Canines For PTSD

In the service dog world, Odin, a 5-year-old Siberian Husky, is an outlier.

Perceptive, intelligent, social and the foundation of Above the Clouds Siberian Service Dogs, Odin is trained to quash the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

“We had no idea he was going to be a good service dog,” said Barrett T. Leary-Stensgaard who, with her husband, Tim Stensgaard, breeds and trains the dogs in Woodland Park. “Our trainers were just flabbergasted because Siberians have a bad reputation.”

Most service dogs, she added, are Labradors, German shepherds or Golden retrievers. “We got passionate about Siberians when we found that Odin has superior genetics – his line goes back 400 years to Siberia,” she said. “They are working dogs.”

The couple opened the business with Siberian rescue dogs but changed focus when results were disappointing. “We decided to start breeding, to take control of the genetics and the temperament,” she said.

Yet Odin is the star Siberian for Stensgaard, a U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret, who served in six combat tours of duty. Only recently did he acknowledge his PTSD. “I just ignored it as a possibility,” he said. “Even now I’m reluctant to talk about my PTSD — most vets are; it takes a lot to come to grips with that.”

When Stensgaard starts feeling anxious, Odin goes to work. “He’ll start getting on me, distracting me,” Stensgaard said. “He reacts to anxiety before I pick it up.”

Dogs that graduate from Above the Clouds Siberian Service Dogs help those with PTSD, mobility/stability issues, blindness, seizures or autism, for instance. “We have different training methods for different issues,” Leary-Stensgaard.

For people with mobility issues in addition to those with special needs such as autism, the couple relies on Cindy Pixler of Grand Junction, a home health-care nurse.

Each dog is certified as a Canine Good Citizen by Lisa Lima, a dog trainer and animal-assisted therapist and owner of My Life Unleashed in Woodland Park, or her business partner Eric Rice. “I can’t certify my own dogs,” Leary-Stensgaard said.

Once purchased and trained, the Siberians head out to destinations around the nation. For instance, at a year old, Raven is trained and ready to be picked up by the new owner, Nahkee Augusta, who is driving in from Wisconsin to pick up the dog.

“The research is that dogs bond better when they go home in a year,” she said. “I’m pretty good at matching the right dog with the right person.”

Rhonda Joins Fire Team

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department would like to welcome its newest member, Rhonda, who is the Department’s first Emotional Support Canine. Rhonda was trained over a 9-month period to recognize signs of agitation, anxiety, and stress and interrupt those behaviors by providing affection and enabling individuals to express themselves in a safe environment.

Rhonda will assist firefighters after emotionally challenging calls or with personal issues. Firefighter Sam Dudley has been assigned as Rhonda’s handler. Rhonda will be with Firefighter Dudley every day, both at work and at home.

With firefighter depression and PTSD rates five times higher than the general population, Rhonda will help ensure Santa Barbara County firefighters are working at their highest potential and support the department’s efforts in sustaining long lasting, healthy careers. Rhonda will be available 24/7 to support all area fire agencies within Santa Barbara County. She may also be utilized statewide.

Facilitated by the Santa Barbara Firefighters Alliance and generous donations from the Wood- Claeyssens Foundation as well as the Manitou Fund, which supported the purchase of a Ford F150 XL pickup truck, specifically outfitted for Rhonda, to be used by the Department for transportation between assignments. Additionally, the Pet House in Goleta has generously offered to supply (donate) all food for Rhonda, and assist with grooming costs.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department is very excited to welcome Rhonda to the fire department team and as a member of our fire family.

Retired Police Dogs

 There isn’t a dog in the world that I doesn’t deserve a great home but what happens to a working dog when it comes time to retire?

You’re probably wondering what am I talking about when I say a “working dog.” I’m referring to some of the most heroic animals on the face of the planet: a police working dog.

We give our pets unconditional love and attention throughout their lives and they serve as family members. But what about those 1% of dogs that go out there and keep us safe?

Throughout their entire working time, they are part of the canine handler’s family, living at home and becoming one with everybody.

So what happens when it’s time for them to retire? Where do they go?

This past weekend, the Florida Highway Patrol retired one of its own that had patrolled Central Florida for several years.

It’s time for this dog to hang up the SUV rides and long leash tracks with nothing but snacks and green grass. It’s only right that the handler themselves would get first dibs on continuing to provide this K9 a home.

I would say close to 90% of handlers keep their dogs if their dog retires while in service.

If for whatever reason the handler cannot provide a home to the canine, then it would be opened up to other law enforcement officers who were interested.

Believe me, there’s almost a line of them wanting to give love to one of these pups.

If for whatever reason that was not possible it would be opened up to the proper civilian family that knew what they were getting themselves into and that could provide a safe and comfortable home for this animal who over their life provided so many to us.

Veterans Battling PTSD

Amid recovery efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans were stunned last month by the horrific death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, who was killed while in police custody. Sadly, the subsequent protests, riots and looting in cities from Seattle to Miami to New York have increased chaos and divisiveness when our greatest need now is for authentic communication.

