Category Archives: Houston

Cancer, Experience, Houston, Texas

Sia’s Story

Laurie had to share a beautiful story about a phone call she received the other day.

A beautiful, compassionate, courageous woman that I met from Houston called to say that she would like to get her white German Shepherd, “Rio”, trained as a Service Dog for her depression, anxiety, and arthritis. She told me the most beautiful story.

Her husband passed away just the beginning of May. They were soulmates. In March, he started losing weight rapidly and his blood sugars started fluctuating. Previously, they had been very adventurous – hiking, sailing, taking cruises – everything – and they are in their late 60s. They had even just returned from a trip to Hawaii, and were ready to settle down, retire, and enjoy their lives.

They took Sia’s husband, Gordon, to the doctor, and he was immediately sent to MD Anderson with the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Gordon was British, and had a wonderful sense of humor, but also was reserved when he started feeling ill – not telling anyone. But their amazing dog, Rio, knew something was wrong. When Gordon stopped eating, Rio stopped eating.

Sia realized that Rio needed to be with Gordon. So she brought him to MD Anderson to visit Gordon. Below is the picture of the visit. Immediately, Gordon’s spirits were lifted, as were Rio’s. Sia spent every day with Gordon in the the two months he was hospitalized – until the day he finally passed away. The staff at MD Anderson were so amazed by Rio’s gentle, loving, healing nature, that they asked Sia if she would consider bringing Rio in some day to visit the children in the cancer ward.

It all happened so suddenly, but Sia had so much family support as they had 9 children combined.

Now, she has decided she needs some time alone with her and Sia. She would like Sia, who is 5, to become her Service Dog to help with her depression, anxiety, and arthritis. Of course, we will help train Sia. But I had to share this beautiful story of love – between a husband and wife, and the love between a dog and his person.

God bless you, Sia. Gordon, rest in true peace.

Anxiety, Houston, Mobility, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Marissa and her SDIT Xena

From our wonderful trainer, Kendra, who is working with Marissa and her SDIT, Xena. Marissa suffers from mobility issues and anxiety.

“I met with Marissa and Xena at Petsmart on Sunday. Marissa was babysitting a small baby at the time. Xena waited inside the car while the door was open for Marissa to unload the baby and get him in the stroller. Once Marissa gave Xena the ok to get “unload”, Xena was a little nervous because it is her very first time in public, but she did unload. We went inside Petsmart and it quickly became apparent that Marissa and Xena were feeding off each other’s nervous energy and it was not looking good. I knew something was off because Xena knows her commands, and when she did not want to obey, I knew we had to re-evaluate the situation and take a few steps back. Marissa was becoming frustrated and it showed in her tone of voice, then Xena started ignoring her. So we walked back to the front door, placed Xena in a down, and had a conversation. As a trainer, it’s my job to have open communication with my clients, so we I explained how frustration on the part of a handler impacts a dog. I told her of a situation I was in to help her understand to help empathize. I told her that sometimes I get so frustrated at home because no one ever helps with the chores and we have a family of 6, so it can be taxing. When I start getting frustrated and getting on to my husband to help me, then he tunes me out. But when I talk calm and nice he listens. Then, later on as a he does a load of dishes, he texts me to say that he did one load of dishes. He is looking for a “thank you, I appreciate that” and since we are creatures of habit, I know if I give my husband what he is looking for, then he will continue to help. But if I were to ignore his message and say “well that’s not good enough”, then he would stop helping altogether.

A dog is the same way; if you are ignoring them when they are doing what’s expected, and only giving them “attention” when they are misbehaving, then you are inadvertently praising the bad behavior and ignoring the good. That the total opposite of what is needed in dog training. I went on to explain that they are a team; they have to learn to use and trust eachother and work together. When Xena didn’t obey the first time, Marissa would get upset, then Xena would stop listening and focusing. So we tried again, and I asked Marissa to learn how to get Xena to focus on her first. There was too many distractions inside. We walked outside and quickly learned that when Xena is praised, it motives Xena more than treats! So every single time Xena looked at Marissa, she lavished her with praise. Soon Xena was excited to be out and Marissa had her confidence back! At that moment I knew they were a team!

