Disabled Veterans

Apr 6, 2011

Retired Marine Calvin Smith And His Service Dog Chesney – If You Only Watch One Video Today, Watch This One

Al , , , Service Dogs, Veterans

Here’s a tremendous new video (the best one like it I’ve ever seen, in fact) with Canine Companions for Independence retired Marine graduate Calvin Smith and his service dog Chesney that I was privileged to watch at the Canine Companions Salutes Independence event in Oklahoma City a few weeks ago.

I’ve known the story for a long time, so was also very happy to finally get to meet Calvin, his wife Kristina, and Chesney, who were all in attendance at that event.

Really not much else for me to say other than if you want to know about the wonderful work CCI is doing with veterans, and the very direct impact that’s having on those veterans’ and their families’ lives, give me about 4 1/2 minutes:

Mar 28, 2011

“I Began To See That My Life Wasn’t Over And That I Could Conquer My Challenge.”

Al , , , Service Dogs, Veterans

I had the great pleasure and honor of finally meeting and spending some time talking with Ed Pulido at the Canine Companions Salutes Independence event at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center last weekend.

Major Ed Pulido

Ed is a retired US Army Major and combat veteran who lost his left leg above the knee as the result of an IED attack near Taji, Iraq on Aug 17, 2004, and who knows firsthand what it’s like to deal with both serious physical injuries as well as the mental trauma that goes with them. He’s been very candid about those issues, including that at one point he seriously considered suicide, and is on the road about 160 days a year discussing them at events like the recent Warrior Resilience Conference in DC.

Ed is currently the Senior Vice President of Development for the Folds of Honor Foundation, a wonderful organization that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of service members disabled or killed as a result of their military service.

Lots more I could say, but Ed does a much better job speaking for himself than I ever could.  Watch this very touching 6-minute video from the Real Warriors Campaign website and you’ll get an idea of what a tremendous guy and inspiration he is:

“Profile: Maj. Ed Pulido”

You can read another very moving profile here as well: “Major Ed Pulido (Ret.) Challenge, Triumph, and Change”

Ed epitomizes those I will continue to focus my efforts on, and who I believe we still have not done an effective job reaching out to about service dogs, as I’ve said many times before – veterans with serious physical injuries, almost all of whom (if not all) also deal with significant post-traumatic stress as well because of the very nature of those injuries.

Mar 11, 2011

Wounded Warrior Receives Canine Companions Service Dog Raised in Prison Program – Repost

Al , , , , , , , Service Dogs

I said recently I was gonna start reposting things I’d written before if they were still pertinent and relevant.

Here’s another one I ran across while searching for something else this morning, started to read looking for that, and it hit me that the same stuff is still true a year and a half later (and it’s not all good stuff, either). It also surprised me because, while I’ve said all of this to enough people over time, I honestly didn’t remember that I’d actually written it here, too.

So, a good time to just repost it in its entirety – it was originally posted October 16, 2009.

Please take a look, because it accurately describes how things are today, particularly where service dogs and veterans are concerned.

________________________________________________________________________________

That’s what the headline and angle for this story could’ve actually been (or something like it) if someone wanted to write it that way.

The story I’m referring to is this article from The Oregonian a few days ago about Canine Companions for Independence puppies being raised at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility for women in Wilsonville, OR:

“Future service dogs get their training by women inmates at Coffee Creek lockup”

It’s a good story, too (albeit with a few inaccuracies – for example, they aren’t “therapy dogs”), but my point is that, as I’ve said before, there are a number of service dog organizations who have puppy raising programs in prisons and place dogs with wounded veterans as well. Some definitely do a much better job of promoting themselves than others, too, but you need to be very careful not to confuse the quality of the public relations effort with the overall quality of the program.

I remain convinced that Canine Companions is the premier service dog organization in this country, and that’s why I’ve chosen to concentrate my efforts there. That surely doesn’t mean they are “the only game in town” and, in fact, contrary to what some seem to believe, they don’t want to be, either – there’s no way in the world CCI could handle the need for assistance dogs all by themselves, and they are well aware of that.

Make no mistake – while I’m a “CCI guy”, I’m for ANY service dog organization that’s doing a top-notch job of providing dogs for veterans, the key being “top-notch”, a subject I’ve addressed here many times. Let’s just say I continue to see things organizations say about themselves that, as a minimum, are a stretch, and, at worst, could be intentionally misleading.

No organization is perfect, but that’s something I’ve just never seen from Canine Companions – if anything, they don’t toot their horn enough, certainly not anywhere near as much as I’d like them to. I think I have a good idea why that is, too – as I’ve said repeatedly, I don’t speak for CCI, but I have had a close association with them for enough years now to understand some things, so I can give you an educated opinion here.