Understandably, some observers say we now suffer from “crisis fatigue.” While all of these issues and events warrant our full attention, at the same time, they cast a long shadow on other conditions as well, of which we should also remain informed and empathetic. Congress reminds us of this every year by designating June as “National PTSD Awareness Month” and June 27 as “National PTSD Awareness Day.”

American veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can be easily forgotten. Many served their country and returned home bearing both physical and mental disabilities for which there is no cure. PTSD is often the most punishing and the national suicide rate among veterans with PTSD stands at 20 per day. Consequently, these veterans are unlikely to gather in groups to protest anything. They don’t seek photo-ops or press conferences.

The sad paradox is that veterans with PTSD who have the greatest need for help are often among the least capable of asking for it. That’s because they’ve been haunted by their own experiences and have been worn down by their flashbacks; nightmares; anger; depression; anxiety and resulting self-isolation. PTSD often has a profoundly adverse impact on their spouses and children too.

For decades veterans with PTSD have also been challenged by widespread public misperception about PTSD:

That someone who suffers with PTSD should be able to “reason” through it.

That the person who suffers from PTSD is violent and unbalanced.

That no treatment works.

That veterans with PTSD are simply looking for a disability check.

In addition to these obstacles the “stay-at-home” restrictions from COVID-19 add insult to injury for those making the effort to find their path forward. At K9 Partners for Patriots based in Brooksville, we help veterans with PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and military sexual trauma (MST) with a free, 6-month training program in which we train the veteran to train a K9 partner to become his or her service dog. But, the current COVID-19 restrictions preclude us from interviewing new veteran applicants; or bringing in dogs to test them. We cannot yet conduct counseling sessions with individuals or groups such as our spouses group, or, the female veterans group.

We anxiously await reopening without restriction so that we may be fully available to our growing family of veterans. For them, please know that the scars of PTSD are invisible but just as real as the physical ones they’ve endured for all of us.

K9s For Warriors

K9s For Warriors has received the 2020 Florida Impact Award from Leadership Florida, an organization dedicated to building a better Florida.

The Florida Impact Award recognizes a business or nonprofit organization that has created a specific project or body of work that is transforming the future of its region or beyond and has the potential to transform Florida as a whole.

K9s For Warriors was recognized for its innovative service dog program, which challenges the traditional system to better provide disabled veterans with the opportunity to pursue lifesaving tools and proves rescue dogs can be heroes.

The nomination came from Nan Rothstein on behalf of the Northeast Regional Council of Leadership Florida.

“Knowing how many other outstanding nonprofits there are in Florida, this award is absolutely humbling to receive,” K9s For Warriors CEO Rory Diamond said. “I assure you that our staff and volunteers are incredibly dedicated to transforming Florida to be a leader in veteran suicide prevention and rescuing dogs from shelters to give them a new purpose. All of us at K9s For Warriors thank Leadership Florida for this recognition and honor.”

Leadership Florida comprises multiple programs that connect individuals, organizations and businesses to build a better Florida through both individual and organizational capacities.

“K9s For Warriors provides an invaluable service to our disabled American heroes,” said Broward College President and Leadership Florida Chair Gregory Adam Haile. “We can never do enough in service of our veterans, who have given so much to keep us safe and secure. Leadership Florida is proud to recognize K9s For Warriors with the 2020 Florida Impact Award.”

Service Dogs

Fire Investigation Dog

ESSEX’S first ever Fire Investigation dog is now working to protect the county after completing her training recently.

Three-year-old Sprocker Spaniel Fizz will take part in fire investigations across Essex for an initial six month trial period, and support Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) in understanding how fires started, as well as why they may have escalated.

Fizz, who was trained by handler Graham Currie and certificated and licensed by Essex Police, will be based at ECFRS’ Urban Search and Rescue site in Lexden, near Colchester.

Fizz’s work will help in criminal investigations: in cases of deliberate fires and potential arson, she can identify up to 30 flammable liquids and solids, many of which are completely odourless to humans.

As well as her operational capabilities, Fizz and her detection skills will act as a deterrent to potential arsonists in communities across Essex. With arson crimes often difficult to solve, it is hoped Fizz will improve investigations of deliberate fires in both urban and rural settings.

Jo Turton, Chief Fire Officer at ECFRS, said: “Introducing Fizz is a really positive step for our fire investigation process and protection work, which are both vital in making Essex a safe place to live, work and travel.

“Fizz will help us to understand more about how fires start and help inform our work to identify trends and prevent further similar incidents happening.

“Collaboration and working more closely with partners to provide a better service for the people of Essex is one of our priorities and this is another example of how we’re trying to do just that.”

Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: “We are so pleased to see that Fizz has her accreditation and will be joining the other fantastic dogs working across both the fire and rescue service and police force here in Essex.

“The collaboration shown here by both services, be it human or canine, really shows what we can achieve by working together. By using innovative ideas and working as one team we can keep more people safe and as well as preventing and detecting crime.