We worked right outside the door of the pet store first; we had Xena practice sits and downs while people walked by. Then we worked on sitting and waiting before entering the store. We went right inside the first double doors where the shopping carts are. I made a loud noise and pushed the cart right next to Xena while she was in a down. Anytime Xena was starting to lose focus, I had Marissa get it back by waiting for Xena to look her way, then lavishing Xena with praise again. It worked like a charm! Soon Xena was ready go into in the store. We walked down isles, practiced sit, down, stay, heel, leave it, and meet and greets.

During the training, Xena was very attentive as Marissa’s pain level increased. Xena alerted multiple times to Marissa, and we went and sat down. At this point, it was too painful for Marissa to walk, so we found a wheelchair and Xena did great heeling next to it. We went into Bed Bath and Beyond and had Xena do some commands while Marissa was in the wheelchair. Xena was very careful when going through tight quarters and let Marissa go first while Xena followed. I gave Marissa the OK to start taking Xena out everywhere, including work.

They will continue to work on commands and also noise distractions. Xena takes a moment to recover from noise, so they will work on this until our next session. I also reminded Marissa to keep her frustration in check and remember when she is starting to get frustrated, it’s because she doesn’t have Xena’s focus before giving a command. So get her focus back, then give the command when out in public. Once Xena was focused, she obeyed flawlessly.

Experience, Houston, Texas

CONGRATS TO ANGEL AND SD DOC -WUZZ UP!!

From our trainer, Kendra, in Houston, who has been training with Wounded Warrior, Angel, and her now SERVICE DOG, “Doc”! THEY PASSED THE PUBLIC ACCESS TEST!!!

Kendra writes:

“At our final session, I met Angel and her now Service Dog, Doc, at the mall for the PAT. We were originally just going to do a training session, but because Doc is so very smart and his mom had already had Doc trained by the time first met them, we only had a few things to work on. We worked a “stay” with Angel walking in circles around Doc and also a stay while Angel went out of Docs sight. After that, we did a walk through just to verify if Doc was indeed ready as I thought he was. He did great! He went through the PAT like it was nothing! We sat at the food court and dropped food directly on the floor right in front of him. We couldn’t help laugh because he really held back! You could tell he really wanted that biscuit but he didn’t get it. When we were ready to move on we did tell him he could have it for doing so awesome! He did meet and greets, we made tons of noise, from ramming a buggy into that metal gate, to dropping my clip board behind him as he was walking. He is a pro! He will serve him Angel well! I am so proud of both of them!”

Doc, Trainer Kendra and Angel
Houston, PTSD, TBI, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Joshua and SDiT Olaf

From our wonderful trainer, Kendra, in Houston, who is working with Joshua and his SDIT, Olaf! Joshua suffers with PTSD and TBI. Kendra writes:

“Joshua had two meet and greets with Olaf at Olaf’s rescue and at Joshua’s home to let the their other dog meet Olaf. It went awesome!

Olaf was attached to Joshua immediately; he stayed next to him for most of the sessions! While we were talking, Olaf just sat on Joshua’s feet and stayed there while we spoke. Joshua tried out the commands that Olaf knows, which are “sit” and “down”. It was raining and cold, so Olaf was reluctant to lay down on the cold wet concrete, but he did! And he sits beautifully for Joshua. Olaf takes treats very gently, and was just so focused on Joshua. Olaf kept looking up to check on my him, and and I noticed Olaf nuzzled Joshua’s hand a couple of times while we were all talking to get his attention. They played a little bit, and Joshua took Olaf on a short walk to test his leash skills. The only one habit we will have to break that Olaf is so bonded that he walks leaning into you, and some times it can trip you. So we will train him to walk touching Joshua’s leg, but not pushing into the leg. Olaf also loves to sit in between Joshua’s legs, and Joshua didn’t seem to mind at all. The bond was strong! I just know you will see it in these pictures. These pictures are worth more than anything I could say!”

