Category Archives: Texas

Dallas-Fort Worth, General, Texas

Staley and Magnus

Apologies for the lack of pictures…I need to get a spare battery for the phone!

To begin the session, we reviewed his basic commands: sit, down, stay, leave it, etc. Magnus is coming along nicely in the few weeks that they’ve been working together. They tried out a head harness that helped with the pulling that little Magnus had picked up. We also did a mini-workout with some “puppy push-ups” and “puppy burpees,” which are just variations of “sit,” “down,” and “stand.” I had them work on this to focus on Magnus’ precision and response time. He has quite a personality, but he is a very bright pup! I gave the family some homework to work on until I was able to meet with them the following week.  Great job, Staley and Magnus!

Air Force, Military, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Joseph and Viva

Here is the PERFECT match – Joseph, a compassionate, gentle, courageous Wounded Warrior who I have been working with for about a month. He saw Viva, who was rescued, fostered, and trained by Cherry Jenkins of In Dog We Trust. The meet and greet went wonderfully, and there was an instant bond between them. Joseph has served 5 years in the Air Force and the last two deployments left him with severe PTSD. Viva has already made a huge difference in his life; he said that she sleeps close to him in the bed and he feels comforted by her when he wakes. He has been working on all the commands with her, most of which she knows well, and he is a lot more comfortable going out into public because of her. He even takes her to work now, where she acts perfectly!! We thank Joseph for his service and wish him and Viva all the very best for the future, and will continue training until she has passed the PAT! Joseph’s goals for the future (he is still active duty but undeployable) is to go to college and work in the field of forestry!

Army, Military, PTSD, San Antonio, Seizure, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Spaying Katie

Please say prayers for dear 18 month-old husky, Katie, SD for the amazing WW Troy. Don’t worry – last update, she’s doing fine – but Troy had to make the agonizing decision about getting her spayed. As many of you already know, Troy’s life literally depends on Katie now, as she alerts to his seizures 32 minutes before they happen. His doctors have altered his medication based upon the incredible accuracy of Katie’s alerts, so that as soon as she does alert, he takes his medication and it begins working in 20 minutes. Troy has been seizure-free for 7 months now because of this – the longest he has gone since his injuries sustained in the military. Troy was very worried that spaying Katie might have some effect on her alerting abilities. So, I wrote to every ADI-accredited agency across the nation that specializes in epilepsy alert Service Dogs (I believe their were six). Each organization’s director was kind enough to answer my question with their opinion (and all were also amazed to hear Troy and Katie’s system) – and the consensus was overwhelmingly that he should go ahead with the spay. So, Katie was spayed and is healing now – let’s just send best wishes to Troy that the spay will have no effect on Katie’s alerting ability!

Military, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Training ‘Dallas’

What a truly AWESOME session with Wounded Warrior, William, who suffers with PTSD, and his incredible 9 month old “puppy”, Dallas! Dallas, an English Mastiff, has surpassed all expectations since the first time I met him, but this second outing at Walmart showed me just how INCREDIBLE a trainer his dad, William is!! Dallas knows all the basics – sit, down, sit/stay, down/stay, leave it, heel, load, unload, perfect heel, dropped leash walking, loves every child and adult he gently meets, and gets along with big, little, barking, or quiet dogs! I was literally in shock at our last session. While doing the usual things, I noticed William putting Dallas into automatic “covers”. I said, “We haven’t even taught you both that?!” William just grinned and said, “I’ve been doing my homework!” That’s an understatement! Not only can Dallas do covers from the front and sides (we will see about the back cover next time, but I’m sure it will be done before I even meet them again knowing William’s intelligence and diligence”). Dallas even stayed in a stay with William disappearing from view and only hearing his voice. He didn’t move a muscle. And he does it all without treats – even though we sneak them in sometimes. Dallas’ head and throat are so big he tends to spit out the training treats as if to say “Give me something bigger, dang it!” William is definitely getting more comfortable in public, as Dallas is consistently drawing attention everywhere he goes. He gets big hugs from little children, looks of awe from adults, and William is much more prepared for this amount of attention and is getting so much more comfortable interacting with others and explaining about Service Dogs. I tried everything I could to distract Dallas – even getting in a motorized scooter at Walmart and walking next to them to see if it fazed Dallas. I mean – I was RIGHT next to them – and Dallas just looked at it strangely a few times, but then was completely comfortable with it. Created loud noises were nothing to Dallas. I did manage to find ONE thing that challenged this amazing dog – finally!! A HULA HOOP!!! Dallas was a little “spooked” by it at first, so I twirled it all around him (probably making William feel awkward – he’s so kind and patient, though – what a champ) – and finally, we succeeded at Dallas decided to wear the hula hoop himself.

