SHELTER DOGS BECOME SERVICE DOGS

Sharing Hands adopts, trains new service dog

By Brandon K. Rush
Newton Kansan

Lori Smith, kennel manager at Caring Hands Humane Society in Newton gets a high-
five from Onyx, an American Pit Bull Terrier, the society’s new service dog adopted by
the shelter. This is one of at least 10 commands Onyx knows.

Caring Hands Humane Society in Newton has taken in a new service dog to be trained
as a “therapy dog.” Her name is Onyx, and she’s an American Pit Bull Terrier, a little
over a year old, said Jack Brand of Caring Hands, and she will be the first new in-house,
shelter-owned, active service dog that the Humane Society has had in two years. “She’s
extremely social, as most Pit Bulls are,” said Brand. “Their outgoing nature and high
confidence makes them good therapy dogs.” Onyx came to the shelter as a stray, and
was tracked through an identification microchip through three different former homes
around the region, but none of those homes were able to continue to take care of her —
so she was eventually adopted as a “house dog” by Caring Hands. Training her to
become a therapy dog won’t be easy, however. “Everyone here at the shelter has taken
some part in training her,” said Lori Smith, kennel manager and the shelter’s training
and behavioral consultant. “She already knows at least 10 commands now, if not more.”

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Onyx will go through specialized training, consisting of three separate, intensive training
sessions before she takes a certification test. The primary goal of the shelter is to help
Onyx become a “companion dog,” a type of therapy dog which will visit children in
schools, and visit the elderly, hospital patients, or those who cannot have pets of their
own. “She’s already had her first experiences being around a lot of kids,” said Smith,
citing some visits the shelter has already taken Onyx out on. “She wasn’t bothered by
them at all. She’s very friendly.” Caring Hands has not had an active therapy dog since
the retirement of Sylvester, a Cairn Terrier, who is now in his late teens. Lucy, a
Doberman Pinscher, was their other service dog. She died in 2008. Brand says he is
enthusiastic about Onyx taking the reigns of the new therapy dog position because Pit
Bulls have always been his favorite breed. “We want to increase exposure of the good
personality of Pit Bull Terriers,” Brand said. “So often the media has portrayed them as
vicious, and they’re not. The breed is extremely sensitive, empathic and intelligent.”
Onyx is not alone as a new pet adopted by the shelter, however. They’ve also adopted a
new cat, who they call Libby. Onyx is the star of the show and she knows it, happily
standing on her back legs and hanging on the edge of the reception counter to see any
new people who come into the shelter to visit or adopt one of the many cats and dogs
who call Caring Hands home for the time being. “We have really high hopes that she’ll
be able to do a lot of good,” Brand said. For more information, call Caring Hands at
(316) 283-0839 or visit www.caringhandshs.org. Copyright 2010 The Newton
Kansan. Some rights reserved

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 SHELTER DOGS GET A SECOND CHANCE AS SERVICE
DOGS

Seemingly unwanted dogs are given a second chance to serve as a vital part of another being's
life with Eagles Wings Service Dogs, based out of the Lycoming County SPCA, 2805 Reach Road.

During the course of two years, the organization has placed one special dog and has others joining the
ranks of full-fledged service dogs.

Dogs are, in a sense, rescued from the SPCA to participate in the Eagles Wings program. The
animals' backgrounds vary from abuse, starvation, neglect or just being homeless on the streets.
Not all dogs are candidates for the service-dog lifestyle

Donna Brink, secretary of the Eagles Wings board, is one of five volunteers keeping the special
organization running. Brink explained that an animal's temperament is the first and major
contributing factor to the future of a dog in the program

Expanding upon a temperament test the SPCA conducts with healthy dogs, Eagles Wings' tests include a
food test to see of they can take food from a dog. Also entailed in their testing is touching the dog for its
reaction and a sort of staring contest. If the dog stares back, barks or jumps up, it's a sign of
aggression that Eagles Wings finds undesirable. The group needs the dogs to respond to people
around it instead of environmental elements and the animal must have a good retrieval response. The
dog also must be a medium- to large-size dog and be easy to care for

If it is thought the dog might make a good candidate for the service program, a volunteer will take the dog
into their home for a week or two to see how it responds to the indoor element. It's difficult to
say how long it will take the dog to progress through this portion of its testing

Ann Sanders, vice president of Eagles Wings, commented that this portion of the dog's training could
be a little tricky. The goal is to teach a dog from the SPCA house manners

"A lot of these dogs have problems," Sanders said. "They're abused, neglected and we have to take
care of those issues first. Some aren't even house trained and some haven't lived in a house."

Not all dogs are acceptable. Eagles Wings has had two out of five dogs rejected during its two-year run-
ning period, something that Sanders said can happen any time during their training.

"We have to be able to give them time because each dog is different," Sanders said.

Once the dog has reached a level of comfort inside the home of one of the volunteers, it is signed up
for obedience classes through a course at the SPCA. Simple things such as come, sit and stay are
taught here."

Understandably so, it will take months of training to reach the level where the dog is introduced into a
public setting. Eventually social skills are taught to the dog by taking it into places where it will interact
with people and other dogs.

