May 24, 2009

CCI Places First Facility Dog At A Major Wounded Warrior Medical Care Center

Al , , , , , Service Dogs

I attended the Canine Companions for Independence Southwest Regional Center (SWR) graduation in Oceanside, CA last Saturday, and one of the graduating teams was a Facility Dog, Tommy III, along with therapists from the Naval Medical Center San Diego, Comprehensive Combat and Complex Casualty Care, better known as C5.

NMCSD C5 therapists April Walter, Jacque Moore, and Kristin Valent; Facility Dog Tommy III and his proud Puppy Raisers from Denver, Vanessa and Kevin O'Grady. Photo courtesy Carol-Ann DeMaio Goheen.
L to R: NMCSD C5 therapists April Walter, Jacque Moore, and Kristin Valent; Facility Dog Tommy III; and his proud Puppy Raisers from Denver, Vanessa and Kevin O’Grady. Photo courtesy Carol-Ann DeMaio Goheen.

This is a huge placement and a major milestone for assistance dogs in the military medical world that’s been two years in the making – how very appropriate that it happened a little over a week before Memorial Day! What makes it so special is a combination of two things:

First, C5 is one of only three major active duty military medical centers where our most severely wounded warriors, primarily amputees, do their rehabilitation – Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in Washington, DC for those living back East; Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC/CFI) in San Antonio, TX for those living in the central US; and NMCSD/C5 in San Diego, CA for those living out West.

Second, CCI Facility Dogs are really a class unto themselves among dogs in the rehabilitative hospital environment. You can read more detail in the story I’ve provided in the links section below, but basically that’s because (1) Facility Dogs go through the same two-year process and learn all but three of the same commands as all other CCI assistance dogs, and (2) they are integrated into the ongoing daily rehab program and are trained to respond to the instructions of the therapists conducting that program.

(BTW, I realize that trying to differentiate Facility Dogs from other dogs can be very confusing for those not involved with assistance or therapy dogs, and can also seem disrespectful to those other dogs.  As someone with a Delta Society complex-qualified therapy dog who visits in a military hospital, that is definitely not my intent, but it’s essential to understand that difference – all the dogs are wonderful and do great things, but there’s really no comparison.)

Put those two things together and you have a truly one-of-a-kind combination.  Ideally, though, it won’t be that way much longer – I’m hoping that, on top of all the great work he is already doing, Tommy will be the breakthrough who will make it much easier to get this idea across now, and we will see CCI Facility Dogs in the other rehab centers as well.

Links:

Official website of Naval Medical Center San Diego, Comprehensive Combat and Complex Casualty Care:

http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcsd/Patients/Pages/ComprehensiveCombatandComplexCasualtyCare.aspx

“Tommy Time” – fantastic interview with Tommy’s puppy raisers with many background details at Ross’ DogBlog:

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/family/19458606/detail.html

Short but detailed article about Scully, a CCI Facility Dog at WakeMed Rehab Hospital in Raleigh, NC, that will tell you everything you need to know about Facility Dogs:

http://www.wakemed.org/body.cfm?id=832

Pictures from the graduation:

Ken Sergi: 

http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/KenSergi/ccigrad051609

Carol-Ann DeMaio Goheen:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZN2jJq4YtGLCWg

May 21, 2009

Maggie Thatcher To Open New Canine Partners Assistance Dog Facilities

Al Service Dogs

Canine Partners, the premier assistance dog organization in the UK, will be opening a major new training facility at its site on June 2nd, and former Prime Minister Lady Margaret Thatcher will be present for the dedication.  Read more here.


It’s fantastic to see recognized top-notch service dog organizations getting this high level of attention, and I only wish we had that same level of interest here in the United States.

May 13, 2009

How To Be Smarter Than Celebrities Are About Service Dog Programs

Al , , , , Service Dogs

Based on some of the things I’ve been reading online and seeing on TV today, looks like it’s a really good time to say this yet again:

I don’t care if you “heard about it on Oprah”, or you read about it here on my blog, or a well-known veterans organization is associated with it, or Charity Navigator gives it four stars (a discussion for another time, but for now note it’s significant that they are currently changing their methodology), or your best friend told you about it, or even if someone in your own family actually has a dog from the organization. Do your own research - the good places can stand up to the scrutiny, the not-so-great ones can’t, and the onus is on them to provide you the answers to your questions.