The only thing William and I talked about regarding any possible “issues” with Dallas were how to train when William is out in public with Dallas and William’s wife. We talked about how Dallas has to always take commands from William only when out in public, and Dallas’ watch me’s need to be consistently on William. William said that sometimes, Dallas will focus a bit more on his wife than on William when out, so our next outing will be training with the both of them.

I LOVE THIS DOG, AND I AM BLOWN AWAY BY WILLIAM’S TRAINING INSTINCTS!!!!

Austin, Marine, Military, PTSD, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Scott met Milo

What a bittersweet day for Wounded Warrior, Scott, and Audrey and Nathan Maurer! Scott met Milo in person for the first time at Laurel Ridge last Saturday, after almost a month of waiting for him to be his new SDIT!! Audrey and Nathan, Milo’s former owners, were there to witness the meeting – and just as we expected, it was love at first sight for Scott, who had been waiting for so long to meet his new battle buddy! Scott had already studied the training manual and knew the commands inside out – and Milo knows them, too – thanks to the amazing work done by Audrey and Nathan! They just knew how special Milo was and felt he was destined for higher things. Their compassion and selflessness defies belief. On Tuesday, we all met at Petsmart – Scott drove down from Austin (where he will be training with our SDE trainer) – and Nathan came with Milo. It was so hard for Nathan and Audrey – they shed tears of sadness but also of joy knowing that they were giving someone else a new lease on life. After Nathan said his goodbyes to Milo, Scott and I shopped in Petsmart and got all the goodies Milo needs – his favorite food, training treats, a training collar, a reflective 4 inch Kong leash and collar (red, of course!), bowls, some toys, and the Maurers gave Scott Milo’s bed – a wonderful thing to use as a transition object to help with any separation anxiety. Milo was SO perfectly behaved in Petsmart – Scott was able to get him to sit, down, heel, stay, watch me, leave it, load and unload, and do meet and greets with other dogs and people without a hitch! Words cannot express how much this beautiful exchange means. On her FB site, Audrey wrote, “Sweet baby Milo is moving on to bigger and better things. He will start training as a Service Dog today. Although we will miss him terribly, we know this is the perfect thing for him. Of course we celebrated Milo with a hamburger from McDonalds, his favorite!” Of course, Scott was like a kid in a candy store – he couldn’t stop hugging and giving Milo hugs and rubs and praise – such joy!!!!! We can’t wait to see their beautiful future unfold! Scott posted a picture of Milo on FB, with the caption, “Probably the best thing that has ever happened to me.” Scott is in uniform on the right.

 

Military, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Check up with Maggie and Christopher

From our trainer, Beverly, who is keeping up with Wounded Warrior, Christopher, who suffers from PTSD, and his SD, Maggie.

“We reviewed Maggie’s basic skills since it has been a few months since she passed her PAT and Maggie did great. The bond between Maggie and Christopher is very apparent. She watches him in everything she does and follows his movements. Although she moves slowly (her normal demeanor is very laid back), Christopher says she can get playful at home; she is just not the excitable type. With the birth of their new baby (Piper Willis) last month, Maggie has done a fantastic job adapting to the new addition! Christopher wanted to work on “cover” for his upcoming trip to KS for a VA appointment. He says Maggie does very well at the airport and on the plane, except for take-off when she shows some anxiety and restlessness, but settles once the plane is in the air.

We practiced both front and back cover, as well as having her sit between his legs and look out when he is seated. Maggie picked up the skill fairly quickly and Christopher said he would be practicing with her daily until the trip.”

CONGRATULATIONS TO CHRISTOPHER AND HIS WIFE ON THE BIRTH OF PIPER!!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK WITH MAGGIE!

Anxiety, Austin, Bipolar, Depression, Hearing, Mobility, Pain Management, Texas

One more to go – Lee and SDiT Hagger

An update from our trainer in Austin, who trained with the amazing Hagger the Humungous and his dad, Lee, who suffers from Bi-Polar Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder and Major Social Anxiety. He also has major hearing loss in his left ear which also causes balance issues. He has scoliosis and chronic right shoulder pain.