“We can’t wait to hear about Fizz’s future successes.”

Navy Working Dog

When an Air Force working dog suffering a heat injury in Saudi Arabia needed a blood transfusion, he got it from a Navy dog named Army, in what officials are calling a joint service lifesaving effort.

Cvoky, a 120-pound Belgian Malinois, was rushed by helicopter from Prince Sultan Air Base to Kuwait’s Camp Arifjan earlier this month, after his temperature reached nearly 110 degrees — a potentially life-threatening situation — the military said in two recent statements.

“He did not seem like himself” during a training event on June 9, said Cvoky’s handler, Air Force Staff Sgt. Juan Reyes, in a statement a few days after the incident. “We rushed him right to the medical tent.”

In recent years, a rash of heat injuries among the troops — some fatal — has plagued the military, which last year saw its first decline in such cases in five years. Still, more than 2,000 troops suffered heat exhaustion in 2019 and some 500 had heatstroke, a military report said in April.

At the Saudi air base, 5-year-old Cvoky was treated just like a human would be — taken out of the heat and cooled with ice, said Maj. Valentina Merola, a public health officer there, in a statement issued last week.

While common for both humans and canines during the hotter months in the Middle East, heat injuries can have severe and lasting consequences for dogs, such as internal bleeding, said Capt. Jon Drake, veterinarian in charge in Kuwait.

“Many dogs that reach high temperatures like this one did, do not survive,” Drake said. “We were very lucky [Cvoky’s injury] was caught quickly … treatment was given right away, and we were able to medevac the dog.”

A UH-60 Black Hawk from the 1st General Support Aviation Battalion, 189th Aviation Regiment flew him to the Kuwait base, which was the nearest facility with the necessary veterinary specialists. The aviation unit, part of the Army’s Task Force Spartan, includes National Guard soldiers from Indiana and Montana.

“This is a first for us doing an international country transfer of a working dog,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brett Milton, the pilot in command.

While the helicopter was in-transit, members of the Army’s 994th Medical Detachment (Veterinarian Services) in Kuwait readied for a blood transfusion, and Capt. Melody Mullin found the right donor with the appropriate blood type — the Navy dog named Army.

“We came in and he donated a pint of blood for the dog in need,” said his handler, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Sera Tamez. “It feels really good to help one of our own.”

Drake credited Cvoky’s handler with recognizing the need to act fast. That early recognition, as well as the joint service teamwork contributed to what Kimbrell called a “success story.”

“Cvoky is totally back to himself,” said Reyes, his handler with the 378th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, who deployed with the dog from Hill Air Force Base, Utah. “Right now he is just relaxing and enjoying life. This was definitely a happy ending.”

At Prince Sultan Air Base, where troops deployed late last year for the first time in more than a decade due to escalating tensions with Iran, working dogs are the “first line of defense,” said Tech Sgt. Erick Hernandez, the squadron’s kennel master.

Cvoky’s been in service for over three years and this was his first deployment, the Air Force said. Unfortunately, this was his second heat injury.

“More than likely, it will happen again, so once he’s treated and back healthy in Kuwait, he’ll return back to the states where he will retire from the military,” Hernandez said.

Veterans Organization

A local veterans organization has been awarded a portion of a $10 million federal grant to help Oklahoma veterans.

Officials say Honoring America’s Warriors has been awarded funds to provide placement and training of service dogs for disabled veterans.

“The purpose of the grant is to provide veterans who need mobility and or psychiatric service dogs at no cost,” said Scotty Deatherage, founder and executive director of Oklahoma-based Honoring America’s Warriors. “It ensures that the highest quality service dogs are being placed with disabled veterans who need them.”

The Wounded Warrior Service Dog Grant is funded by congressional appropriations to the Department of Defense.

“It is heartbreaking that 20 veterans take their own lives each day,” said retired USAF Major General and HAW board president Rita Aragon. “We must do more to help those with physical, mental and other service-connected forms of trauma.”

Honoring America’s Warriors service dog program began in 2015 and this is their second federal award in the past two years.

Service With A Smile

One month after our baby Jeffrey was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, I met Cindy Schaefer on an SMA message board. Her son, BioNews Services columnist and forums director Kevin Schaefer, was diagnosed with type 2 SMA a couple years before that. During our first actual meeting, Kevin zipped around expertly in his new, shiny, red wheelchair. He was barely 4.

Although our respective realities of SMA differed, Cindy and I bonded like old friends reunited. After Jeffrey’s death, we continued exchanging stories about our families. She kept me posted on Kevin’s progress — and SMA’s.

I grew up with pets. My family always had a dog (or two) and a cat (or two). We also had a couple of tiny turtles once and a shoebox of mussels I lugged home from a beach vacation one blistering Texas summer. While the gag-inducing burial for the mussels was prompt upon our return home, it was not soon enough.

