Category Archives: San Antonio

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

Wounded Warrior Nathan and Owen

An update from Beverly, who is working with Wounded Warrior Nathan, who suffers from PTSD, depression, and bipolar disorder due to childhood abuse and deployments, and his SDIT, “Owen”!

“We did our first training session at a public location. Although Nathan and Owen have been practicing, they hadn’t made any serious trips. Now that they have their own vest and ID, we wanted to give them practice. We started in the garden section and practiced basic behaviors and commands. Then, with the assistance of a sales person there, we had Owen practice staying seated while someone petted him. He did well for his first “petting” from a stranger. Then, we found a cart and practiced pushing the cart with Owen heeling right next to the cart through turns, tight spots, other people, etc. Owen did very well!

Owen was a little nervous with all the sounds and people, but he quickly adjusted and recovered very well from loud noises with very little startle. Good boy with heeling, with a cart, with sitting and watching out when we stopped and took a break. Good Boy Owen! Good Job Nathan! Owen brings Nathan a lot of joy.”

Autism, San Antonio, Texas

Brandi, Alex and SDiT Will

An update from our trainer Beverly, who is working with mom Brandi and her son, Alex, who has autism, and SDIT, Will!

“We walked around the whole apartment complex, around several people in passing and dogs barking from balconies. Will did great! There were no signs of any problems. Will growled for a short moment at the frenzied barking dogs, but walked on and ignored them when told “leave it.” Brandi will take treats on her walk and have random people feed treats to Will while he is in a sit position so he knows other people are okay (especially strollers and any unfamiliar objects.) She will also ensure he sits whenever they stop walking and is not allowed to pull on the leash while walking. I showed her how to give a proper leash correction with the flat collar and discussed the importance of not letting him get ahead and start any pulling. Will did GREAT on the walk around the whole complex and only needed to be reminded to heel a few times. Will knows sit, down, stay, watch me, and leave it.

Brandi says Will and Alex sleep together every night and they have a very tight bond. Alex loves to pet and hug Will, which can calm him if he gets upset.”

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

John and his wonderful SD Sancho

Veteran John and his wonderful SD Sancho are still going strong! Sancho is getting a few grey hairs – he’s 8 – but he still listens to every one of John’s commands and is as lovable as ever! John has been taking extra care of himself because they believe he is having mini-strokes, which sometimes affect his speech and memory along with his movement – but he’s a real trooper and tries not to let it get him down! Caretaker Mary takes John and Sancho to all their appointments at the VA and with specialists, and Sancho is still as helpful and devoted as ever. John just loves Sancho to pieces!

Mary wrote about their recent outing to the Garden Center on Bandera Rd, were they got 3 plants. John loves to garden, and at our last session, he and Mary had cleaned up all the vegetable and flower beds and it was beautiful! They also went to Walmart and got some cactus and hats for the sun protection. It is important for John and Sancho to get out the house and walk and just get away from things so that John does not have to stay at home and focus on his disabilities. Amazingly, even with the inability to use one arm, John volunteers at the Guide Dogs of Texas, washing drinking bowls, helping keep things clean, and being around other dogs. His volunteer work gives him something to make him feel purposeful. John and Sancho will also continue to do therapy dog work as they have been – they are so good at it, and John has a wonderful sense of humor that is infectious for those who are in need of uplifting.

Here are some pictures of me outside with Sancho – I love to brush him with the Furminator because he sheds so much and I know it feels good for him! You can also see from the pictures how much Sancho loves John. And Sancho does REALLY well in his booties!!!

 

Epilepsy, San Antonio, Seizure, Texas

Savannah and SD Valentina

From trainer Letty, who is working with Savannah, who is 17 years old and has epilepsy and developmental delays, and her SD, Valentina (V):

“I had a wonderful training session with Savannah and SD Valentina. We walked from Target to Ross in the Forum. While we were in Ross, we worked on control, balance, and keeping SD V close to Savannah’s body. Savannah did a wonderful job and requires little to no cueing with V. When we were done, we walked back to Target and met up with Savannah’s grandma.