“I wanted to let you know on Sunday afternoon, I did a 1/2 hour Mock Public Access Test session with Lee and Hagger. We went to Walmart and went over some all commands for the PAT. Hagger has his commands perfected and is so ready for the test in September! We practiced sit/stays while I rolled by with a shopping cart and worked on down.stays. Hagger has a strong “leave it” when it comes to food and certain things that can distract him. He heels next to Lee with no problems and never once strays from him! They are a great duo!”

WAY TO GO HAGGER AND LEE!!!!! SO PROUD OF BOTH OF YOU!!!

 

Army, Military, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Cassie focusing more on Brian

From trainer Beverly, who is working with Wounded Warrior Brian, and his SDIT, Cassie! Brian is currently staying at the Fisher House while he receives medical treatment for PTSD and other issues.

“At this session, we worked on Cassie focusing more on Brian, amid distractions (squirrels, people, cars, etc.) Brian has been working on her with “down” and she is doing well. We did work on “place” to have her sit between his legs facing out whenever he’s sitting down in an area in which he feels anxious. Additionally, we worked on more of “watch me” and teaching her to pay attention to Brian even when she wants to watch the squirrel. I gave Brian some homework for he and his wife to work on with loading and unloading into the car. This is to get Cassie more comfortable with getting into the vehicle. We also discussed (and demonstrated) beginning to work on having her lay under the table when they eat and how to go about practicing in their quarters. We changed to a light weight prong collar for their walks, for now, to maintain the necessary control until Cassie becomes more adept at focusing on Brian.

Next session, we will be adding some relationship games to increase focus and attention on Brian. Otherwise, he says they are bonded and doing well!”

Cassie sits well and remains with Brian. She is very alert, which we will capitalize on to allow Brian to relax and know she will tell him if there is anything he should be aware of.

Anxiety, Autism, Dallas-Fort Worth, General, PTSD, Texas

Welcome Ben and his SDiT

Ben and Lucy Bonnie Wild Style

An update from our trainer Candace, in Ft. Worth, who is working with new client, Ben! Ben is an eight year old boy that has been through so much in his young life. As a result, this beautiful young child has autism, PTSD, and anxiety that causes him to get very nervous when in public. His adoring parents write that “Ben is a sweet heart that God made special.” How lucky Ben is to be a part of such a beautiful family!

Candace writes:

“Ben’s mom, Lacey, just adopted this beautiful 6 month old girl to be Ben’s shadow/helper/friend. They are already attached at the haunches! Ben hasn’t decided on a name for this sweet girl just yet, but he is leaning towards Lucy, I think. We shall find out shortly. Everyone give this family a warm welcome as they start their journey on the hard but rewarding road of Service Dog training and ownership!”

Diabetes, El Paso, Experience, Hearing, Medical Alert, PTSD, Texas, Veteran

Beto and SDiT Osito

From our trainer, Michelle, who is in New Mexico. She is working with Beto. Beto is a 62 year-old Vietnam veteran that was affected by Agent Orange. He has been given a 100% disability rating (90% service-connected) by the VA and has several different issues, including PTSD, Diabetes Mellitus 2, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Neuropathy, Tinnitus and hearing loss (wear hearing aids) and memory loss. Because of the memory loss, he forgets to inject and take his medications (currently 27 pills daily, 4 shots daily of insulin, 1 shot weekly of Methotrexate and one infusion monthly of Actemra.) He uses a cane or walker because of the RA and neuropathy. His psychologist, Dr. Rebecca Mitchell in the Mental Health Division of the VA Clinic in El Paso, TX referred Beto to Service Dog Express, and Michelle agreed to take this wonderful, loving, upbeat gentleman and his SDIT, Osito on as a client, traveling all the way from Elephante Butte, NM, to El Paso!! Now THAT’s a dedicated trainer!

Michelle writes:

“I met with Beto and SDiT Osito for the second time. Beto and Osito are doing wonderfully. This visit, Beto’s wife was more involved with the training since Beto has a little memory loss and is having a hard time remembering when certain trainings need to occur.

Beto’s wife will help to encourage SDiT Osito to jump into Beto’s lap for medicine reminders, twice per day. In addition, Beto will try to remember to check his blood sugar at the times SDiT Osito licks on him to find out where his blood sugar levels are. The only other training Osito needs outside of specifics, because Beto has trained Osito so well, is the learn down/sit and stay until recalled. That is ok, it will come!”

WELCOME, DEAR BETO AND OSITO! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY!!!! I WISHED YOU’D HAD A SERVICE DOG WHEN YOU FIRST CAME BACK FROM VIETNAM. ALL THOSE YEARS OF SUFFERING…BUT NEW HOPE FOR YOU NOW!