When Ethyl was freed on occasion from his elaborate quarters, he had the run of the place. His squeals signaled his sprint-waddle to the kitchen for a slice of tomato, which he dragged merrily back down the hall and under our bed for consumption.

By the time the last of this trio of fur kiddos crossed the Rainbow Bridge, our expanding family included children of the two-legged variety, Matthew and Katie. We then moved and hit the local pound for new family members, Nellie and Duffy. Golden retriever and German shepherd mixes, they were from the same litter. Getting both seemed sensible at the time.

Pandy’s life as a service dog provided plenty of memorable moments for Kevin. Cindy reported that the furry helper was a natural conversation starter on college campus. Although a Lab mix, Pandy didn’t love water, but she loved life. She loved Kevin more. Once we moved to our present old farmhouse, Nellie continued her role as a social butterfly. She was crazy about people and being pampered, and she loved the pond, where she hunted for frogs at any and all opportunities. Team Kevin and Pandy accomplished much, including graduation from NC State University. As Pandy eased slowly into retirement, Kevin acquired a JACO robotic arm. This phenomenal, life-changing tool provided Kevin with enhanced independence, enabling Pandy to enjoy the perks of a simple family dog’s life.

Hero Dog Awards

Raider, a 4-year-old English Labrador who works with the Corona Police Department, has advanced to the semifinals of the 2020 American Humane Hero Dog Awards.

Raider is one of three dogs in the nation to vie for the title of the nation’s top therapy dog of the year and compete with six other dogs for the top title of American Hero Dog at the annual American Humane Hero Dog Awards event, according to a news release.

Raider, a trained facility dog from Canine Companions for Independence in Oceanside, is the Corona Police Department’s first facility dog and his primary focus is to assist those impacted by traumatic events and crime, according to the news release.

During his time with the Corona Police Department, Raider has been involved in more than 350 public events and more than 100 trauma victim assists, and has had direct interactions with approximately 45,000 people.

Raider was the first dog in Riverside County to assist a victim in court, according to the news release, and since his first court case, he has assisted in seven court cases in Riverside County.

His partnership with the Riverside County district attorney’s office has also led to the victim advocates office obtaining a grant for two courtroom dogs.

Raider gained recognition in 2018 with his assistance to the Turpin children, whose parents pleaded guilty to counts including torture and false imprisonment, and he worked almost two years with those children.

Raider is also a regional resource as a member of the Riverside County Crisis Response Team and he was deployed to the Borderline Grill shooting in 2018 and the Saugus High School shooting in 2019, according to the news release.

Raider is one of 21 dogs in seven categories chosen by the American public to advance to the semifinals from a field of 408.

Two Service Dogs

Without Aura, Gretchan Evans’ life would be bound by the borders of what she couldn’t hear.

“Aura saved my life by giving me back my independence. Also, she became my always available and capable partner in all the things I love to do. Hike, run, paddleboard, kayak and almost anything outside,” said Evans, a 59-year-old Army veteran who lives in Brunswick. “She made me whole again. I fit back into a world that previously I felt awkward in. She enhanced my life beyond measure.”

Without her dog Dolly Pawton, Amy Sherwood of Naples would have trouble with even basic tasks: turning lights on and off, picking up packages, getting her wheelchair. Every time Sherwood left the house alone, she used to worry she’d pass out and no one would be around to help; now Dolly fetches help.

“She’s done so much for me that I wanted to show the world what service dogs could do for people,” said Sherwood, who is in her early 40s.

Evans and Sherwood consider their dogs heroes. And soon the rest of the world may, too.

Aura and Dolly are semifinalists in the 2020 American Humane Hero Dog Awards. Dolly is one of only three dogs in the nation in the service dog category. Aura is only one of three in the guide/hearing category. If they get enough online votes to win their categories, they will compete with six other dogs for the title “American Hero Dog.”

“She is so deserving,” Evans said of Aura. “She never has a day off, she has worked every day I have had her. She puts me before her own needs. She always works with happiness.”

Evans, a former Army sergeant major, was serving in Afghanistan when she was struck by a rocket blast more than a decade ago. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in a coma for days. When she woke, she discovered she’d lost all hearing.

For the next five years, she said, “life was very challenging.”

“The Veterans Administration set up my house to help me with lights for when the door bell rang and devices to vibrate under my mattress to wake me instead of an alarm I could not hear. But the minute I left my house I was back to being deaf again,” she said. “I had a hard time finding employment due to my injuries and (a hard time) enjoying the hobbies I had prior to my injuries. So I was struggling with my deafness. I did not want to have to give up doing things I loved. I did not want to become dependent on others.”

Then Evans received Aura from America’s VetDogs, a New York-based nonprofit that trains and places service dogs with veterans, active-duty service members and first responders. Aura, a Labrador retriever/golden retriever mix, was the group’s first hearing dog, and her training — and match with Evans — was perfect. “After five-plus years together she reads my mind almost,” Evans said. “She knows when I need just a gently laid head on my leg for comfort. She knows my routine and can anticipate things in advance.”