First, they are very, very sensitive to graduate privacy or, to put it more bluntly, they aren’t gonna pimp their graduates. They certainly don’t hide them – you can go to the newsletters on the website and see pictures of all the graduate teams, for example. But when you see a very public and active graduate team, that’s because they’ve chosen to be that way on their own with no pressure from CCI.

Second, there is also a great sensitivity to not pandering to what’s popular, especially where veterans are concerned. That means you won’t likely ever see CCI changing their core mission – as some service dog organizations have done without even mentioning it – from training dogs for those with severe physical disabilities to training dogs for those whose primary diagnosis is post-traumatic stress. (The irony being that post-traumatic stress will almost certainly be present in a veteran with the type of physical injuries we’re talking about, anyway.)

Unfortunately, that sensitivity has also meant Canine Companions hasn’t talked about the work they have done to incorporate post-traumatic stress into both the screening of candidates and training of dogs. For example, they long ago brought in outside post-traumatic stress experts who sat down for several days with training staff to discuss this subject in detail. Those discussions were very successful and resulted in a number of improvements in both those areas – I hope someday you’ll be hearing about that directly from CCI instead of just me.

Bottom line is that you can be confident and comfortable in what Canine Companions is doing with veterans – you just may have to work a little harder to see it. Some organizations might do a better job of promoting themselves, but no one does a better job making individually matched lifelong placements of assistance dogs.

Dec 30, 2010

Must-Read Article About Service Dogs For Veterans In Military Times Today

Al , , , , , Service Dogs

Absolute must-read article in Military Times and its associated individual service newsweeklies (Air Force Times, Army Times, Navy Times, Marine Corps Times) today for anyone with an interest in service dogs for veterans, especially a veteran thinking about getting a service dog.

It’s not long – just go read the whole thing, and have anyone you can think of with a possible interest read it as well. Lotta stuff said there in a very public venue that’s needed to be said and, frankly, hasn’t been. Or at least not often enough or by those I’d expect to be saying it, anyway.

“Disabled troops, vets misled on service dogs”


Coupla small quibbles for me there, but not serious enough to be relevant or affect the overall thrust at all.

I’ve been directly involved with this specific subject daily for over four years, and service dogs in general longer than that, and I can tell you with complete certainty that most veterans, their families, and the professionals working with them still have NO IDEA what’s available, which places are good, which are not, and so on.

In fact, it’s even worse now than when I first got involved with it because of both the increased potential veteran demand for service dogs and the misleading information pumped out daily by the media, bloggers, some organizations, and even veterans with dogs themselves.

Super job by my friend Christina Roof at AMVETS once again stepping into the breach to educate everyone with the straight story.

Dec 28, 2010

What’s Wrong With These Pictures?

Al , , Service Dogs, Veterans

What’s Wrong With These Pictures?

I’m not gonna say where these pictures are from but, sadly, ADI-accredited places in both cases.

In one case, I reached out several months ago with no response; the other one I just saw today and didn’t. I really don’t have the time to keep everybody straight, and it’s not my responsibility, anyway.

But I can make this point – you might have a great program, and I’d love to support you, but I simply can’t if you do stuff like this. Sorry.

If you recognize where they’re from, please, don’t yell at me about it – I already know who they are. Help THEM out and let them know about the problem.

Pretty obvious what’s wrong and the people involved oughtta know better, particularly since they are pitching these as patriotic programs for veterans. In case it’s not, though, I put a short explanation under each picture.

And to those who will say it’s small stuff… well, it’s not, especially the flag one (I cringe every time I see it or other ones in the series of photos like it). C’mon – we can do better than this, and we have to.

You don’t drape the US flag over something like that AND, to top it off, you sure don’t let it touch the ground (Ugh!).

Unless the Army’s got some new casual look thing going (trust me, they don’t), that uniform always includes a tie.

Dec 27, 2010

“With So Many ‘Nos’ Out There, It Was Really Nice Of You All To Say ‘Yes’ To Us”

Al , , Veterans

“With So Many ‘Nos’ Out There, It Was Really Nice Of You All To Say ‘Yes’ To Us”

If you’ve followed Senior Airman Colton Read’s story at all, you know it’s a sad one, sadder in its own way than if he’d been injured in combat because it’s one of those “things that aren’t supposed to happen, but did”. In a nutshell, a year and a half ago, he went in for a routine gallbladder operation that went terribly wrong (that’s as nicely as I can put it), and he had both his legs amputated.