I went over each of the commands that SD Valentina knows including sit, down, stay, leave it, load, unload, heel and how to cue both Savannah and V for each of them correctly. I had Savannah put V in a front cover and practiced walking in that position. It’s always a pleasure to work with this team.!”

PTSD, San Antonio, Texas

A Glorious Experience

What a glorious experience we had yesterday!! As mentioned in posts below, a psychiatrist and caseworker from the San Antonio State Hospital contacted us a while ago about a client of theirs that they felt would benefit from a Service Dog. Mind you, the State Hospital has been in existence for over 100 years – and this is the first Service Dog they have decided to try with a patient! They regularly have Therapy Dogs that visit patients, but this one particular client and the acumen of her psychiatrist decided that based upon the client’s PTSD and other diagnoses, she would be a perfect candidate for this. The client has been “practicing” taking care of one of the psychiatrist’s dogs for months – learning how to properly take care of it, walk it, feed it, give it love and snuggles, and do some basic training. She has done a marvelous job – and that is why they feel a Service Dog will greatly benefit her as I train with her weekly at the hospital until she is ready to go out into the world on her own, with her SD by her side.

Finding the right dog for her was a bit of a challenge, but thanks to Val Moore, who rescues and fosters so many dogs in need (with the help of her husband – had to put that in there!), we found the perfect dog at ACS – Sammie. Sammie is a 1 1/2 year old small mixed breed with the most gentle and loving nature. Sammie was going to go to be permanently with the client last week, but one of the stitches in her spay popped due to an improper closing of the wound. So, Val lovingly took the dog to her own veterinarian, and the popped stitch is healing beautifully.

Val, her husband, myself, the psychiatrist, and the caseworker met with the client yesterday so the client could at least meet Sammie and hold her. It was love at first site for both of them! It was such a beautiful thing to see how gently and carefully the client held Sammie, who was swaddled in a blanket to keep her stitching area clean – the client was overloaded with kisses from Sammie and Sammie’s tail wagged the whole time!! I know the client will take the best care of Sammie – of course, always supervised by staff – and I will train with the two of them weekly. The client is already making a beautiful purple collar with butterflies on it for little Sammie – which was quite a coincidence, since Val brought Sammie on a purple leash and collar!!

The client loves to create beautiful, expressive artwork, and it is very therapeutic for her. This forward-thinking psychiatrist has a very holistic approach when working with clients, and it has helped the client start to work through her past issues and project hope for her future.

A HUGE thank-you to Val and her husband for taking the time to bring Sammie to visit the client with me. What a wonderful future both the client and Sammie have to look forward to!!!!

ADA Rights, Air Force, Experience, Military, Psychiatric, PTSD, San Antonio, TBI, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Dear Friend and Former Trainer

From our dear friend and former trainer, Tony. Thank you, Tony – your words always have and always will mean the world to me and to all of us – and your opinions are very important to me and all of us at SDE:

“As a client and former trainer I have the utmost respect for Laurie and Service Dog Express, She has made my life so much better and I can handle the simple everyday tasks that most take for granted when she paired me with my properly assessed dog Lucy (God bless you Laurie and what you did for me).

As trainers, the client should come first; their needs are off utmost importance.

I think off myself as not only a client but as an ambassador for Service Dog. I try to educate the public as much as I can, but having just one aggressive hyper or skittish dog can make it so much harder for the public to understand what we are doing or what the dog is for, so a properly assessed dog is essential. I know we would like to place all the dogs with homes but they all can’t be a Service Dog!!..

I get so many compliments on how well behaved my dog is in public; it is a proud and calming feeling to me. So thank you so much Laurie for all that you have done to make my life a lot easier..

