Apr 25, 2009

Great Video of CCI Dogs In Action at the Sacramento Airport Yesterday

Al Assistance Dog, Canine Companions for Independence Service Dogs

I already told you about the CCI graduate team of Wallis Brozman and Caspin (“One Of The Most Touching Service Dog Stories I’ve Ever Read”) – now they along with some of the great Sacramento-area puppy raisers and their dogs in training are in a fantastic two-minute news video just filmed yesterday at the Sacramento airport .

There are some of the usual news media inaccuracies in the story you need to be aware of (e.g., they aren’t “guide dogs”, they misspelled Wallis’ last name, it costs a … Read More

Apr 21, 2009

Recent CCI Graduate Passes Away

Al Assistance Dog, Canine Companions for Independence Service Dogs

There’s a very nice – albeit also very sad – story in the Vail paper today about Mylissa Eckdahl, a recent Canine Companions for Independence graduate who passed away last week. Mylissa was only 43 and had only just graduated with her service dog Santana from the CCI Southwest Regional Center in Oceanside, CA in August 2008.

I happened to be out in Oceanside for the graduation that week, but I can’t say I really knew Mylissa other than briefly saying hello. That’s definitely my loss, and reading the article … Read More

Apr 18, 2009

Why The VA Has Provided No Money For Service Dogs – In Their Own Words

Al Assistance Dog, Department of Veterans Affairs, Disabled Veterans, Veterans, Wounded Warrior Service Dogs

I saw yet another upset comment this morning about “Why doesn’t the VA pay for service dogs?”, so I thought this would be a good time to outline the concise history of their position, especially since I don’t believe it can be found all in one place anywhere. The subject comes up all the time and if you have an interest in this area, you definitely need to know the background so you can have an intelligent discussion and come to an informed opinion.

First, you need to know that … Read More

Apr 16, 2009

One Of The Most Touching Service Dog Stories I’ve Ever Read

Al Assistance Dog, Canine Companions for Independence Service Dogs

I read hundreds, if not thousands, of blog posts, Twitter tweets, and news stories daily, and, frankly, I see the term “service dog” tossed around pretty loosely (no surprise to you if you’ve read this blog at all).

I started to write a buncha caveats to clarify what I’m about to say, but decided not to. I’ll just say this – read this story written by Wallis Brozman and then see how your idea of what a service dog is and what it does racks up against it.

Oh, yeah… … Read More

Apr 8, 2009

Tough Questions You Need To Ask About Every Service Dog Organization

Al Assistance Dog, Oprah, Post Traumatic Stress, PTSD, Veterans, Wounded Warrior Service Dogs

Last time I talked about how you can’t know if a dog is really a service dog, and ended up promising I’d tell you how you can have a huge impact on the overall quality of service dog placements, and why it’s absolutely critical that you do. (I’ll forewarn you that this is a longer post than I like to write, but it’s that important.)

Lemme get right to the heart of things and tell you first why it’s so critical. Some people, including me, fear that there’s a … Read More

Apr 7, 2009

How Do I Know If That’s Really A Service Dog?

Al Assistance Dog, Disabled Veterans Service Dogs

Simple – you don’t. And you probably never will.

Lotta things I could show you, but here’s a direct quote from the Department of Justice’s proposed changes to 28 CFR 36, “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities”, the part of the ADA that addresses service animals:

Proposed training standards.

The Department has always required that service animals be individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, but has never imposed any type of formal

… Read More

Apr 5, 2009

Service Dogs, Veterans, And PTSD

Al Assistance Dog, Post Traumatic Stress, PTSD, Veterans, Wounded Warrior Service Dogs

I’ve been wanting to say something about this subject for some time, but I’ve been wrestling with just what to say because I want to add something helpful and not just more fuel for all the arguments about what is a controversial subject. So, I think the best thing to do is just tell you my approach and how I got there.

Probably no topic generates more heat in the assistance dog world than just what is and what isn’t a real service dog. Once you get past the subject … Read More

Mar 24, 2009

Marines Love Service Dogs!

Al Assistance Dog, Canine Companions for Independence, Marines, Veterans Service Dogs

Check out this fantastic picture of a Marine two-star CCI puppy raiser and puppy (click on the picture for the giant version):

OK, I’m lying about the puppy raiser part, but the picture is very real.

That’s MGen(sel) Mike Regner, the Legislative Assistant to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, visiting with Bogie, a Canine Companions for Independence assistance dog in training, at a recent function in DC. You can read Gen Regner’s full biography here:

http://www.marines.mil/units/hqmc/cmclegalasst/Pages/home.aspx

Bogie is being raised by Cyndi Perry, long-time CCI volunteer and puppy … Read More

Mar 20, 2009

How to Find the Best Service Dogs for Disabled Veterans

Al Assistance Dog, Disabled Veterans, Wounded Warrior Service Dogs

I get asked all the time whether a specific service dog organization is good or what service dog organizations I’d recommend, particularly when talking about service dogs for disabled veterans.

It’s a great question because there are so many places out there saying they provide service dogs for veterans, people really want to help, and potential candidates for assistance dogs want to know where to apply, but it’s confusing. How can you know which ones are the best and which are the ones to avoid (and, make no mistake, there … Read More

Mar 13, 2009