Sunday, September 29, 2013

Can I Pet Your Dog?

It's a question they warned us about. It's a question we practiced answering. It's a question I really do get asked nearly every time Dash and I are out and about. 

Can I pet your dog?



And the answer is no. Or yes. Or yes, but under a few conditions. It's complicated. 

The reason it is so important to always ask before petting a service dog is that he is working. "Working," in a dog's case, means he is striving as hard as he can to listen to his handler - and only his handler - in order to perform the tasks asked of him. So, even when a dog appears to be just sleeping by his handler's side, he is actually in a down command, waiting for whatever might come next. When people other than the handler pay the dog any type of attention - from petting to puppy talk (baby talk for dogs!) to something as seemingly harmless as prolonged eye-contact (resist the power of the puppy eyes!), the dog's focus and attention on his handler is at risk. 

For this reason, every time I am asked this seemingly simple question, my mind races as I assess the situation before answering. I am taking into account things such as:

• Dash's current state. Is he in an easily excitable mood? Is he overwhelmed or tired? Or is he on his best behavior, ready to obey and respond only to me? 
• The atmosphere around us. Is it crowded and loud? Quiet and more intimate?
• The person who is asking. And how many people are around who also might want to get in on the puppy petting action.
• Whether or not I am in the mood/have the time to let someone pet my dog, which almost always leads to further conversation. (Just being honest!)

It's a simple sort of checklist but the answers to these questions are a combination of simple assessment and personal discression. 

If Dash is not in a state where he could handle getting extra attention without breaking a command or getting excited, the answer is no

If we are amidst a crowd or in a loud place, I know Dash is already working to keep his attention on me and mind his manners. The answer is no

If the person asking seems overly excited, I know Dash might pick up on this and get excited as well. In this case, the answer is no or yes, but with some guidelines. In cases like this I might attempt to diffuse some of the excitement by asking for the person to wait until Dash sits down and to please stop petting him if he breaks his sit. This works most of the time! 

But, if Dash is focused, we are in a nice environment, and someone politely asks to pet him, I'm fairly likely to say yes. I know he's adorable and hard to resist! And it gives me an opportunity to share about Canine Companions for Independence, Dash's training, and how he is such a great help to me. 

I also say yes to children almost without fail. That's why I couldn't resist when a darling girl and her daddy asked to pet Dash in BJs yesterday. I explained to them how Dash can pick things up for me, turn the lights on and off, open doors, and - what seemed to be most impressive in this case - how he only barks on command! What really made my day, though, was when that little girl's mama joined our conversation, her daughter was able to explain all of Dash's talents! Children are great at spreading the word about service dogs, and I've been impressed at the number of them that already have an understanding of a working dog. 



All that to say, I'm honored when people ask to pet Dash. I myself am tempted to drop what I'm doing on occasion just to give him some lovin' (and I do!). I wish I could say yes to people every single time. But I also love what Dash is able to do for me, and if saying no to people means keeping his focus, so be it. 

Friday, September 27, 2013

The History of Dash


Last Monday, Dash and I had the opportunity to speak to a local chapter of the General Federation of Women's Clubs. The GFWC is an international women's organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service and has partnered with Canine Companions for Independence in supporting the Wounded Veterans Initiative. This initiative places CCI assistance dogs with injured service men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Just like all of Canine Companions' dogs, they are given to the vets free of charge!
I really enjoyed meeting with the women of the General Federation of Women's Club and having the chance to speak on behalf of the North Central Region of Canine Companions for Independence.
Besides giving a demonstration of some of the ways Dash assists me on a daily basis and the four categories of dogs CCI offers, I also spent some time explaining the life cycle of a Canine Companions dog. I'd like to share about that life cycle again in this blog post - using Dash as an example, of course!


PUPPIES!
Along with all of Canine Companions for Independence's puppies, Dash was bred and born in California. CCI's breeding pool consists only of Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers, so all offspring are either purebred or a cross between the two. People often assume that Dash is a pure black lab, but I'll let you in on a secret - his mama was a black lab but his papa was yellow! In addition to that, he also has some golden retriever in his bloodline. That's right. Dash is a lab/golden cross!
(Disclaimer: I apologize in advance for the poor quality of lots of the pics in this post. They are pictures of pictures from Dash's baby book that his puppy raisers gave me. Poor in quality, high in cuteness!)


PUPPY RAISERS!
At about 8 weeks of age the pups are taken to CCI Headquarters in Santa Rosa, California. From there, they are shipped all over the country to meet their respective puppy raisers! Puppy raisers are amazing people who are responsible for not only caring for their pups, but also for teaching them 30 commands and socializing them to as many sights, sounds, smells, textures, people, animals, and everything else there is as possible. Dash was raised by a wonderful couple named Jim and Sandy in Pennsylvania. Dash was not the first dog that Jim and Sandy raised - in fact, they recently turned in their seventh puppy, Montego, for Advanced Training!