Now, thanks to Operation Finally Home and Jimmy Jacobs Custom Homes, Colton and his wife will be getting a new home near New Braunfels,TX. Ground was actually broken the week before last, but the story is in Air Force Times today: “Work begins on new home for senior airman”

More here as well:  “Reads Break Ground on New Home at Vintage Oaks in Time for Holiday Season”

Good reminder for all of us that there are things that happen to someone in the military that aren’t combat-related, but still tragic and very deserving of our efforts, and we have to be careful about using the nature of someone’s injury as a standard or dividing line.

Thank God for places like this and Homes For Our Troops, who I’m more familiar with and have written about here before.

“With So Many ‘Nos’ Out There, It Was Really Nice Of You All To Say ‘Yes’ To Us”

Dec 9, 2010

Get Serious Or Stay Home

Al , , , , , Service Dogs, Veterans

Get Serious Or Stay Home

If you want to be involved in the service dog world, one of the first things you better understand right up front is that it’s a serious business. And if you can’t do that, please – find something else to be involved in.

Sure, you do it because you love it, it’s a great thing, a lotta fun, very worthwhile and meaningful.  But you gotta use your head and not let your heart override it, and that means making some decisions and doing some things that aren’t so much fun sometimes, and it can be tough – REAL tough.

Best analogy or comparison I can give you is flying. I spent a big part of my Air Force career as an aircrew member linguist flying around in the back of airplanes in the not always so friendly skies. More to the point, a large portion of my close friends are pilots. Every single one of them loves it, will tell you it’s their life, has a lotta fun doing it, but also knows they have to be very serious about it, because if you’re not, people die. At the same time, if all you did was focus on the serious stuff, you wouldn’t do it, so they have all developed the necessary balance between the fun and serious parts.

Can’t think of any better example there than this short video of an Air Force Thunderbird crash in Idaho seven years ago:



If a Tbird pilot can make what’s a rookie mistake – miscalculate his altitude so that he started a routine loop back toward the ground 800 feet lower than he should’ve  – it could happen to anybody.

Now I’m not gonna tell you that people or dogs will necessarily die in the service dog world (although it is certainly possible and does happen) because of human mistakes, but you can seriously screw up somebody’s life if you get things wrong, not to mention the overall negative effect you can have on the entire service dog community, and you better be very clear about that.

And yet I see stories every day where people never got that in the first place or have forgotten it somewhere along the way. Well-meaning people who really want to help, but you can tell from the things they say and the stuff they do that they’ve lost their focus, let their hearts get the best of their heads, and forgotten what the goal is. It’s not just people new to the game, either – I see it happening with people who’ve been around for many years and oughtta know better as well.

How do you know if that’s happening to you? Well, if you find yourself doing or saying any of these things, you better take a real hard look in the mirror and ask yourself just what it is you’re really trying to accomplish and why you’re in this world.  These are all things I’ve seen said and or done by people involved with service dog training in just the last few months.

“It makes me FEEL really GOOD inside, that’s why I do it. I just enjoy watching other people FEEL GOOD and that makes me FEEL GOOD.” (my capitalization)

Notice a pattern there?  All swell and wonderful, but lemme give you a clue – it’s not about whether you or I – or even the person getting the dog, for that matter – “feels good”.

“The people who have used pit bulls as service dogs generally won’t go for any other breed.”

Huh? Notwithstanding whether the breed is even appropriate for the specific tasks someone needs (e.g., pulling a manual wheelchair) or any of the legal stuff going on, if people in wheelchairs with Goldens and Labs get unfairly hassled in public access areas all the time, how much more problem do you think, say, somebody with a controversial breed like a pit is likely gonna have, especially if the person has no visible physical injuries? No way am I saying that’s right, but it’s the reality, and if you choose to train pits for them in spite of it, you better recheck your priorities, and fast.

“In another training method designed for soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress, dogs are taught to mark a 3-foot space around someone by walking in a leashed circle, clearing people away who might be crowding the individual. “

C’mon, you can’t be serious. I can’t see how you possibly could be considering, among other things, the ramifications of something like that on the entire service dog community (more on that in a later post), and I think maybe you’ve let the emotions of seeing a veteran who’s dealing with post-traumatic stress get to you (that’s not some abstract discussion for me, either – again, more to follow).  (This one is particularly disappointing to me, because, unlike the majority of these deals, it’s being done by a place that, up to now, has had a pretty good rep.)

“The average pet can often be transformed into a highly effective service animal if the family is willing to institute the structure necessary for success in the program.”