Brink said the dogs are taken to parks, libraries and the Lycoming Mall. In advance training, the dogs
are taken to restaurants and churches.

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"We try to get them into every conceivable situation they might run into," Brink said.

The dogs also practice wearing their uniform. Each dog is required to wear a special cape while in
public identifying it as a service dog. Their ensemble is complete with a patch that says `Please do not
pet me, I'm a service dog."'

In order to be a service dog, the animals must learn skills, things that will make it invaluable to a
potential owner. The dog will learn to pick things up, retrieve items and open doors. More than that,
service dogs can be trained to pay for a purchase at counters and turn lights on and off.

"They're also acquainted with wheelchairs, walkers and canes so they're not afraid of them," Sanders
said. For those with mobility problems, the dogs are taught to brace in case their person loses their
balance or just needs help standing. They're also taught to walk in a harness in order to give their
person balance when walking.

After completing this rigorous process, the dog is then matched up personality-wise to any applicant in
waiting. But the series of tests does not stop there. The applicant themselves also must enter a
battery of interviews, paperwork and even their own three-week training period. It is here that the
person will meet the dog and the two will work together to become a team in every sense of the
word. Eagles Wing members are with the dog and applicant every step of the process for the duration
of testing.

Eventually, the two will be taken out into public to see what their compatibility is like in the outside
environment, in real-life situations such as restaurants.

Before doing so, the dog and applicant are required to take what is called a public-access test before
entering the, public on their own. This test includes a number of tasks such as the dog opening a door
for its person and loading and unloading from a vehicle together. If things go smoothly and the two
pass the tests, the applicant may then take home their service dog.
Eagles Wings members do not drop contact with their graduate dog once it has left their program. "We
keep in touch with them with a follow-up routine, Sanders said. "We're in contact every single day for
the first week. then once a month, than monthly. We wean them off and make sure everything is
going smoothly."

Afterwards, there is a yearly public access test that must be renewed.

The group's first success story was with a mixed breed dog named Jasmine who spent two years
in the Eagles Wings' program before being placed in September with a local man who is permanently
confined to a wheelchair.

Jasmine was trained not only to pick up and carry things for her person, but also to alert him of people
approaching. Currently there are two dogs in training with the program. The service dogs are
especially useful to individuals who are mobility impaired, having trouble walking or navigating
because of to illness or disease.

"It's been really fun doing this," Brink said. "I don't think I've experienced as much satisfaction as
when I turned Jasmine over to her new owner and saw the look on his face."

Eagles Wings Service Dogs may be contacted by calling the SPCA at 322-4646

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 RESCUED FROM AN AREA PUPPY MILL, GOLDEN
RETRIEVER FINDS NEW LIFE AS A SERVICE DOG
By ALISSA EATON/MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette

Charles B. Miller of DuBoistown enjoys a “lick down” from his service dog Andy after a swim
Monday at the YWCA’s warm water pool. Miller, who is wheelchair-bound, takes Andy with
him everywhere, including the pool and the Gibson Rehabilitation Center, as a therapy dog. “I
wouldn’t have the confidence to go out without Andy,” says Miller. If my wife had to pick
between me and Andy, I think the dog would stay,” Charles “Chuck” Miller said laughing.

Miller and Andy, a golden retriever and an Eagles Wings Service dog, are quite a pair. Miller,
who has been a wheelchair for two-and-half years, has had help from Andy for about 14 months.

“I would recommend to anyone, who is in a wheelchair, to have a service dog,” Miller said.

Andy was trained by Ann Sanders and Cindy Sortman, who work at Eagles Wings Service Dogs
in Eagles Mere.

Although Andy is big and playful, he also is good at doing specific chores that Miller needs him
to do. He can open the refrigerator, retrieve the telephone, help Miller dress and undress and
even help put laundry away.

“Each dog is trained to meet the needs of the individual recipient,” according to the Eagles
Wings Service Dogs Web site.

Miller is in a wheel chair because of Spinal Stenosis, a condition that causes a narrowing of the
lumbar spinal column and produces pressure on the nerve roots causing back and neck pain and
usually decreasing physical activity.

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“I had surgery on some of my vertebrae, C3, C4, C5 and C6 were all split open to relieve the
pressure,” Miller said.

After the surgery, Miller and his wife, Sherry, spent more than $30,000 making the downstairs of
their DuBoistown home more handicap accessible. The kitchen floor was raised so Miller could
reach the counters, a dishwasher was installed, the porch was raised and a ramp was built. Some
doors and doorways in the house also were widened so a wheelchair could fit through.

Miller decided that getting service dog might be a good idea when he spoke to a woman who
attended the YWCA with him and whose daughter had a service dog.

Miller has been swimming at the YWCA for about two years because it is the only physical
activity that he can do.

Eventually, Andy began joining him when he went swimming. Although Andy does not get in
the water, he walks up and down the side of the pool and never takes his eyes off Miller.

Andy retrieves things that Miller might need while he is in the pool. He can pick up flippers with
his mouth and give them to Miller.