Jim & Sandy with itty bitty baby Dash!
This is Dash in his first training cape. CCI dogs-in-training wear yellow capes/vests. 
In his big boy yellow vest. On the puppy raisers' list of things to introduce the dog to is a mascot. Check that off the list!

Once the pups-in-training are of age, they are turned in at the matriculation/graduation ceremony. More on that in a bit!



ADVANCED TRAINING!
After about 18 months of growing and learning with their puppy raisers, the dogs go to one of 5 regional CCI training facilities for advanced training, aka "doggy college"! Dash was sent to the North Central Region which is in Delaware, Ohio. In advanced training the dogs learn commands they would use as working dogs such and turning light switches on and off and pulling doors open. 

I know Dash is one of these, but I couldn't tell ya which one! (I could tell you which one he isn't, though!)

It is also at this time that some dogs may be dismissed from the program for any number of reasons such as health issues, fear, aggression, or just a lack of desire to work. In fact, about 60% of all the dogs are released from the program! These dogs are referred to as "change of career" dogs and either return to their puppy raiser family or a friend of the puppy raiser family who has a bond with the dog, or can go to someone on the long waiting list of people who would love to have one of these beautiful dogs. Once a dog is released from the program it becomes a typical pet - at least a typical pet who knows about 30 commands! I've noticed that many change of career dogs go on to be therapy dogs of some sort.
Advanced Training lasts for about 6 months, at which point the dog has the opportunity to be placed with its forever person in Team Training!



TEAM TRAINING!
Team Training is a two week time period where those people who have waited faithfully for their service dog come to one of the 5 training facilities to learn how to work with the dogs and be paired with the ideal dog for each person. I waited for three years before I got the call that I had a spot open for me in Team Training! In a future post (or series of posts), I will recap my time in TT.


Tamale was one of the dogs I worked with in our Team Training class.  Tamale ended up with a nice guy named Tom.
 Pay attention, Dash! 

Our class ended up with 3 black labs, 5 yellow, and 1 golden retriever! (Labs or lab-golden crosses, that is!)


GRADUATION/MATRICULATION!
The grand finale of Team Training is graduation day, which is also turn-in (matriculation) that I mentioned earlier.  This is such a special day! Each graduate gets to meet and have lunch with the person who raised their puppy, and then during the ceremony the puppy raisers hand the leash over to the new graduate. It is a powerful moment for all involved. Two dreams are fulfilled on graduation day: Puppy Raisers the dog they raised graduate, and the graduates get their wonderful service dogs!
This was the moment Jim & Sandy handed me Dash's leash at graduation!
This is Montego at his matriculation ceremony. Dash and I attended to cheer him on and cheer Jim & Sandy up as they said goodbye to this beautiful pup. As you can see, matriculating dogs get to wear a cape of honor for the event - out of the yellow but yet to have an official service dog vest!



LIFE!
This is the stage we are in now. Dash does life with me - accompanying me almost everywhere I go. My life is only better for having him - independence, confidence, and joy are but a few of the gifts Dash has helped me to gain.
My hope is that Dash will work until he is an old man dog. Each dog is different, but eventually service dogs retire into pet-dom. With monitoring, a Dash's retirement (hopefully) can be predicted, at which point I will reapply for a successor dog. Successor dogs are usually provided within about six months of application, because Canine Companions knows that once a person lives with a service dog, living without is a real challenge.



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Just a reminder, Dash and I are participating in this year's Canine Companions DogFest Walk 'n Roll, the signature national event of Canine Companions for Independence. If you are in the Cleveland area, join us on October 20th from 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm at Volunteer Park in Strongsville. Click here for details! If you would like to sponsor team Dash, click here!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Priceless

I have a confession. As I've mentioned, I waited for three years before receiving a phone call from Canine Companions for Independence that it was time to come get my service dog. Once the call came, though, I got a pit in my stomach. I began to wonder if this was a good idea at all. The embarrassing thought that came into my mind was that having a service dog would be another accessory to add to my arsenal of things that make me look disabled. Already covered: wheelchair (replete with head gear), trach with occasional ventilator, sometimes a brace on my hand. It seemed like a lot for people to take in as is, and adding a dog to this mix felt over-the-top.
Of course I ignored these thoughts, figuring I had waited this long- I might as well go through with it. 
And here's the truth behind the matter: Dash has done the exact opposite of what I feared he would do. He has not added to my "disability accessories," he has detracted from them!
No longer do I hear children in stores asking their mamas what's wrong with me. I now hear squeals of glee and "puppy!" everywhere I go. Not only has it helped children see a dog before they see a wheelchair, it has also helped adults to more comfortably approach me. Often, once I have answered a few questions about Dash, people realize that although I am in a wheelchair, I am the same as anyone else! Dash has helped to bridge a gap that shouldn't exist anyway- that between me as a disabled woman and the rest of the able-bodied world. And I am so grateful.

I waited three years for this gift. And there are many more people waiting for the same. Will you join me in making this free gift possible for others? Click here to help sponsor Team Dash as we walk in this year's DogFest Walk 'n Roll event! It would mean the world to me.