Category Archives: San Antonio

San Antonio, Texas

Carol and her SDIT, Kensi

From our trainer Andrew, who is working with Carol and her SDIT, Kensi:

“This is a write up for two sessions with Carol and her SDIT Kensi. The first session was spent at Petsmart and the World Market next door. We mostly practiced basic obedience, but also manners work with other dogs and distractions with people around. Kensi did very for well, but her attention easily wanders. She has a decent sit/stay and an acceptable down/stay. She has a bit of an issue pulling on the leash, but we bought a Martingale collar to use as a training collar.

The second session with Carol and Kensi took place at Petsmart for an hour, then we went and had dinner at Red Robin for the duration of the session. Kensi’s training went very well this time. We worked on reinforcing the initial obedience work during the first part of our session, and Kensi was spectacular! When we went into Red Robin, where we were well received. Kensi went right under the table and laid there the entire time; she didn’t even ask for food – and when the staff reached under to pet her after asking, she received it perfectly. I believe that Carol and Kensi are almost ready to take the Public Access Test, and I will be requesting it soon!!

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

HOORAY FOR MAXIMUS AND HIS NEW DAD, WOUNDED WARRIOR, DONALD

HOORAY FOR MAXIMUS AND HIS NEW DAD, WOUNDED WARRIOR, DONALD!!!

After over a month of planning and preparation, Wounded Warrior Donald, who was receiving treatment at Laurel Ridge, finally set off for sunny California with his new SDIT, Maximus! (now renamed “Boris”). Thanks to a great team effort with amazing fosters from San Antonio Rocks and the entire SA Rocks team, Donald spent a lot of time getting to know Boris and bonding – which was instant! Donald’s doctor wrote the prescription for Boris – who got to also meet two other Service Dogs placed with Wounded Warriors staying at the Laurel Ridge facility permanently until discharged.

Donald first saw Boris on our website, and over a month ago started emailing and calling me every day about him! We talked extensively about Service Dogs, their special training needs, his ability to take care of a Service Dog, and general knowledge about having a Service Dog for his PTSD and other medical issues. He read our manual thoroughly, signed our contract promising to take care of Boris for life, and already put me in contact with two Service Dog trainers back in California that have agreed to work with him. I have made contact with each trainer. Donald filled out the SA Rocks application, and they accepted him after professionally confirming that he was capable, ready, and able to take care of Boris – which I know Donald can!

Equipped with all the necessary items, I picked up Boris at 4 am to make it to the airport by 4:30 where I met Donald. We checked in (it was United Airlines – even though I called ahead and arranged the flight), the “supervisor” at the check in desk asked to see Boris’ “paperwork”, to which I answered, “No, I have already called in and arranged with your Disabilities Department that Boris will need no paperwork because he is a medical alert dog”. Then, she said, “I’m going to check on this.” To which I said, “I’m sorry, ma’am, there is nothing to check on. It is illegal for you to deny Donald and his Service Dog entrance onto the plane”. She walked off in a huff. United has always given us the biggest problems. So then, as always, I requested a gate pass to help Donald through the Security checkpoint. We stood in an EXTREMELY long line, very nervous about making it to our gate in time – and the “greeter” at the end of the line clearly saw the dog – when we FINALLY got to go through security, they said, “Oh – if you have a Service Dog, you get to go through the preferred passenger line and cut through”. Thanks for telling us! In any case, knowledge for you all to know.

We did make it to the gate just in time, and Donald and Boris were first to board. They made it to California just fine, and training begins Monday!!

Equipment, Experience, Military, Mobility, Navy, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Talk about inspirational people!

Talk about inspirational people!! All of you are such inspirations to us at Service Dog Express!!

Here is an update on 53 year-old Wounded Warrior John, and his 8 year-old SD, Sancho. They keep on truckin! Even though John has suffered many strokes and a heart attack, he still wakes up every morning focusing on the positives in his life – especially the love he has for his best buddy, Sancho. They continue to go on walks with John in his scooter, and some days, John will walk without being in a scooter to keep his legs moving. He takes SUCH good care of Sancho – teeth cleanings, joint supplements, and keeps himself busy by reading all he can about dog training. John has difficulties finding words sometimes because of his strokes, and his memory can sometimes escape him, but nevertheless, he persists and usually expresses more concern about how I am doing when we talk or visit than how HE is doing. What a compassionate, selfless man! Here is a recent update from John’s wonderful caretaker, Mary:

“Hello,
These are the photos I forgot to send yesterday. This is a quiet Walmart. We went here to get some vitamins and flavored water with my sister, Kathy, who suffers from schizophrenia. A few customers noticed Sancho’s adorable shoes, and he attracted so much loving attention! Sancho was on his best behavior – as usual – and everyone there talks about how calm and sweet Sancho is! The bottom picture is John talking with the optician at the Walmart.”

