Al Brittain » Skilled Companion Dog

Inspiring Story of How One Service Dog Family Deals With Muscular Dystrophy

Al — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:23:31 +0000

This is a very tough story to read – at least it was for me – but it will give you an idea of some of the really difficult things that people with service dogs and their families deal with every day.

In this case, it happens to be a Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) graduate team – Heidi Miller, her son Mitch Ball, and their Skilled Companion Dog, Lynelle – who live in Citrus Heights, CA near Sacramento. Mitch is 24, has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) with almost no ability to move his body, and, as such, requires constant care.

Tough as this story is, it’s also very inspirational in that it shows the lengths to which some will go to try and make life better for another person.

I also have to be honest and say that, if I seem pretty touchy about the term “service dog” and how loosely I see that term tossed around nowadays, these kind of stories are why I’m that way. I realize that assistance dogs come in all shapes and sizes and perform many different types of valuable functions for all kinds of people, but when I see those with severe needs like this family has…well, read the article for yourself and I think you’ll understand:

“Mom’s home care of son confronts a harsh illness”

UPDATE: Thanks to a fellow graduate from Mitch’s Team Training class, here’s the link to Mitch’s blog:

http://mitchballsworld.blogspot.com/

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

Al — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:27:15 +0000

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!” .

Maybe The Most Dedicated Service Dog Ever

Al — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:56:26 +0000

There’s a tremendous story in today’s Denver Post about Comet, who might be the most dedicated service dog you’ve ever seen.

Comet is a Canine Companions for Independence skilled companion dog here in Colorado Springs who, if you look closely at the following picture, you will note only has three legs:

You can read the whole story about Comet and his buddy Veren Betzen at the following link. Unfortunately, it doesn’t mention CCI by name, but anyone who knows what a CCI cape looks like will spot it right away:

“Three legged dog keeps up care for disabled teen”

There’s one other big thing the story doesn’t mention, and you may never hear it from CCI since they don’t like to toot their own horn, so I will.

CCI has a stated unwavering commitment to its graduate teams for the lifetime of the dog, and you can rest assured that CCI was very involved in making sure Comet got the appropriate care. That says a ton about CCI, and should make anyone who’s associated with this organization very proud, and anyone thinking about becoming associated with it very comfortable in doing so.