There’s lots more I could say (and have actually already said here: “Tough Questions You Need To Ask About Every Service Dog Organization”), but I’m a little tight on time right now, so let me make this simple:

When you see a story about service dogs for veterans, no matter how good it sounds or how touching it is, the very first thing you need to do is to go to the Assistance Dogs International list of accredited members and see if the organization is on it:

http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/membershipdirectory.php

If so, great; if not, I’d suggest you find another place that is accredited to support – it’s that simple.

Sure, the non-accredited organization could still be a good place, but with so many great organizations on the ADI list who have taken the necessary steps to be accredited (and all of whom could use your help), why would you turn to a place that hasn’t?   Doesn’t make sense to me.

Plus, if a regular old guy like me knows that’s the first thing you should be looking for, then why can’t celebrities who have lots of money, research staffs, and pretty much every resource available figure that out?  You got me.

Let me be perfectly clear – this isn’t about personal favorites; it’s about the troops and doing what’s truly best to support them.  ADI accreditation isn’t some club membership – it’s a very serious evaluation that tells you a lot about an organization.  And not having it tells you something about an organization, too – at the very least, they’ve made a conscious choice not to seek accreditation.  At the very worst…well, let’s not talk about that.

Remember – just because you buy into a great idea, doesn’t mean you also have to buy in to the organization that’s pushing that idea.  If you see what you think is a great story about service dogs for wounded veterans, that doesn’t mean you have to support the organization you see in that story – if you’re willing to do a little looking, you may very well find there are much better places to support.

Please – all I ask is that you look closely – very closely.   You may be surprised what you see – and, more importantly, don’t see.

May 11, 2009

Sometimes We Service Dog Supporters Are Our Own Worst Enemies

Al Service Dogs

Many years ago, in one of the Air Force flying units I was assigned to, a bunch of the Spanish linguists (still all male at the time, BTW) were standing around complaining and moaning about how they were getting jobbed (I’ve cleaned that up considerably) by the Air Force, the major command we were in, and the unit – pretty much everybody in the chain of command.

After about five or ten minutes of that, one of the guys, who was also a Spanish linguist but not participating in the griping, finally yelled out, “Enough! Lemme tell you something – we don’t have to worry about everybody else jobbing us because we do such a great job of jobbing ourselves!”

There was complete silence for a few seconds, followed by everybody busting out laughing because they knew he was dead right.

I’ve seen that kind of thing many times in my life, and I’ve been as guilty of it as anybody. So it’s no surprise to me that I’m seeing it right now among some who say they are big service dog advocates.

Here’s the thing…

We already have enough enemies – people who think the whole “service dog thing” is meaningless, or that public access is a bad idea, or just don’t like dogs to begin with. Why help them out by fighting with each other, especially in public?

That doesn’t mean we don’t need to ask pointed questions – we definitely do.  I just think we can behave while we’re doing that.

I can’t speak for everybody else, but I can speak for me.  I’m gonna continue to ask those pointed questions, and will make every effort to do so politely.  Some things – like public access, for example – are sacrosanct to me and if I see anything that appears to even remotely endanger that, chances are pretty good I’m gonna be all over it.  That doesn’t mean I have to be rude, and if you think I’m being that way, call me on it – I need you to help keep me straight.

May 4, 2009

CCI Graduate Cole Massie Can Now Add “Surfer” To His List of Achievements

Al , , Service Dogs

Cole Massie and his tremendous assistance dog Ilia are pretty famous.  They have their own PSA you may have seen on TV and a YouTube video that I’ve often said should be the recruiting video for CCI.  Show that video to a group of potential volunteers, check to see who’s crying when it’s over and keep them, tell the ones who aren’t crying “thanks for coming” and send them on their way.  :-)

Cole and Ilia have a blog where they describe their adventures, and the latest ones include surfing – how cool is THAT?  Here’s a picture of Cole getting suited up to hit the surf (I see a very familiar head in the lower right corner, too) – more can be found via the links at their blog, “Cole and Ilia Massie – Anything is PAW-ssible!” .


