From our client and trainer, Catherine, in Virginia – a picture of her and SD Baron after just passing their PAT!!
“Hey Laurie!
So in case you wanted to post on the Facebook that Baron and I passed our PAT, here is a picture that my friend took of us right afterwards he and I are so excited!!!”
SO PROUD OF YOU BOTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From Mary, who has SD, Snowball, SD for Kathy, who suffers from Schizophrenia:
“Hi Laurie,
Kathy and I took Snowball to her doctor appointment yesterday. Snowball did great! The floor in room was cold and Snowball was calm. Snowball gets excited at first and then is better. We want to work on that – having Snowball get calmer more quickly when he goes out that with you. The doctor loved how behaved Snowball was!”
SURE MARY! WE CAN WORK ON THAT. THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT IS TO HAVE KATHY TAKE SNOWBALL OUT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE SO THAT SNOWBALL BECOMES USED TO GOING OUT IN PUBLIC AND IT IS NOT SUCH A NEW, EXCITING THING FOR HIM.
Look at this beautiful artwork done by former client, Wounded Warrior Ken, with SD Mozart!! For each sculpture he sells, a portion of the proceeds he will donate to our non-profit, In Dog We Trust!! THANK YOU AND BLESS YOU KEN!!!!
What a WONDERFUL training session Laurie had with Nette, who has mobility issues and anxiety due to a stroke, and her beautiful SDIT, Ella!
Nette has just been doing a wonderful job training Ella between sessions. Ella knows all the basics – sit, down, stay, come, controlled load and unload, wait, and heel. She stays by Nette’s side and is of great comfort to her. Nette is beginning to take Ella out more and more, and her comfort level going out is increasing as she becomes more confident in Ella’s training.
We went to Costco and worked on training with electric cart, with Ella safely tied to it in a perfect heel position near Nette. We did sharp turns slowly so that Ella could get used to maneuvering alongside the electric cart safely and confidently. She learned SO quickly! It is helpful for Nette to know she can use the electric carts because sometimes her balance is off due to the strokes. We also walker Ella through the various sections of Costco, like the meat and bakery, and she did wonderful “leave its”. We also worked on Ella’s stay and come since we had an audience! Everyone was in love with beautiful Ella! We practiced staying focused while doing these tasks even with people watching, and Nette stayed calm and focused, which helped Ella . They have such a beautiful bond, and Nette is so compassionate and loving toward Ella – it’s truly beautiful to watch.
Nette sent me the following update on Ella!
“Just wanted to give you update on Ella. She turned one last week – can’t believe it! We are still working on meet and greets; she still gets really excited and forgets to stay sitting, but it’s more with kids than adults. Several weeks ago, I started teaching Ella the command: “take me to the car”. I would pick random times to suddenly stop and give the command, walk out to the car, and then give her treats. My purpose for this is that sometimes I become very panic-stricken if I am in a crowd and disoriented. I thought this might help me feel a little more confident about trying new places. In addition, my mobility is becoming more limited and I am spending more time in wheelchairs and electric carts.
Anyway, today was not a training exercise – but something triggered a panic attack in me, and I asked Ella to take me to the car – and she did it!! Usually, she looks back at me for assurance – but it seemed like she knew this was different. It’s a small thing, but it feels very empowering.”
NETTE – WHAT CLEVER AND HELPFUL TRAINING YOU ARE ADDING TO THE BASICS TO HELP YOU! WHAT ELLA DID BY TAKING YOU TO THE CAR IS NOT A SMALL THING – IT IS A HUGE TRIUMPH FOR BOTH YOU AND ELLA, AND IT SHOULD FEEL EMPOWERING! I HOPE YOU ARE FEELING MORE AND MORE CONFIDENT AND ASSURED THAT ELLA CAN DO HER JOB WHENEVER YOU NEED IT – AND THE FACT THAT SHE DID NOT LOOK BACK FOR ASSURANCE BUT JUST DID WHAT SHE HAD TO IS A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT. SO PROUD OF YOU!!!
I added this other quote from Nette’s FB page. It describes her and her husband to a tee.
From our dear, beloved client, Wounded Warrior Blake, with SDIT Zoid. We will miss you, Blake!!! We are all praying for your health, strength, and that this move will make your life easier!! Of course – we will continue contact with you and answer any questions you have concerning Zoid and making sure he passes his PAT! Remember that you can legally train your own SD – but we will Skype with you or you can send us videos of you and Zoid performing all the Public Access Test tasks. We are all just a phone call or email away – especially our wonderful trainer, shown in the picture, Brenda, who has been working with you and can help you the most because she has a SD and is permanently in a wheelchair – and thriving, just like you will!!! We love you, Blake!!!!