Not sure how you define “often”, but…yeah, sure. That’s why Canine Companions for Independence, for example, goes to the trouble to breed all their dogs, train them for two years, and still only graduates 30-40% of them. Please.  That, by the way, is the epitome of being serious, and talk about making decisions you don’t want to make (i.e., releasing dogs from training), but that you know are for the good of everybody concerned, including the dog.

And, last, this doozy:

“The dog’s a companion, but also in a sense, the dog’s a weapon…”

WHAT?????!!!!!?????

That’s enough for now, I could go on all day. Trust me that these are not a few selective quotes taken outta context to make my point, either. I have a real sensitivity to that kinda thing – matter of fact, I just saw the definitive example of that when it was done to a good CCI veteran grad friend of mine in a national news magazine article about service dogs in only the last couple weeks.

Bottom line is this. We already have more “half fast” service dogs out there than we need, and surely do not need any more. But that’s exactly where we’re headed if this nonsense keeps up.

And the real irony here is that a number of the people saying these things are combat veterans, who’ve been through many life-or-death situations, so they sure understand “serious”, but, based on what they’re saying, don’t have a clue when it comes to training service dogs.

Please – do everybody a favor.  Get your head on straight here, and if you can’t do that, get outta the game before somebody gets hurt.

Nov 21, 2010

I Don’t Know How Good This Service Dog Organization Is, But They Sure Got One Thing Right

Al , , , Service Dogs, Veterans

I Don’t Know How Good This Service Dog Organization Is, But They Sure Got One Thing Right

Saw a story today about a little service dog place in Savage, Minnesota just south of Minneapolis – St Paul called PawPads, and more specifically their Paw Corps program (“Veterans support each other”).

Never heard of them before – they’re not ADI-accredited or even members that I can tell, and I have no experience with their dogs or any idea how good they are, which is ultimately what counts.

So I can’t recommend them, BUT I do know they got one key concept right:  they have veterans with post-traumatic stress helping train dogs for OTHER veterans with physical injuries, as opposed to training service dogs for those veterans with PTS themselves.

I’ve mentioned this idea before, in particular what’s probably the most well-known program, Paws for Purple Hearts.  No question there are still important considerations, particularly the involvement and supervision of the professional trainers in the program.  But, as I’ve said, programs like this benefit everybody without so many of the issues I am so concerned about, like using the dogs to prevent physical contact with others to maintain their human partner’s “personal space”.

Read the article closely and watch this short video.  Note that most, if not all, of the benefits that Steve Fox, the veteran who’s helping train the dogs and is in both pieces, mentions are the same ones that are brought up all the time for those with PTS – reduced amounts of medication, getting out in public for extended periods of time, and so on.

A lot more places could take a hint here and adopt this type of program rather than continually forcing the issue of full-up service dogs for those veterans living with post-traumatic stress – we’d all be a lot better off.

Nov 9, 2010

Another Great Dog Option For Veterans Dealing With Post-Traumatic Stress – Paws For Purple Hearts

Al , , , , , , , Service Dogs, Veterans

Another Great Dog Option For Veterans Dealing With Post-Traumatic Stress – Paws For Purple Hearts

There’s an article today in the Washington Post about another great option for using dogs to help veterans whose only or primary issue is post-traumatic stress – Paws for Purple Hearts.  Actually, as the title of the article suggests, the dogs help those veterans as well as the veterans with serious physical injuries who ultimately receive the dogs once they’ve been trained as service dogs.

“Dual-duty dogs”

Rick Yount from Paws for Purple Hearts with his golden retriever Gabe.
Rick Yount from Paws for Purple Hearts with his golden retriever Gabe.

(There may be a few inaccuracies in the article – for example, I’m certainly familiar with the legislation, but I’m not sure exactly which bill the writer is referring to here: “Legislation that would create a $7 million, five-year pilot program at up to five Veterans Affairs facilities is currently before the Senate.” – but that doesn’t detract from the overall theme.)

I’ve known about PPH for several years, but I’m surprised to find I’ve never written about it here – just searched and didn’t see anything. The biggest thing I’ve always liked about it was the separation – these are veterans with post-traumatic stress training service dogs for OTHER veterans who have physical issues, as opposed to getting the dogs themselves. That removes much of what I’m concerned about with using service dogs where those with PTS are concerned while still offering them the benefits.

Plus, the program is run under the auspices of Bergin University of Canine Studies, which was known as the Assistance Dog Institute for many years.   Bonnie Bergin’s a little far out for me on some things, BUT she is, after all, the person credited with starting the whole assistance dog movement and who founded Canine Companions for Independence, and her organization is a long-time accredited member of Assistance Dogs International.