May 3, 2009

Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride Rolls Through Annapolis

Al , , Veterans

Nice article about the Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride rolling through Annapolis yesterday – definitely watch the slide show:

Riders in the Wounded Warriors Soldier Ride make their way over the Naval Academy Bridge Saturday morning.

Riders in the Wounded Warriors Soldier Ride make their way over the Naval Academy Bridge Saturday morning.

“Residents, mids honors Wounded Warriors with bike ride”

This is the sixth year for the ride, which kicked off at the White House on Thursday.  You can check the entire schedule for the rest of this year’s ride events here:

http://sr.woundedwarriorproject.org/

May 2, 2009

Which is Worse – To Pet a Service Dog, or To Call a Pet a Service Dog?

Al Service Dogs

No question, both are demeaning to service dogs, but I vote for the second one.

Petting a service dog is a continuing problem, seems to respond to education, might actually be becoming less of a problem, doesn’t result in more bogus service dogs, and is normally done by people who don’t know any better (even though they should).

Calling a pet a service dog is a continuing problem, doesn’t seem to respond to education, might actually be becoming more of a problem, results in more bogus service dogs, and, maybe worst of all, is normally done by people who do know better, but do it anyway.

We know how to handle the first one, but based on what I keep reading several times a day, we’re not getting anywhere on the second one – well, at least I’m not.

If you have any ideas, especially about how to fix it, please let me know.

May 1, 2009

Places You Should Know: Assistance Dogs International (ADI) Accredited Members

Al , , , , Service Dogs

It’s no big secret that I’m actively involved as a volunteer with Canine Companions for Independence, but, as I’ve said, they aren’t the only game in town, and I think this is a good time to start writing about some of the other great service dog organizations that I’m aware of.  I will likely intersperse these “Places You Should Know” posts with others on different subjects or I could just do them all in a row – don’t know yet.

Lotta reasons to do that, but the main one is because I see inaccurate information or just plain ol’ misinformation about CCI and other service dog organizations – daily. Mostly it’s objections or concerns in a specific area that are being used to rule out an entire group of organizations and, consequently, as a reason for someone looking for a dog to “go it alone” when that may not be necessary.

Said it before, say it again – the place to start is the list of Assistance Dogs International accredited members on the ADI website:

“ADI Accredited Service & Hearing Dog Providers”

There are a wide variety of organizations on that list, and chances are pretty good you can find what you want, in spite of what some might tell you.

For example, some people might not like organizations that breed the dogs they train (like CCI does) and would prefer a place that uses rescues – there are a number on the ADI accredited list (NEADS and Texas Hearing and Service Dogs come to mind right off).

Or there might be a specific type of dog someone’s looking for that all or most organizations don’t train. Seizure alert dogs, for example – CCI doesn’t train them, but at least one ADI accredited organization does – Canine Partners for Life.

Of course, there are many reasons why one place might be a fit for you when another isn’t – availability of a dog, geographic location, type of dogs they train, and so on.  And even after a hard look, maybe none of them are a fit. But give them the hard look first – don’t just rule them all out based on one thing that someone tells you, especially when it’s not accurate.  There are a lotta things a good organization will provide you, not the least of which is ongoing follow-up for the entire time you and the dog are together (at least here on Earth).

One other important thing while we’re talking about this…

I’ve never talked about money at all, i.e., whether an organization charges some kind of fee for a dog. CCI does not – the dogs are provided free of charge to the recipients – but that doesn’t mean that because an organization charges a fee that they are crooks, or it’s a bad thing, or they are profiteering from someone’s needs.

Oh, I don’t doubt there are crooks out there – I’ve heard the stories and seen a few in the news (including at least one where a state attorney general is suing an organization – not an ADI one, BTW), both in the service dog area and in the canine detection dog world, too.  And no question the cost is a factor for someone who wants a dog.  I don’t have qualms about the places on the ADI accredited list, though.  What I usually see there is that even the ones who charge fees charge a lot less than what you normally see (e.g., $1-3000 vs $12,000 and up), and work with the person getting a dog to help them get that money.

All the more reason to have a place like ADI, and to start your search for a dog with ADI accredited organizations.