 

Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, Houston, Texas

Elisa and SDiT CB

From our dear trainer, Kendra, in Houston, with Elisa and her SDIT, “CB”. Elisa suffers from bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression. Kendra writes:

I met Elisa at her house for the initial evaluation. At first, CB was shy; she was hiding behind Elisa when I came in the door. I had a treat in my hand and she would not take it. So Elisa and I sat down and talked about what she wanted a Service Dog to perform for her and more about the process.

After being there awhile, CB warmed up to me and I was able to do the evaluation. CB has already finished basic obedience at the Pet Store, so she knows “sit”, “lay (down)”, “off”, “leave it”, and loose-leash walking. I was able to handle CB with little problems. She is treat motivated, and has a strong bond with Elisa. We went outside to see how CB did outside of the home, and CB was much more outgoing when she was away from the other dog that’s in the home. I asked Elisa to work on getting CB to focus on her when out for walks by stopping at times and having CB do a “watch me”. The homework for Elisa and CB is to practice “watch me”, “sitting at the door” to go out, and socialization. We also talked about shedding, as CB sheds very badly. In one of these pictures, Elisa was having an anxiety attack and CB was comforting her!”

Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, Equipment, Houston, Texas

Elisa and her SDIT, “CB”.

From our dear trainer, Kendra, in Houston, with Elisa and her SDIT, “CB”. Elisa suffers from bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression. Kendra writes:

I met Elisa at her house for the initial evaluation. At first, CB was shy; she was hiding behind Elisa when I came in the door. I had a treat in my hand and she would not take it. So Elisa and I sat down and talked about what she wanted a Service Dog to perform for her and more about the process.

After being there awhile, CB warmed up to me and I was able to do the evaluation. CB has already finished basic obedience at the Pet Store, so she knows “sit”, “lay (down)”, “off”, “leave it”, and loose-leash walking. I was able to handle CB with little problems. She is treat motivated, and has a strong bond with Elisa. We went outside to see how CB did outside of the home, and CB was much more outgoing when she was away from the other dog that’s in the home. I asked Elisa to work on getting CB to focus on her when out for walks by stopping at times and having CB do a “watch me”. The homework for Elisa and CB is to practice “watch me”, “sitting at the door” to go out, and socialization. We also talked about shedding, as CB sheds very badly. In one of these pictures, Elisa was having an anxiety attack and CB was comforting her!”

Anxiety, Depression, Houston, PTSD, Texas

Lynsie and SDiT Casper

From our incredible trainer, Kendra, in Houston, who is training with Lynsie. Lynsie suffers with anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Kendra writes:

Lynsie renamed Casper, a dog that Kendra had been fostering, to “Bruce”. We met outside of Target to get Bruce introduced to all sorts of distractions.

Both Lynsie and Bruce did very well! We worked on our “downs” and “sits” in the public arena, and also worked on “leave it” as people walked past us.

One couple stopped to talk to us about Bruce because he is a pitbull and gets a lot of attention. We had Bruce remain in a “sit” or “down” while the people were talking to us, which is an important part of the Public Access Test.

Lynsie will continue working on bringing Bruce to public locations (not inside the stores yet), and getting Bruce comfortable with people, noises and going different places until we can train again together.

ADHD, Agoraphobia, Air Force, Anxiety, Army, Asperger's, Austin, Autism, Bipolar, Cerebral Palsy, Coast Guard, Conversion Disorder, Dallas-Fort Worth, Depression, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, El Paso, Epilepsy, Experience, Fibromyalgia, Houston, Hypoglycemia, Lubbock, Marine, Medical Alert, Military, Mobility, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Navy, Pain Management, Panic Attack, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Psychiatric, PTSD, Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, Schizophrenia, Seizure, TBI, Texas, Tourette's Syndrome, Veteran, Waco, Wounded Warrior

Assistance in the Rio Grande Valley and more

This is a message from our exceptionally brilliant and compassionate trainer, Jacqueline (Jackie). Her life’s passion is to help Veterans, and she asked us to post this for all Veterans, especially in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), if they need help.