Aura, 7, alerts Evans to all sounds: doorbells, text message alerts, sirens when Evans is driving or running, people coming up behind her. And, once, a bear.

“We were solo tent camping in Colorado, just Aura and me. A bear came very close to our tent and Aura gently woke me up to let me know the bear was out there. She did not make a sound knowing we could be in danger,” Evans said. “After the bear left she curled up next to me to lower my anxiety and stayed awake all night.”

And then there’s the help that has nothing to do with sounds.

“Aura also performs nightmare interruption,” Evans said. “When I have a nightmare, she wakes me by pulling off the blanket or sheet first, if that does not wake me she nuzzles me, and if I am still not awake she gets on the bed and lies on my chest. That always wakes me up.” “She is devoted, loyal, never says no to the tasks that are required of her,” Evans said. “She has hiked 14,000-foot mountains with me, swam in the ocean, she answers the door even when she is tired. She wakes me up from nightmares which means she even when resting is thinking of me. She has devoted her life to making mine livable and better. She ensures I am safe always.”

Sherwood, too, believes her dog is a hero. Dolly, a 3-year-old Labrador retriever, is trained to alert when Sherwood is having cardiac problems. Because Sherwood uses a wheelchair, Dolly also picks up or retrieves objects for her — including her wheelchair, which has a leash attached to it so Dolly can grab and pull.

“And then she’s not a PTSD dog, but she definitely serves in that realm,” said Sherwood, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder. “I’m not comfortable around men at all. With Dolly, she kind of puts a boundary between people. She makes it that if they come in a space that I’m not comfortable with, she makes me more comfortable or she makes them aware, ‘OK, you need to back off.’”

Dolly has meant so much to her that Sherwood has written and self-published two children’s books featuring her. She and Dolly also give service dog presentations at schools.

“I never thought a dog that I was getting for medical reasons would change my life as well as changing other people in the world’s life,” Sherwood said. “So many people are excited to hear her story and hear the things she does.”

They’re working dogs, but Aura and Dolly are also just dogs. Dolly participates in dock diving events. Aura rarely stops wagging her tail.

“She is serious about her work, but has whimsical moments when she does silly things,” Evans said. “Because she is so smart she figures out things quickly, like she knows how to help herself to a piece of ice by pressing on the ice dispenser on the refrigerator. She will eat whatever I am eating if necessary.”

The American Humane Hero Dog Awards is sponsored by the Lois Pope LIFE Foundation and will be broadcast nationwide as a two-hour special on Hallmark Channel this fall.

People can vote for their favorite dog in seven categories, and votes can be cast once a day at Hero Dog Awards. org  until July 16. The top dog in each category will appear on the two-hour television special. One of those seven will be named American Hero Dog.

Because Aura and Dolly are semifinalists in different categories, they could both end up on TV.

“I really hope that we both make it,” Sherwood said. “To have two dogs from Maine represent would be amazing.”

Training Service Dogs

A local veteran organization has been awarded part of a $10 million federal grant that will provide placement and training of service dogs for disabled veterans.

Scotty Deatherage, founder and executive director of Oklahoma-based Honoring America’s Warriors (HAW), says the organization will benefit greatly from this grant.

“The purpose of the grant is to provide veterans who need mobility and or psychiatric service dogs at no cost,” said Deatherage. “It ensures that the highest quality service dogs are being placed with disabled veterans who need them.”

“It is heartbreaking that 20 veterans take their own lives each day,” said retired USAF Major General and HAW board president Rita Aragon. “We must do more to help those with physical, mental and other service-connected forms of trauma”. Providing service dogs to veterans is a proven theory, but for many, the cost associated with training and raising these animals is too great.  Honoring America’s Warriors service dog program began in 2015 and this is their second federal award in the past two years.

Fire Dogs

The remains of 28-year-old Phoenix Netts were found in the Forest of Dean by officers on May 12.

West Midlands Police are today continuing their search of Handsworth Cemetery in Birmingham.

Forensic specialists have been combing woodland at the cemetery and fire investigation dogs are at the scene helping with the search.

A tent has now been put up in the woods. A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “Detectives from West Midlands Police are continuing to progress the investigation into the murder of Phoenix Netts and are carrying out searches in Camp Lane, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham as part of their enquiries.

“Forensic experts, including specialist dogs, will be carrying out examinations of the site over the next few days.”

Two people have been arrested in connection with Ms Netts’ death.

Gareeca Conita Gordon, aged 27, from Birmingham, is accused of murdering Ms Netts on a date between April 14 and May 12.

Mahesh Sorathiya, of Denmore Gardens, Wolverhampton, has been charged with assisting an offender.

Preventing Dog Bites

The number of U.S. Postal Service employees attacked by dogs nationwide fell to 5,803 in 2019 – more than 200 fewer than in 2018 and more than 400 fewer since 2017. The Postal Service has new technology tools to help reduce dog attacks.