“Just emailing you to let you know that I may have to make the move to Arkansas to stay with my family for the foreseeable future. I really wanted to stay but with my health it’s not really possible. I want to of course keep Zoid and continue training and to have him pass the test. I’m not sure what we can do but if there is anything we can do to continue training, or any recommendations for me that would be great! Thanks for everything you, Service Dog Express, In Dog We Trust, and everyone who helped bring Zoid and I together. If it wasn’t for him, I honestly don’t think I would be in the wonderful place I am today. My health may not be the best, but he brings my spirit up literally all day long.”
From trainer Andrew, who is working tirelessly with 19 year-old client Daveed, and his SDIT, Redmond.
“Today’s session consisted of reinforcing already learned behaviors. We worked a little on sit/stay behaviors. We worked on the “find your spot” game. We did learn a game called “structured fetch”. And we began building toy drive in SDIT Redmond. Redmond is doing well! He discovered the taste of hot dogs and may even like it a bit more than the salami he discovered on Sunday… I did not take any pictures this session and we spent a little time gathering info on medical records for and completing the contract completely.
Our next session went very well. We repeated what we had done on Sunday using salami as a reward for Redmond. He is not as enthusiastic about being a Service Dog as is really needed, but he loves Daveed, and keeps him company everywhere. They have been working on controlled entry into vehicles, especially in his mom’s van, where there is lots of extra space for him to find his spot. We are still working on teaching Redmond to wait at the bottom of stairs for Daveed to climb them so he doesn’t knock him down, and Redmond is doing very well. He can be put in a good down/stay, and has been putting good distance between where the command is given and where his pillow is in the “find your spot” game. Daveed is moving to Colorado in a week so we we will be following up on Skype after one more session next week…
“Our final session today consisted of going out into public and having a meal, and walking through various places to test Redmond’s manners. We had lunch at Freebirds and walked through USAA and Plato’s Closet, which happened to be right next door. Redmond did very well – he minds Daveed superbly in public with his vest on, sticking close to Daveed and following commands as they are given. He did so well at Freebirds that we bought him some chicken, and used that as treats for the rest of the session… our session this time went a little over into the next hour but I only charged him for one session as he is moving to Colorado and I wanted to send him off with adequate information and training…
We worked hard on controlled entry, and waiting for Daveed and Redmond to load and unload. We worked on heeling maneuvers, and we worked on Redmond finding his spot under the table at Freebirds, which proved to be a little more than a challenge as he had never been asked to perform that behavior before… Chicken saved the day!!
Daveed is moving on the 9th and will be taking time off to get settled into his grandparents’ house and his new school. We will be resuming our sessions on Skype in 2 weeks…”
ANDREW, YOU HAVE DONE AMAZING WORK WITH THE SHORT TIME YOU HAVE HAD WITH DAVEED AND REDMOND. YOU ARE TO BE COMMENDED FOR SUCH INTENSE WORK. DAVEED AND REDMOND, WE WISH YOU THE VERY BEST OF LUCK AT YOUR NEW HOME. WE KNOW YOU HAVE AN EXTREMELY SOLID BACKGROUND DUE TO ANDREW’S CONTINUOUS TRAINING AND YOUR HARD WORK, DAVEED. PLEASE, EVERYONE WISH THIS AMAZING YOUNG MAN THE BEST OF LUCK IN HIS NEW LIFE!!!
Look at this beautiful letter Wounded Warrior Andrew, who was paired with Ozzie (now called Mozzie) while at Laurel Ridge, wrote to Ozzie’s previous owner. Andrew is doing wonderfully, and has found a superb Service Dog trainer in North Carolina. I spoke for about two hours with this trainer, and he said Mozzie is brilliant and will make an excellent SD – and that Andrew is completely committed to the process!“Hi Nikki!
I thought I’d send you another update.
I just started training today with Mozzie, (added an M, he doesn’t seem to mind too much , and he’s picking things up really quickly. It was only the first class, but we rehashed proper grooming/handling inspections (ears, eyes, nose, paws, tail, etc.), sitting and standing, and how to potty on command!
I’m currently staying with a couple from our church, and Mozzie is really feeling at home with two other dogs, Kuma and Nala. Kuma is the family’s grumpy old man, but Mozzie and Nala like to chase each other around and play all the time!