All of which is far better than the vast majority of what’s out there. I am increasingly concerned with some of the organizations that have popped up outta nowhere, especially those training “PTSD dogs”, one in particular that’s got my attention and I’ve been biting my tongue hard about since I first heard of it about six months ago. (I’m still being quiet for now, but maybe not much longer – that’s how much this place scares me.)

Please – if you’re gonna look for a service dog to help you or someone else deal with PTS, be smart.  Even though I’m no fan of the whole concept (at least as it’s being implemented right now), I can still aim you at a number of places who train those kinda dogs who I’d talk to LONG before some I see getting a lotta favorable press and who I’d likely not talk to at all.

In any event, might need some refinements, but I think the whole PPH concept is a good one overall and I’d like to see a lot more programs like it.  About the only “bad” thing I see is using “Paws” in the name, since there are so many places that use that and it’s confusing. There are some great ones – most notably Paws With A Cause – and some other definitely not-so-great ones.  As I always say, look closely.

Oct 30, 2010

Three Great Alternatives To Service Dogs For Veterans: Hounds 4 Heroes, Pets 2 Vets, Pets For Patriots

Al , , , , , Service Dogs, Veterans

Same thing I said here almost a year ago still applies – in fact, if anything, given the proliferation of programs and interest in this area, it’s even more true today: “Every Veteran With A Disability Doesn’t Need A Service Dog, And This Is A Great Alternative”

With that in mind, here are three great options – I’m sure there are more, but these are ones that have very good reputations and I’m comfortable recommending to you:

Hounds4Heroes

Pets for Patriots

Pets2Vets

What I continually try to impress upon people is that, sure, dogs have a role to play here, just not necessarily SERVICE dogs. But, hey, even if  – unlike me – you think that service dogs for those whose only or primary issue is post-traumatic stress is a great idea, I would ask you to consider a few things.

A service dog, wonderful as they are, comes at a price (sometimes money is involved, but that’s not what I meant), primarily a lot of responsibility and some specific requirements. The vast majority of what most tout for those with post-traumatic stress – companionship, sensing when things are wrong, focusing on the dog as a way of calming yourself, etc – you can get with a pet. Where things ramp up significantly is when you say the dog has to be a service dog, really in two key ways.

First, public access, which actually is given to the human, not the dog, and you can look up the legal definition, but as I’ve said before, just think of it as being able to take your dog places dogs normally aren’t allowed to go (“When You Hear “Service Dog”, Think “Public Access”). This is an orders of magnitude jump for both the dog and the human, and changes the playing field entirely.  Walking down the street with your dog to the library, school, store, stadium, restaurant, and so on, is one thing – once you say I absolutely, positively have to take my dog INTO those places, and step across that line, everything changes.

Second, training the dog to perform specific tasks with specific, predictable results (the ADI standard, for example, is that a command will be performed 90% of the time on the first ask). It’s one thing to say “my dog calms me and licks my face when I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat after a terrible nightmare” – a common theme – and quite another to say the dog has to be trained to sense an impending episode when you’re in the grocery store, restaurant, office, etc., respond to that, give you an indicator, you respond appropriately to that indicator, take a specific action, and do all of that reliably and consistently.

Now, I know that in this day and age where the normal attitude about everything seems to be entitlement, to suggest the kinda self-restraint I’m suggesting usually doesn’t go over so well and results in a lot of comments like “How dare you try to deny me/him/her/us/them (whatever it is)!”  But if you can keep from getting caught up in that, and can live without those things (and, based on what those who know much better than me, e.g., combat veterans, have said to me, I contend the majority of those we’re talking about not only can, it may very well be a much more appropriate option for them as well), it has the huge benefit of getting you out of a lotta stuff and opening up a lot more options for you.

Here’s the reality, anyway. With the numbers that are being tossed around about just how many veterans suffer from varying degrees of PTS (a well-known RAND study said 300,000, and that was two years ago and only from OEF and OIF), there’s no way we are ever gonna get there with service dogs. Even if somebody says the real need for those with severe enough issues to warrant a service dog is “only” 10% of that – shoot, even if it was 1% – 3,000 properly trained service dog teams, especially on top of the already existing need, is a BUNCH. And even if you include all the options – organizations, individual trainers, or people training dogs for themselves – I don’t ever see that happening. Not if you’re gonna do it right.

So, with all that in mind, if you’re thinking about a dog for the reasons we’re talking about here, why not take a real hard look at organizations like this, and start with these three?

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