“If something goes wrong, he is there to help me. He gives me a boost,” Miller added.

The Eagles Wings Service dogs wear a harness or a backpack with a patch identifying them as a
working service dog. Most assistance dogs wear similar equipment, according the Eagles Wings
Service Dogs Web site.

It is important not to pet a service dog when it is working. It can distract the dog from being
aware of its owner’s needs and commands, the Web site also states.

Pairing up was a miracle for both Chuck and Andy. Andy came from a puppy mill in
Montgomery, but was then taken to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The dog was going to be put down, but passed some preliminary tests that showed he might be a
good service dog.

“He was going to be put under, but Ann thought she could bring him back around,” Miller said.

Under the American Disabilities Act, Andy is allowed anywhere in public that I go Miller said.

Although Miller does not usually have any problems when taking Andy in public, sometimes it
can be a challenge.

“When I was in New York City I went into one restaurant and they just didn’t have room for my
wheelchair. At another one, they said I wasn’t allowed to bring Andy in but when they realized it
was a service dog they said it was OK, and we got great service after that,” Miller said.

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Miller uses a green laser to point to things that Andy should retrieve. “He carries stuff through
the house with me and he puts laundry away and brings it to me also,” Miller said.

Andy needs to be recertified every so often and his certification test is coming up Miller, said.
Although Andy knows many commands, Miller still teaches him new ones.

Andy’s favorite command seems to be “visit.” After the command is given, Andy knows that he
is allowed to visit with the people around him.

“I’m also trying to teach him to take off my jacket,” Miller said.

Andy rarely leaves Miller’s side. “Andy gives me a lot of confidence to go out on my own. I
know he brings out the best in me,” Miller said.

From Shelter Dog to Service Dog

By Cathy Scott, Best Friends staff writer
Best Friends’ Search and Service Dog Program provides formal training for Ruby, to assist
her hearing impaired person

Life just got a little easier — and safer — for a deaf college student, now that Ruby, his German shepherd
mix, has been through service dog training.

Karen Dashfield, a veterinarian, met 20-year-old Bowen Daly soon after she learned about his case. He was
living on campus with his German shepherd, Ruby. The issue arose that, while Ruby was Daly’s companion
and quasi-service dog, she had never been formally trained.

Enter Dashfield and Best Friends’ Search and Service Dog Program with a solution. Helping canines like
Ruby become service dogs is one of the facets of the Search and Service Dog program. And while Ruby, who
was adopted from a shelter by Daly, is not a Best Friends dog, the purpose of the program is to “reach as
many groups and shelters as possible,” Dashfield says. And, in this case, the program helped a hearing-
impaired individual turn his shelter rescue into a service dog.

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Ruby, now seven years old, was already alerting Daly naturally, by barking, but Daly, who was born deaf, was
unable to hear her. Now, “Instead of barking loudly when someone knocks at the door, she pokes him with
her nose to alert him,” she says.

It sounds easy enough, but for Ruby, it took some serious sessions. To work with her, Dashfield took her
home to her kennels in New Jersey “to do one-on-one training. She’s a little on the timid side,” she says. “I
needed to do some focus work. I worked with her for several weeks on targeting — targeting for food initially
— then targeting on command. And then I did it with some distance.”

Ruby also didn’t have much leash training, “So we did some of that, on leash,” she says.

Ruby is an example of a former shelter dog who, with time and tools, is now assisting her hearing-impaired
person and making a difference in his life. “What she has done naturally in the past is to alert Bowen to
sounds,” Dashfield says. “If he has his hearing aid in, he can hear loud noises, like smoke alarms. But at
night, he hears nothing.”

For his safety, Ruby needed to go a step further. And that is where Ruby’s new training comes into play, to
help Daly lead a normal life. For example, if his phone rings and he does not see the phone light up, “She
alerts him to the phone ringing, or the doorbell, with her nose,” Dashfield says. Then, Daly, in turn, answers
his door or he text messages back.

The service training is ongoing, especially since Daly recently was approved, because of his dog, to live off
campus in an apartment instead of in the dorms, which he and Ruby recently moved into. “Right now, we’re
focusing on the door and smoke detector,” Dashfield says. “Ruby has gotten the hang of the fact that if
someone is at the door and she pokes Bowen, she gets a treat.”

After they’re settled into their apartment, she says, “I’ll go there, see where Ruby is in her new environment,
and come up with a new set of training plans.”
Ruby, who has been loaned a service-dog vest from the program until Daly gets his own, is one more dog in
the Search and Service Dog Program who is a success case.

“I think the program has had a great first year,” says Sherry Woodard, Best Friends’ animal behavior
consultant who heads the program, with Dashfield as a Best Friends partner. “We have started making more
connections like Ruby’s; where training, to help a dog and her person, will have long-term success.”

Daly, Dashfield says, couldn’t be more pleased with the results. “He’s had Ruby for four years. She was a
pound dog. Now she’s his service dog to alert him at home. But,” she adds, “Ruby is still allowed to be a
dog.” Photos of Ruby and Bowen Daly courtesy of Dr. Karen Dashfield