Fighting Hard To Stay Positive
I hafta tell you I’m really having a hard time staying positive lately, to the point of sometimes thinking about bagging my whole involvement with service dogs, especially getting them to veterans.
Almost every day I see questionable things from supposedly responsible organizations and people in the service dog world, particularly where veterans are involved. Like the veteran working his dog with no leash I just saw in a slick fundraising video from a service dog place that focuses solely on veterans (watched it four or five times and I still couldn’t believe it).
“I Coulda Had A V8″ – Don’t Let That Happen To You With Service Dogs
One of the biggest reasons I harp so hard on getting the best service dog you possibly can and point out things/places that aren’t so great is that I don’t ever want you to be this guy:
Where you get a dog that turns out to be a great companion but a not-so-great service dog, you see one later that really IS that great, and you realize, “Man, if I’d have only applied to a better organization, paid more attention, and done some more research, I could’ve had one of those.”
Every Veteran With A Disability Doesn’t Need A Service Dog, And This Is A Great Alternative
Just read about this great program for veterans recovering at Walter Reed that teaches them to train dogs at the Washington Humane Society. I’ve heard of other programs like this before, but not this specific one, and I think they’re tremendous. Note particularly what the people involved say about the program:
Army Capt. Lawrence Minnis sits with his two adopted pit bulls at the Washington Humane Society’s Behavior and Learning Center.
“Homeless Dogs Help Healing Troops”
Young Kyle Orent Raises $125,000+ For Canine Companions for Independence
Just a quick and easy but great story for you today in case you haven’t seen it elsewhere.
Kyle Orent is an 11-year-old young man in New York who has raised over $125,000 for Canine Companions for Independence. You read that right – $125,000. (I was gonna link to the nice Newsday story about Kyle, but they have now changed it to subscription-only access - not a good move and won’t fly these days, but that’s another discussion. )
Why Haven’t We Heard More About This Well-Known Veteran’s Service Dog Discrimination Case?
Haven’t had a lot to say lately, largely because I haven’t seen a lotta good things to write about, or even bad things that have enough substance to make them worth commenting on.
There is one story, though, that, while not a good one, definitely got my attention and I wanna talk about because no one else seems to be. It’s been 11 days since I first saw it on October 30th, and there’s still no reaction on major news services, Twitter, or blogs, which, given that I routinely see all three erupt over much, much less serious service dog incidents than this one, really strikes me as odd.
About Me
I'm very active with Canine Companions for Independence as a former member of the Veterans Task Force and puppy raiser. Retired US Air Force Chief Master Sergeant with my last assignments at the Air Force Academy as the Fourth Group Sergeant Major and Dean of Faculty Superintendent.
I'm actively looking for a paid position doing what I already do full-time as a volunteer.
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