Service dog saviors
Ray Baltes has trouble sleeping including nightmares and ongoing anxiety. Ray had a motorcycle accident nine years ago and was left with a brain injury, 28 broken bones and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The 57-year-old says he was also traumatized on the job taking police photos of fatal accidents at crash scenes. His doctor told him he would benefit from a service dog. Baltes wholeheartedly agrees. “If I have a flashback, it can be debilitating,” he said. “But a service dog would recognize signals of trouble and respond in advance of that.” The disabled man’s dilemma is one more Americans face as they and their doctors recognize the benefits of professionally trained dogs for more than just hearing or sight loss. Unlike therapy or “emotional support” dogs, service dogs can take as long as two years to train to perform specific tasks for their handlers. Most organizations that match the highly trained dogs with individuals sprouted after veterans started coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. President George H.W. Bush, a World War II veteran, was matched with a service dog that helped him with daily tasks until his death. Now service dogs help people with autism, diabetes, seizures and psychiatric disorders. That has overwhelmed nonprofit service dog trainers, who generally donate dogs to patients for at most a small application fee. Unmet needs have helped launch a for-profit service dog industry with hefty price tags.
When Lesley Hailwood, 61, started choking on a chocolate at her home in Liverpool, England, there was no other human there to help her. Luckily for Hailwood, she was looking after Nell, a trainee guide dog who was staying at her home while training at a nearby guide dog center. Nell, a cross between a German Shepherd and a Golden Retriever, had almost completed her training. Nell knew something was wrong. The clever canine jumped up onto the sofa, stood up on her back legs, and thrust her two front paws into Hailwood’s chest, dislodging the chocolate.
Obedience training:
I saw an ad offering a trained police dog for $50 in the local paper. I called the guy and
we made the deal.
When the owner brought it over it was a mangy mutt jumped out of their car.
I said, “There’s no way that’s a Police dog.”
The owner replied, “Don’t let his looks deceive you, he worked undercover.”
Wife: “What would you like as a present for your birthday?”
Husband: “Your love, obedience and respect is enough for me”
Wife (thinks for a moment and says): “No, no. I insist on a present.”
What do dogs do after they finish obedience school?
“They get their masters.”
A guy moves to a new neighborhood. The next morning, he sees his neighbor playing
chess with his dog. Trying to be friendly, he asks: “Wow you have an incredibly smart
dog, that plays chess. How did you train him?”
Bothered, his neighbor replies: “Nah, he’s not that bright, we’ve played 10 games, and he
lost 7 of them!
March 17th Birthdays
1954 – Lesley-Anne Down, 1952 – Susie Allanson, 1986 – Olesya Rulin, 1976 – Brittany Daniel
1955 – Gary Sinese, 1952 – Kurt Russell, 1964 – Rob Lowe, 1919 – Nat King Cole