Be Smarter About Service Dogs Than 99% Of The Population In Only 2 1/2 Minutes
Excellent new CBS News video today with Canine Companions for Independence graduate teams of Frank Sciaretta with Service Dog Bastien, and Linda and Mark Cummins with Skilled Companion Dog Meesha, as well as CCI Northeast Region Executive Director Debbie Dougherty.
If you wanna be smarter about service dogs than 99% of the population (including a number of celebrities and politicians – big surprise there, huh?), gimme 2 1/2 minutes and watch it.
Watch the images, but pay close attention to the words, too, because they hit all the high points and very quickly. Bottom line: whenever you hear or read anything about service dogs, rack it up against what you see here.
I Can’t Guarantee You’ll Get A Service Dog If You Apply, But…
…I CAN guarantee if you don’t, you won’t.
Simple as that – CCI isn’t just gonna give you a dog, and I’d like to believe no other reputable organization will, either.
OIF Veteran Andrew Pike and his CCI Service Dog Yazmin
And, while it might not seem that way at first, that’s exactly how you want it. You don’t want someone to just give you a dog, or tell you they already have a specific one picked out for you and all you need to do is fill out the application.
“He Makes Me Cry A Lot, Because I’m So Grateful For Him”
Those are the emotional words of Canine Companions for Independence graduate Kelly Bussio describing her service dog Tadaki in this new video from Salt Lake City station KSL-TV yesterday.
“Amazing dog services Salt Lake paraplegic”
Beyond the obvious emotional story, the video does a great job showing many of the skills of a properly trained service dog, in particular pulling someone in a manual wheelchair, an often misunderstood but very important function for some.
“Out Of Everything I’ve Done To Try And Improve My Life, Nothing’s Even Come Close To Getting My Service Dog, Napal”
I’ve written about my friend Air Force veteran Jason Morgan and his Canine Companions for Independence service dog Napal before here, here, and here.
This short news video from KXAS in Dallas yesterday pretty much speaks for itself and really captures them very well.
“Local Veteran’s Life Changed By A Dog”
OIF Veteran And Canine Companions For Independence Graduate Matt Keil Talks About ‘Homes For Our Troops’
KDVR Channel 31 in Denver just did a great news story a coupla days ago with Canine Companions for Independence graduate Matt Keil and his wife Tracy promoting a wonderful organization, Homes For Our Troops, who built their beautiful house. Matt’s CCI Service Dog Gus, who was raised in the prison program at the Kit Carson Correctional Center in Burlington, Colorado, makes a brief working appearance in the video, too.
As Matt explains in the video, he’s a wounded warrior who was paralyzed with the exception of his left arm by a sniper’s bullet near Ramadi, Iraq on February 24, 2007. You can read more details about that in a number of places, including here: “After Surviving Sniper’s Bullet, Soldier Looks to Future”
Spinal Cord Injuries Are Rising Sharply Among Troops In Afghanistan
Recent short article from the Nov 4th USA Today (“Spinal injuries up among troops”) didn’t get much public notice, but it sure got my attention.
Turns out that, contrary to everything we’ve been hearing for some time about how spinal cord injuries are way down in Iraq, those injuries are actually way UP in Afghanistan.
And that plays directly with future placements of service dogs with OEF veterans. I don’t think it takes a genius to figure out that with the recent increased troop levels, the reality is we’re likely going to see a concurrent increase in SCI for some time.
Every Service Dog Placement With A Veteran Should Be As Great As This One
I said I was gonna stay positive and show you examples of how things should be rather than ones where I know they are not, and this story is a great start.
When you see someone talking about service dogs for veterans, I want the image of this team to immediately pop into your head, because this is the model, on both ends of the leash. Beyond just being a great story on its face, as you read it, compare what you see here – and, just as importantly, don’t see – with some of the other very visible “service dogs for veterans” stories of late.
Finally, The Real Story About The VA And Service Dogs For Veterans
While I’ve addressed this subject before (“Why The VA Has Provided No Money For Service Dogs – In Their Own Words”), I’ve really held off and pretty much kept my mouth shut, hoping that some of the behind-the-scenes discussions I was aware of with the VA regarding service dogs for veterans would bear fruit, and not wanting to possibly mess those up. Plus, I really think some of the VA people working the issue are good guys and want to help, and I didn’t wanna risk torquing them off.
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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