NEVER GIVE UP!!!

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

CONGRATULATIONS to Wounded Warrior, Blake, and SD Zoid

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Wounded Warrior, Blake, and his now SD, Zoid!

Due to deployments, Blake is usually in a wheelchair and met the amazing Zoid through Cherry Jenkin’s In Dog We Trust rescue after contacting us. It was love at first site. Our trainer, Brenda, who is a paraplegic in a wheelchair with her SD Murray, trained with Blake and Zoid about how to use and work with Service Dogs while in a wheelchair. They did an amazing amount of work together and Blake followed training advice to a tee! He and Zoid have an indescribable bond.

Unfortunately, Blake recently found out he developed lung cancer due to exposure to toxins while deployed. He is moving to Arkansas to be near family while he undergoes treatment for this. Luckily, through Skype and videos, as well as through emails and on the phone, Brenda has determined that Blake and Zoid are now an official SD team!!

We at Service Dog Express have the utmost admiration for Blake and his always upbeat, positive attitude. We are confident that Zoid will be there for him as he fights this new battle, offering comfort and support. Please send prayers for healing, and please honor Blake by showing how much his resiliency is an inspiration for all of us!!!

Anxiety, Panic Attack, Psychiatric, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas

CONGRATULATIONS to Tracy and Cooper

CONGRATULATIONS to Tracy, who suffers with extreme PTSD, flashbacks, and disassociation episodes, and her now SD Cooper!

Tracy has been through SO much over this past year. She was originally paired with SD Apollo, and at first, it was an instant bond. Tracy and her loving husband, Jon, met Apollo about one year ago, and immediately at my house, Apollo started doing covers for Tracy. For a long time, and with a lot of training, Tracy and Apollo passed their PAT together.

However, as time went on and Tracy’s therapy was not working, her disassociation episodes continued to get worse. She began withdrawing from everything – even Apollo – and Apollo started bonding more with her husband, Jon. Apollo would not sleep on the bed nor next to it to wake Tracy from her night terrors. They realized, sadly, that Apollo would be better off in another home. They gave Apollo to a Wounded Warrior, whose symptoms were not as severe. It was a bittersweet day for Tracy.

However, in the meantime, Tracy had already adopted Cooper, a magnificent dog fostered by a woman named Margaret, who already knew most of the PAT command – he had just not found the right “person”. Tracy and Jon adopted Cooper while still looking for a home for Apollo, and Tracy went right to work practicing everything she had learned from working with Apollo to working with Cooper. Cooper had the very opposite type of personality as Apollo – while Apollo was very laid-back and slow-moving, Cooper was more active and much more in tune with Tracy’s moods and behaviors. Cooper immediately started sleeping with or next to her, waking her from night terrors, and would alert every time she went into disassociation. It wasn’t that Apollo wasn’t a great SD – he just wasn’t the one for Tracy’s particularly strong needs.

They practiced and perfected each and every inside command – as Tracy made up her mind not to give up on the idea of a Service Dog – and they started going out into public (something that Tracy had stopped doing as much when her symptoms returned and Apollo was becoming unresponsive). She said it was like night and day. Cooper never let Tracy out of his eyesight, alerted the minute she would start to have a flashback, would get Jon if she needed help, and Tracy began to feel confident again.

After many intensive, multi-hour sessions, Tracy and Cooper passed their PAT! They were perfect together. They passed every command out in public over and over flawlessly. Cooper automatically covers Tracy without command from whatever direction she needs it. We even dressed Cooper up in Halloween attire, and he got a lot of meet and greets with happy little children! Now, Tracy is off to receive intensive outpatient therapy with Cooper ready and by her side, and she rests comfortably knowing that fully-trained Apollo is helping someone else.

BEST WISHES, TRACY, COOPER, AND JON! THANK YOU FOR YOUR BITTERSWEET SACRIFICE!

Experience, San Antonio, Schizophrenia, Texas

Mary and SD Snowball

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.

Anxiety, Experience, Mobility, Panic Attack, San Antonio, Texas

It’s SUPER SERVICE DOG to save the day

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.

Army, Experience, Military, Mobility, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Wounded Warrior Blake with SDIT Zoid

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.”

Experience, San Antonio, Texas

Daveed, and his SDIT, Redmond

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!!!

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

Changing of the Service Dogs

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!