We’ve been to the vet for a few shots, had an accident or two in the house, but otherwise have been getting along splendidly. Now that training has begun, I only expect the bond to continue to grow between us.
We go for walks twice a day, and Mozzie goes everywhere with me. To the grocery store, to work, the doctor’s office, even to the bathroom with me!
Thank you again for everything, I hope you and your family are well!
Andrew”
MIRACLES HAPPEN WHEN PEOPLE WORK TOGETHER!!!
What a bittersweet day it was yesterday! Our dear, dear client, Tracy, who suffers with psychiatric difficulties, and her wonderful husband, Jon, had fully-trained Great Pyrenees, Apollo, as her Service Dog for a year. Unfortunately, even though their bond was strong and Apollo was a wonderful Service Dog, over time, Apollo started bonding more with Jon. Tracy made the tremendous sacrifice to adopt out her beloved Apollo to a Wounded Warrior, Brian, who is currently at Laurel Ridge. Brian was a dog handler in the military, and has extensive experience with dog training. He has a very sad story – the dog he worked with on deployment became extremely special to him, as they saw a lot of combat together. When the mission ended, however, they took the dog away from Brian. This started his PTSD and other symptoms. He tried his hardest to get that dog back, and SHOULD have, but he found out that the military had “retired” the dog and adopted it out! He says it was probably the greatest trauma of his life.
He saw Apollo on our website, and fell in love. Tracy, Jon, and I went to Laurel Ridge and the bond was instant between Brian and Apollo. Brian was so sensitive to Tracy, who was both sad to say goodbye to Apollo, but so happy he was going to someone like Brian. Laurel Ridge is letting him stay there while he goes through treatment. We also saw client Joseph, who was there with his SD, Viva!!
Apollo will be in wonderful hands. And the happy ending to this is that Tracy finally found a dog that suits her better – the beautiful Cooper, lovingly fostered by Margaret Melvin. Cooper is almost fully trained and clings to Tracy in a much more helpful way than Apollo did.
Two SDs and two happy owners! Attaching a picture of Tracy’s new SDIT!!!
God bless you, Tracy and Jon, for your generous sacrifice. You are paying it forward. And thank you, Margaret, for giving the gift of Cooper to Tracy! Here is a picture of Apollo, then a picture of Cooper!
Some very sad news. Ivan went into congestive heart failure last night. They wanted to keep him at the Vet ER overnight, but Daniel refused because he said he did not want his beloved SD to spend his final hours in a hospital. This morning, at approximately 10:00 am, Daniel, following the realistic but dreadful prognosis of Dr. Muisquiz, decided to end Ivan’s suffering as his murmur was so advanced his poor, 3 year-old body could not take anymore. I made sure I was with Daniel to interpret what Dr. Muisquiz was saying, and go over with him what to expect during the procedure, and help him sign the paperwork. Daniel’s 18 year-old son, Logan, was there to support his father. It was truly one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever seen. Ivan was everything to Daniel – just like his wonderful wife and other children. Daniel held Ivan until his final breaths. Daniel, as to be expected, is not doing well. And one of the saddest parts of it is that Daniel had taken Ivan to a different veterinarian about two months ago, because Ivan was losing weight drastically, not eating, lethargic, and was having constant nosebleeds. That veterinarian apparently did not even listen to Ivan’s heart carefully. A grade 5 heart murmur can be detected just by FEELING the dog’s chest or one of his pulses in the leg arteries, as Dr. Muisquiz showed us. Of course, I will be giving this “veterinarian” a call, because I truly believe this was a case of malpractice. Ivan’s congenital heart murmur would have eventually caught up with him, but had he been diagnosed properly earlier, the process could have been slowed and Ivan would not have had to suffer so much.
Please “friend” Daniel Stroud on Facebook to express your condolences.
Thank you for bringing Daniel out of his shell and helping him to regain some normalcy to your beloved Wounded Warrior father, Ivan. You will be missed beyond belief. Luckily, you had 3 years of the best care and the deepest love a dog could feel
From Jennifer, who has been training with Candace in Ft. Worth.
“I am so thankful for our trainer, Candace, from Ft. Worth. Today was my son’s first day at school with his SD. Candace made sure the day went well, and I am so happy. Thank you SDE for all you have done for my son, our SD, and our family..”
THANK YOU, JENNIFER, FOR THAT BEAUTIFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT. WE ARE SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE CANDACE AS PART OF OUR TEAM.