independent and didn’t
want something that everyone else was doing. He came to me in the
spring, several months before the fair and said, “I’ve decided to make
my dog project count.” He proceeded to show me his detailed plan for
his Citizenship project, providing canine therapy dog visits to local
nursing homes.

In the north central portion of Minnesota where we lived, this was an
unheard of concept. Jeremy told me he had already done some of the
legwork by asking his brother, sister, and two members of the 4-H club
to come along and assist. What he needed from me most was to choose
the appropriate dogs and teach the handlers how to present a dog to an
elderly and perhaps bedridden person. We contacted several nursing
homes and finally found one that agreed to allow our therapy dogs to
visit. Jeremy called his buddy 4-H’ers and set up a training schedule.
When all five kids were comfortable presenting the dogs, we made an
appointment with the nursing home.

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What makes ‘Bob Marley’ so special as a hearing assist dog? The fact that he’s a pitbull. Personally I don’t think it’s all that out of line. Pitbulls are generally very intelligent dogs and eminently trainable. I’ve seem them used in law enforcement and search and rescue on numerous occasions and they tend to work out wonderfully! So why not as service dogs?

Before Jeff Hayman sleeps, he must remove both of his hearing aides so they can be cleaned.

This renders the 22-year-old completely deaf. Hayman’s phone, doorbell or worse - a smoke alarm - could sound, and he wouldn’t hear it.

But he would feel it, thanks to Bob Marley, one of the most unusual hearing dogs in the country and, to some, a controversial one.

Marley is a pit bull. Like any good hearing dog, he knows to wake his owner by nudging or jumping on him when he hears certain sounds. On Thursday, Hayman completed the last session in a 13-week course at Tidewater K-9 Academy to turn his muscular, 54-pound companion into a certified hearing dog.

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In many segments of our society members are given up on, both human and animals. They’re too far gone; old, delinquent, not cared about, just tossed away. Well now there’s a wonderful program that is bringing these ‘last chance’ members together for a second chance.

Renaissance Program at Boys Totem Town, a juvenile treatment institution in St. Paul and Home for Life, an animal sanctuary in western Wisconsin have joined together to give young men and dogs deemed unfit for adoption for one reason or another, a chance to learn and grow together.

“Boys who come from rough-and-tumble backgrounds are teaching dogs who come from rough-and-tumble backgrounds how to become therapy animals.”

Totem Town superintendent Tom McGinn feels that by teaching dogs the skills and discipline the boys are trying to learn, the boys will improve their own behavior faster.

Home for Life founder Lisa LaVerdiere gives sanctuary to dogs that others have thrown away, may are old, disabled and many have been abused and neglected or are just too “wild.” LaVerdiere believes that these dogs can still have a purpose in life and they do community service, often visiting domestic abuse shelters, nursing homes and hospitals.

“Just because a dog’s been given up on, it can still go out and contribute, and these dogs can help folks who are in worse off shape,” LaVerdiere said.

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If you’ve ever read anything I’ve done on companion and service dogs, you know that I have great respect for them and the incredible benefits they bring to people. Police dogs do the most amazing things every day and here’s the story of just one of those dogs put on the scent on a missing 5 year old boy in the UK. This was just too cute to pass up!

Police, worried neighbours and even a football team spent two hours searching for a missing five-year-old boy – only to find him asleep under his bed.

After Alex Olver’s worried parents rang police, they sent up a helicopter to scour the countryside around Saltash, Cornwall.

Eleven people, including four police officers, scoured the boy’s room during the search but could not find him.

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Pfc. Adrian Garcia, 19, and Army veteran who lost both of his legs after a rocket propelled grenade hit his Humvee in March, is being told by Army officials that he can’t keep his service dog, Moukie, with him while he recovers at Fisher House.

“In crowds, she will help me with balance and with overall demeanor,” he said. “She is always there to love me,” and added that she’s better for him than any dose of medicine.

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Meet Ellie and no, she’s not on trial. Ellie, a Lab/golden retriever mix, is a service dog assigned to the King County Prosecutor’s Office and has been with them since 2004.

County prosecutor Dan Satterberg admitted “we’re not necessarily warm and fuzzy people,” and that’s where Ellie comes in. In cases where children have been victimized, prosecutors said they need to build a rapport so the children feel safe telling the truth about their experiences and Ellie helps to support kids in interviews, juvenile drug court cases and trials.

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