The theme for the 2020 U.S. Postal Service National Dog Bite Awareness Week, June 14-20, is “Be Alert: Prevent the Bite.” The campaign addresses aggressive dog behaviors that pose serious threats to the more than 80,000 Postal Service employees delivering mail and how communities they serve can play an integral part in their safety.

“During this difficult time, our letter carriers are delivering mail and they need our customers help to do it safely,” said Sandusky Postmaster Monica Kietzke.

According to Kietzke, technology supports carrier safety in two ways: Mobile Delivery Devices, handheld scanners used by carriers to confirm customer delivery, now include a feature to indicate the presence of a dog at an individual address; and Informed Delivery which alerts customers to mail and packages coming to their homes, and allows customers to plan for the carrier’s arrival by securing dogs safely.

The Postal Service offers the following safety tips for dog owners:

When a carrier delivers mail or packages to your front door, place your dog in a separate room and close that door before opening the front door. Dogs have been known to burst through screen doors or plate glass windows to attack visitors.

Parents should remind children and other family members not to take mail directly from carriers in the presence of the family pet. The dog may view the carrier handing mail to a family member as a threatening gesture.

If a carrier feels threatened by a dog, or if a dog is loose or unleashed, the owner may be asked to pick up mail at a Post Office location or other facility until the carrier is assured the pet has been restrained. If the dog is roaming the neighborhood, the pet owner’s neighbors also may be asked to pick up their mail at the area’s Post Office location.

Chief Calming Pawfficer

 

After a hiatus due to COVID-19, Longmont Dental Loft’s therapy dog will be returning to the office effective June 29th, 2020. Bentley is an Australian Labradoodle with the title of Chief Calming Pawfficer. As the Chief Calming Pawfficer, Bentley interacts with patients that enjoy being around dogs. He typically sits on patients laps and is a comforting presence that makes patients feel at ease.

“Since we’ve been back from the COVID-19 closure, patients have asked us on a daily basis when Bentley is coming back,” said Adrienne Hedrick, Longmont Dental Loft Dentist, and owner. “He’s been extremely popular with our patients. In fact, in the past year we’ve had 3 patients adopt Australian Labradoodles as a result of meeting Bentley.”

During the past few months Bentley has been staying at home. He has had a lot of fun and has kept entertained by taking walks and playing with the vacuum cleaner. However, he misses seeing patients and is ready to go back to the office.

There will be several precautionary measures in place when Bentley is at the office. First, he will be in the office area away from patients unless a patient requests to see him. Second, before a patient encounters him, they will need to make sure they wash their hands. And Bentley won’t be at the office every day. If a patient wants to make sure he is available, Longmont Dental Loft is asking patients to request a visit with him in advance.

Service Dog University

Bonnie Bergin recalls taking family trips as a child from her home in Willits to the Bay Area and stopping at the Green Mill Inn restaurant in Penngrove for dinner.

Now decades later, she is poised to open a new campus for her service dog training institution on the 10-acre property that she and her husband Jim purchased three years ago.

“I remember going to that restaurant as a kid,” said Bergin, 75. “It’s kind of like deja vu.”

Bergin, who is credited with inventing the service dog for people with disabilities, founded Canine Companions for Independence, the first nonprofit to train and place service dogs. After leaving the nonprofit in 1991, she founded the Assistance Dog Institute, which was designated a university in early 2004 and became Bergin University of Canine Studies.

In 2017, Bergin purchased the iconic Green Mill Inn with the hope of opening a campus for her university within a year. But permitting issues and now the coronavirus pandemic have complicated those efforts.

“I thought it would only take a year to get it open,” said Bergin, who has a doctoral degree in education. “It’s been amazingly difficult.”

Bergin said she expects to have a county occupancy certificate within a week for the campus of modular classrooms and administrative buildings. However the coronavirus outbreak has disrupted education for the 50 students pursuing bachelor’s and master’s degrees in programs such as canine studies and human-canine life sciences.

“As soon as shelter in place came down, we moved to online teaching,” she said. “All the students left.”

The summer and fall programs have moved online, she said. Each student receives a service dog to work with during the semester, and Bergin hopes to host a three-week course with students and their dogs on the campus in mid-July depending on the pandemic. That would be the first class at the new site that operated as a restaurant for 80 years and was a local landmark featuring a green windmill along Old Redwood Highway.

Bergin pioneered the concept of the service dog at Sonoma State University in the 1970s, when a professor challenged her class to identify solutions to help people with disabilities.

She was reminded of the perseverance she’d seen in the disabled community while traveling and teaching with her husband in places like India, Turkey and Pakistan. A dog lover since she had Sport, a Labrador mix, as a child, she began to think about ways to use canines to make a difference.

“I thought about what can be done to help people with disabilities, and I came up with dogs,” she said. “That has been my life ever since.”

Bergin is also involved in several other programs, including efforts to pair veterans with PTSD to service dogs and working with inmates in dentition facilities to decrease recidivism rates.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bergin University will incur a big financial hit to prepare teachers for distance learning, equip students with laptops and disinfect classrooms when students are allowed to return.