Tony Cuciniello
( Service Dog Lucy)”

TONY – YOU ARE VERY CORRECT THAT PROPERLY ASSESSED AND TRAINED SDs ONLY SHOULD BE IN THE PUBLIC. IF THERE IS A DOG THAT WE FEEL IS NOT ACTING APPROPRIATELY, WE WILL WORK AS HARD AS WE CAN TO TRY AND TRAIN THE INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR – EVEN IF IT MEANS HAVING TO REMOVE THE DOG AND HANDLER FROM PUBLIC ACCESS FOR A WHILE. IF THE DOG JUST CAN’T BE TRAINED CORRECTLY, WE WILL ALWAYS BE HONEST AND REALIZE THAT THE DOG IS JUST NOT SERVICE DOG MATERIAL. A DOG CAN LEARN THE COMMANDS, BUT ONCE IT BEGINS TRAINING WITH THE HANDLER, DYNAMICS CHANGE. THAT IS WHY CONSISTENCY AND SUPERVISION BY TRAINERS IS PARAMOUNT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT. MANY DOGS THAT PASS ASSESSMENTS ONLY EXHIBIT BEHAVIORS ONCE THEY ARE PUT IN VASTLY DIFFERENT SITUATIONS. THEY MUST BEHAVE CORRECTLY – FOR THE SAFETY OF THE CLIENT AND THE DOG.

Anxiety, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas

Welcome Leah and SDiT Abby

Welcome new client, Leah, who suffers from PTSD and vision loss, and her SDIT, Abby! Trainer Beverly writes:

“Leah had stated that during bonding time, she and Abby were doing GREAT, and she and Abby were inseparable. Abby was, however, seemingly nervous around other people. After talking to Leah and knowing she has no peripheral vision and that one of her fears is being victimized, it was determined that she and Abby were possibly feeding each other’s anxieties. We went for a walk outside and I showed Leah how to “appear” confident and how to encourage confidence in Abby. After a brief walk, both Abby and Leah were much more confident – fake it ’til you make it!. Abby does keep her eye on Leah very attentively and does a great “watch me.

Abby is a wonderful, loving, attentive, gentle soul who is happy to have a person and a purpose. She is loved greatly by Leah and even has a buddy (Leah’s cat) to lie in the sun with. Abby and Leah were connected on 12 July and she has been helping Leah ever since. Since July is the month of Leah’s birthday, she says this was the BEST present EVER!”

CONFIDENCE IS THE KEY, BEVERLY – YOU ARE RIGHT. FOR ALL CLIENTS – HAVE FAITH THAT YOUR DOG WILL DO WHAT IT IS SUPPOSED TO DO – EVEN IF IT’S STILL IN EARLY TRAINING. THE DOGS COMPLETELY FEED OFF OF THE HANDLER’S LEVEL OF TRUST AND CONFIDENCE. I KNOW THIS IS HARD TO DO WHEN MANY OF US SUFFER FROM ANXIETY, BUT THE FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

Depression, Fibromyalgia, Military, Mobility, PTSD, San Antonio, Texas, Veteran, Wounded Warrior

Sonya and Princess

From trainer, Beverly, who is working with Wounded Warrior, Sonya, who suffers from PTSD, Fibromyalgia, Depression, and stability issues. Her beautiful SDIT is Rottweiler, Princess. Beverly writes:

“We worked more on having Princess sit/down and stay, and heavily on the recall as she likes to be a bit “lazy” and not come when she is called, but just lays down and stays there. Princess did better this session and is really motivated with hot dogs! Her “Watch me” with Sonya is spot on, and she is getting pretty good at “leave it.” Princess has sit, down, stay, watch me, leave it, and heel down pat. Sonya says that Princess is now sleeping upstairs (previously she wouldn’t even go up the stairs), and Princess is very good at watching who and what is around, making Sonya feel safe and allowing her to relax a little more.

We will continue to work on the “Stay,” the “Recall” and engaging Princess with everything Sonya is doing. Next session will be in another location outside of home.”

SOMETIMES IT JUST TAKES A LITTLE LONGER FOR DOGS WHO HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY USED TO A VERY “NON-WORKING” ENVIRONMENT. BUT PRINCESS IS HIGHLY INTELLIGENT AND HAS THE MOST GENTLE TEMPERAMENT, SO IT WON’T BE LONG UNTIL SHE GETS INTO THE GROOVE!

 

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!