An update from our trainer, Andrew, who is working with Brooklyn, who suffers from PTSD, flashbacks, anxiety, and nightmares, and his SDIT, Starlette.

“This was a wonderful session where we discussed the importance of duration. Since the Public Access Test requires that the dog stay in the commanded position (i.e. down or sit, for at least three minutes), we discussed that. Starlette is doing extremely well. She has taken to her new family, and has become very protective over Brooklyn’s son and Brooklyn himself, but in a positive and progressive way. In times of stress, Starlette will take the lead and push back in a “cover” position against Brooklyn as of to say “you can stand back I got this”, and she will hold her ground in a non aggressive way. She has learned to play a game which they have aptly named “find Sean” which is the name of Brooklyn’s son, where Starlette will go find the two year old boy, circle him, and sit next to him. Brooklyn has worked on the “find your spot” game. The “find your spot” game is the act of the dog finding a handler-designated spot for the dog to go to when told. Starlette has her spot in each of the three main rooms in the house (the kitchen, the living room, and the bedroom). She is doing so well that Brooklyn is going to begin taking her to work with him where he works as a chef in the kitchen at a hospital on 32nd street in downtown Austin!