Bergin said she has been told that the university will receive $472,000 in federal emergency aid, although she said that she hasn’t seen the money yet.

“Every dine will be spent on safety of our students and ensuring the quality of our education,” she said.

Service Dog Brutus

Late in life, Brutus is building up quite a résumé.

The loveable mutt, rescued from a California shelter, was a family pet before he trained to become a service dog for his Cliffside Park owner.

Last month, after Brutus helped Jasmine Steinwand graduate from Centenary University, his memorable senior year on campus moved the chairwoman of the Science Department to present a special “Greatest Science Helper” award.

Steinwand said Brutus, who is about 14, accompanied her to the Centenary campus in Hackettstown for her senior year because she was struggling to manage her food allergies.

“He was trained to be receptive to any sort of anaphylactic shock, and he can retrieve my EpiPen,” she said. “He came to school with me every day and during the lectures, he would just sit on the floor and fall asleep.”

“He senses Jasmine’s needs,” said Prof. Krassi Lazarova, chairwoman of the science department who had Steinwad and Brutus in one of her physics classes.

Before long, Brutus adopted the rest of the class.

“The more amazing thing that I didn’t anticipate was the calming effect he had on all of the other students,” Steinwand said. “Whenever we would take tests or quizzes, he would start walking around the room and checking on people, and whoever seemed to be the most stressed would be the one he would sit next to.”

“It didn’t start out that way,” said Prof. Krassi Lazarova, chairwoman of the science department who had Steinwand and Brutus in one of her physics classes. “It started that Brutus had to be with Jasmine at all times. But then all of a sudden, Brutus had to be with every student at all times.”

“He ended up becoming an iconic part of the campus,” Steinwand said. “People knew his name, even if they didn’t know me.”

Animals are allowed on campus and in dorms after clearing what Lazarova described as “rigorous processes” with Centenary’s Academic Success Center and Disability Service Office.

But service dogs in classrooms are a rarity. Brutus was a first for Lazarova.

A self-described cat person with a soft heart for dogs, Lazarova had initial reservations about Brutus, particularly in science labs.

“My problem with animals in buildings is mostly safety-related,”  she said. “Think about a lab. If you end up with an animal in a lab, you don’t really know what could happen. We’re talking about physics labs, chemistry labs, biology labs. Sometimes, there are sounds, noises or smells, you never know what could be a problem.”

But the mellow border collie mix, adopted from Rocket Dog Rescue in San Francisco before Steinwad’s family moved to New Jersey, quickly proved its worth.

“Brutus alleviates all of my concerns,” Lazarova said. “He really was always out of the way. He was incredibly well-behaved. Usually, service dogs are well-behaved.”

So when it came time for the science department to hand our its achievement awards for the academic year, Lazarova created a “Special Science Helper” award for Brutus, which was presented in a virtual ceremony along with 14 student awards.

“It was a surprise to me. I was lucky enough to win an  award myself [Senior Merit], and then he won an award,” Steinwand said. “It was pretty heartwarming.”

“He is an incredible animal and we were so lucky to have him,” Lazarova said.

Steinwand, who accepted a degree in biology with a concentration of pre-veterinary studies and a minor in chemistry, will continue her studies at NYU, where she has been accepted into an accelerated program for registered nursing.

Brutus, however, will stay home for now, “only because I’ve been able to get my medical involvement under control lately,” Steinwand said.

Lazarova added praise for all the student award-winners who “have distinguished themselves for their commitment to the advancement of science.”

“Despite the pandemic, they found creative ways to continue their studies virtually,” she said. “I’m incredibly proud of every Centenary science student, as well as our faculty, for rising to the challenges presented by COVID-19.”

Program For Service Dogs

Puppies Behind Bars (PBB) founder and president, Gloria Gilbert Stoga, created a program that trains prison inmates to raise service dogs for wounded war veterans and first responders. Additionally, the organization trains dogs to become explosive-detection canines for law enforcement. Today, PBB operates throughout six correctional facilities in New York and New Jersey and has raised more than 1,200 dogs. PBB has earned its thirteenth consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, which indicates that the organization adheres to good governance and other best practices.

When Stoga first opened her organization over 20-years ago, she decided to breed her own Labrador retriever puppies. That decision came from wanting to provide canines that had the best genetic backgrounds and temperaments. All of the dogs enter the program at eight weeks old. Due to the high standards of the program, if a dog is released for either behavioral or physical reasons, the dog is put up for adoption. The explosive detection canine puppies are placed into a one-year program, while the service dog puppies participate in a two-year program.