I have been a graduate psychologist at the VA down here in the RGV. After working in 3 different VA health care systems, I have seen the great need for Veteran care and have seen both good (actually excellent) and bad ways VAs are run and treatment is provided. It is with an EXTREMELY saddened heart that I can no longer allow myself to provide a lower level of care to Veterans than what they deserve, nor be forced into functioning in a treatment setting that is providing unethical care.

I LOVE my work with Veterans and see such a huge need for this to continue, but as I leave, I also see several other amazing psychologists leaving as well due to the same challenges. I continue to see a need for Behavioral Health Care in the Rio Grande Valley, with Veterans and Civilians alike. After 11 years of schooling and 7 years providing Behavioral Health (BH) Services, I was completing my licensure requirements as a psychologist to provide the highest and most comprehensive options out there, however, despite the need for services in the RGV, I ran into several dead ends for finishing this last piece. However, I am willing to put my own final step on hold to help two communities (Veterans and anyone in the RGV) in need of BH services.

I hold a Masters Level License in the State of Texas that allows me to practice independently (but with some restrictions from what I would have had with my psychologist license and obviously at about 1/3-1/4 of the pay). I am hoping to make some things come together over the next month or two (and will probably be open to picking up random general labor work as my student loans have gone into effect and I incurred debt moving from Idaho to here), but am hoping to offer TeleHealth (similar to Skyping but in a much more secure system) and/or in home therapy/animal assisted-therapy services here in the RGV at hopefully a fraction of the cost of some other places (most likely on an income based sliding scale fee basis) since I will not be accepting insurance and I am wanting to reach a larger population of those in need.

That being said, minus the in-home piece, I am able to offer this TeleHealth service within the scope of my practice anywhere in the state of Texas. I am most wanting to reach Veterans as I know for many, wait times between treatment sessions is 2-3 months in several facilities throughout the state. However, I am also really wanting to service Civilians in the RGV and throughout Texas. I am NOT bilingual unfortunately, but have a considerable amount of understanding of the RGV culture, the Hispanic Culture, and the Texas Hispanic Culture.

For those of you who may know of people who may be able to benefit from this, please feel free to contact me. I will gladly share my extensive training and treatment experience with anyone who requests this, and am hoping to start this as an option for the community within the next two months.

Please contact me at: Jacqueline Kappelman

Anxiety, Experience, Houston, PTSD, Texas

Cole and Aurora

A truly amazing update from our trainer, Kendra, who is working with beautiful Cole. Cole’s dear mother wrote:

“My 17 year old daughter, Cole, was diagnosed with severe social anxiety disorder when she was 14 years old. Once we understood the disorder, it became clear that it had started around age 11. Cole is high functioning around adults, but started having panic attacks around her peer group. She worked intensively with 3 professionals and has made great progress, but still has a ways to go. Cole lost her Dad to melanoma when she was 6 years old. That same year we lost her only uncle and grandpa. All the men in our life within 6 months. Cole was bullied at school during this time. Although she handled it well – she started showing signs of PTSD and OCD. In hind sight, Cole’s Dad suffered from social anxiety and some OCD too. Cole thinks everyone in her life is going to die any time she is not with them. Since I am the only one left – she still has anxiety if I leave the house without her or vice versa. If she goes in a public place and it is all adults, she is well-spoken and an impressive individual. If there are any pre-teen or teenagers, she will either have to leave or go into a state where she can’t even pick a chair to sit in. All the animals on our block come to see her daily, and one neighbor’s cat has moved into our yard for the past 3 years. Cole has a relationship with animals and any other living creature that is AMAZING.

I believe a Service Dog would be a critical component in helping Cole be able to become independent and be able to take college classes and interact in public. She needs to be able to become confident so that she can avoid panic attacks in public or work through them with her Service Dog the way she does with me. It is heart breaking to watch such an incredibly kind, intelligent and sensitive person not be able to pursue any interests or activities outside of our home independently.”