“They live in the cells with the inmates,” Stoga explains. “The inmates are fully responsible for all of the training, the nurturing, the basic medical, the grooming, and once a week PBB staff goes into each prison for a full day of teaching classes and helps solve problems.” Before starting PBB in 1997, Stoga served as a member of New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s Youth Empowerment Commission, whose mission was to secure private-sector summer employment for New York City’s underprivileged youth. She was responsible for developing and securing corporate commitments to provide training and jobs under the Commission’s initiative. Working for non-profits allowed Stoga to figure out how she wanted to operate her organization when it came time. The initial spark that inspired her to start PBB came after reading an article about Dr. Thomas Lane, a veterinarian running a prison guide-dog program in Gainesville, Florida. She subsequently had the privilege of visiting Dr. Lane and spoke with inmates and program staff in three prisons that hosted his program.

Six months later, she quit her job and approached Libby Pataki, who was then the First Lady of New York State. She immediately garnered Pataki’s support to provide education and rehabilitation for prison inmates and provide excellent quality working dogs for the public. Late 1997, she started her program with five Labrador retriever puppies at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, New York State’s only maximum-security prison for women.

In the beginning, Stoga and her team faced challenges with the unions and was not welcomed at her second prison opening, a men’s medium-security prison. “I wasn’t welcomed by security staff,” she shares. “To show them that I wasn’t just a well-meaning lady from New York City who was coming upstate to say, ‘you should give these inmates something positive to do,’ I went into that prison every single day, Monday through Friday for six weeks. I’d run to the women’s prison for half a day, three days a week, and I’d come back. For six weeks, I more or less lived in that prison…Very slowly, I start talking to some of the corrections officers. I’d always bring my two dogs in, and they’d see how well behaved they were, how friendly they were. I got across to people that I was serious, that the dogs were of high quality and that I wasn’t going anywhere.”

PBB has become a goal for prison inmates. Although the program is volunteer-based on top of the inmates’ mandatory prison job, it does not accept everyone. Stoga does not interview sex offenders, anybody with direct child abuse or animal abuse or anyone with a high mental health issue. Additionally, the inmates have to be ticket free for 12-months meaning that they haven’t received any form of disciplinary action in a year. Having something to strive for keeps the inmates focused on the goal.

“You see people [inmates] change literally before your eyes,” Stoga smiles. “The other end of the spectrum is our [canine] recipients. We work with veterans. We also work with first responders, and to hear from our recipients and their families that they cut way back on their meds, or maybe they’re now med free, that they now go out in public or that they now engage with their families is incredible.”

As Stoga continues to grow the organization, she focuses on the following essential steps:

Clearly define your purpose and what you want to do. If you start to veer away from that, you will stretch yourself thin mentally, emotionally and financially, which will not lead to long-term success.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Being honest when you don’t know something will garner better results than faking your way through; it may hurt you in the long run.

Be prepared to work hard, especially when pivoting. You will work harder than you ever have before. You have to give it your all if you want to achieve your goal.

“When I first started working in prisons,” Stoga concludes, “I was totally completely black and white. There were good guys in the world and there were bad guys. That was that. Very soon on, the inmates taught me there’s gray; that people can do bad things, but they’re not necessarily bad people forever. There are some bad people forever; I’m not naïve. However, some people are gray.”

New K-9 Member

The Carlsbad Police Department announced the retirement of one of it’s officers.

Alf, a police dog, was a member of the Carlsbad Police Department since 2017, said Carlsbad Police Chief Shane Skinner in a news release.

“He has been diagnosed with a degenerative bone condition and has been suffering from a lot of pain due to the rigorous physical regiment they have to maintain through training and normal service,” Skinner said. Support local journalism.

He added Alf had a proven history of narcotics detection.

“His wonderful demeanor and outstanding work will be missed,” Skinner said.

While Alf is retiring with his current handler Cpl. Chris Chacon, a new service dog named Alex is set to join the team, according to the news release.

A donation of $20,000 from Chevron along with contributions from residents Wayne and Sara Ballard, Ray and Karen Westall, George and Nancy Brantley, Valerie Murrill and several donors who wish to remain anonymous, the press release read.

“Chevron has a philosophy of giving back to the communities in which the company operates,” said Beverly Allen, community affairs representative for Chevron-Mid Continent Business Unit.

She said Chevron has donated to the Carlsbad community through various nonprofits, including the Carlsbad Community Foundation and the Carlsbad Boys and Girls Club.

“Our collaborative approach to partnership enables us to work with the organizations to determine what is needed and how Chevron can help,” Allen said.

The City of Carlsbad’s K-9 program was reestablished in 2017, under the direction of Carlsbad Dale Mayor Janway, the release read.

“This year the Mayor of Carlsbad and Chevron discussed options for our social investment funding to the City and that is how the K-9 police dog option came forward,” Allen said.

“Following our internal processes, we submitted the funding request and expect the City to receive it sometime in early or mid-July.”

Alex is expected to complete several months of coursework with Chacon he will join Aris and Nia, two other members of the K-9 unit.

All three dogs are Belgian Malinois, per the news release.

“Chevron’s assistance to this community has always focused on safety,” Janway said. “We know we can count on them to help us and always will be able to do so.”