Well, dear Kendra, in Houston, has helped sweet Cole find the perfect dog for Cole! She writes: “I had the pleasure of working with Cole and her mom, Sherri today. After spending many minutes on the phone trying to find the perfect dog, we had a meet and greet today so I could see if the dog they found was finally the one. The dog was in a foster home with the greater Houston German Shepard Rescue; her name is Aurora. When we arrived, Aurora was in the kennel and she was barking because she was so excited to see Cole again. Cole and her mom had already met with Aurora when they went through the approval process. The foster mom let Aurora out of the crate and she ran to Cole! She was SO happy to see Cole again!

Aurora already knows many commands, such as “sit”, “down”, “stay”, and “shake”. I was able to touch all parts of Aurora’s body without any problems. I also was able to touch her mouth and all four paws. I made a loud noise behind her back and all she did was turn her head and look at me. She did awesome! After the evaluation, I went with the family to the pet store to help them get the items needed for Aurora. Once we had those items, we were able to go back to the foster and pick up the Aurora.

During this transition, Cole experiences a full panic attack and could not enter the home, so her mother and I went inside and brought Aurora to Cole. Aurora acted like she has been doing Service Dog work her whole life! She immediately leaned into Cole and licked her. Within a matter of minutes, the panic attack had passed and Cole was able to come inside. While her mom was signing the final papers for adoption, I worked with the team on walking in a “heel” and the proper placement. Aurora was already getting better after just a few minutes! After the adoption was final, I followed them to their house to help them get settled in. There, we put the kennel together and worked on some separation anxiety that the fosters had told us about when she is in the kennel. We worked on this until Cole was confident that tonight would go smoothly. We also worked on Aurora leaving the cat alone. Cole was having severe anxiety about the cat and the dog. The cat has been with her for 15 years! But it didn’t take long for the cat to establish her personal space. We also went over a feeding schedule, and got Aurora to sit while Cole put the food bowl down and release her to eat. We talk about so many things and Cole took to everything like a champ!

I know that Cole and Aurora are the perfect team, and I look forward to working with them again.”

Autism, Houston, Texas

Caleb and SDiT Anna

From our trainer Kendra in Houston, who is training with Dera and her son Caleb, who has autism.

“Dera and her son Caleb had a meet and greet today. I found this beautiful dog, Anna, at my local high kill shelter after an assessment. It went perfectly! Anna bonded amazingly with them. She played with Caleb, and sniffed him on multiple occasions. Caleb was nervous at first due to Anna’s size, but he warmed up to her quickly. Anna took to them like they were best friends! She is very gentle, and even let us brush her long coat. Anna already knows “sit” and “come”. I received an email from Dera that Anna is fitting right in at home! Neither one of us can believe that she has been in the shelter so long just because of her size. She will make one amazing Service Dog!

Dera wrote about the first trip home: I am sitting here is disbelief that this dog was at a shelter! On the car ride home, she was nervous with extra drool but laid on the floor of the car quietly even though the boys were all acting very excited to have her there. When we got home, we kenneled our dog, Bear, to let Anna explore the backyard, which went smoothly. We gave her a bath which helped a lot!

We introduced Bear with both dogs on leads. Bear was a little unwelcoming at first, but Anna was very good. After walking around the yard with both dogs on leash, we let them off. My neighbor’s very vocal and rowdy dog was out running the fence, which stirs Bear up. Anna got a little excited, so I went and stopped Bear from running and barking. Anna was very responsive. I told her to “leave it”, and she simply sat and looked at me!

We then came inside for lunch where we decided to put her in the kitchen until we have a chance to work more with her. The boys went down for a nap and we sat down to watch a movie. Anna will put her front paws on the couch, but we tell her off and then praise her when she sits.

Bear barked at the mailman, Anna perked up and paced a little, but no vocalizing! With training she is going to be amazing!

Apparently, Anna is also kennel trained. I led her in with her new Martingale collar, and she went right in and laid down. Kaleb has really started to take to her! He clipped her leash on and started his own training session! He would tell her “sit”, then gently push on her hips. When she would sit, he would ruffle her head with both hands and say “good girl”. He is a master at copying anything he sees. He saw me do this with Bear yesterday.

I CANNOT believe anyone would give her up!