service dogs – Page 10

My Canine Smoke Alarm!

Published on June 25, 2008June 25, 2008 by hearingelmo4 Comments

Guess what? Chloe alerted me to a fire today!

I was home alone working in the office upstairs, and she kept getting up and going to the office door and sniffing the air. I’d call her back to lay down and kept working… I guess my nose isn’t what hers is! She did this at least twice. Finally, she came and sat in front of me and then suddenly jumped up with both paws in my lap. My balance is so poor, we’ve never allowed Chloe to do this. So I was really startled! I said, “What’s wrong, Chloe?”

She ran to the office door and then looked back at me. I thought, “Gee she really has to ‘hurry up’ (pee)!” So I followed her downstairs. She stopped at the laundry room door, which isn’t normal. She usually goes clear to the backdoor and waits patiently for me to let her out.

I asked her to “move”, and looked in the laundry room… and I could already smell smoke! There was a thin wisp of smoke coming out from under our old fridge in which we keep drinks. I ran to the electrical outlet, unplugged it, and then opened the back door. Chloe ran outside and I started moving things away from the fridge. As I moved the fridge, lint that was under it kept sparking so I took some wet paper towels and drug it out. (I have a nice burn on my thumb now.) I think as oxygen got to the dirt, lint and cat hair under there it started to really “catch”. I was scared to death it was going to catch fire. The fridge is over 20 years old, so it’s no surprise it has decided to quit.

I now know I need a smoke alarm in our laundry room. There’s one in almost every room of the house except there!

I called Chloe back into the house, and she watched me clean up. It was a mess! The freezer part was completely thawed out (so it must have stopped working a day or more ago). I think the only thing that kept it from really bursting into flames, was that there was very little oxygen getting to it. I have no idea how she knew something was wrong. I could only smell it when I got downstairs!

We’d been working on the smoke alarm alert upstairs, but never with smoke… nor working on it at all downstairs. I’m still not sure how she knew something was wrong! I guess she just realized to alert me to things I’m not reacting too!

Anyway, Terry came right home and pronounced the fridge “dead”.

I’m so proud of her!

Denise Portis
©2008 Hearing Loss Diary

Vets and our …

Published on June 20, 2008 by hearingelmo1 Comment

Pets! WORKING DOGS!

CHLOE FEELING VERY PLAYFUL AFTER A TRIP TO THE VET THAT INCLUDED A MASSAGE!

My probationary year through Fidos For Freedom, Inc., was over on May 11th. Chloe was “officially” turned over to me! As we have been working together 24/7 since April 11, 2007, I have thought of her as “fully mine” for quite awhile. So really the only thing that changed on May 11th, was that I began paying for all her bills. Food, supplies, vet visits, etc., were all paid for by her sponsor prior to this date.

As the vet I had been taking her to was almost an hour away, I decided to have all of her records transfered to our family vet and begin taking her there. Bert S. (with service dog Judge) works with Client Services at Fidos. She gave me some great advice that I wanted to pass on to others. Ask your vet if there is a discount for a service, assistance or working dog. Turns out that my vet has a greater discount for a working dog than the one Chloe was going too! (20% off of everything except food, and certain other things “free”… they were thrilled to have Chloe join their “family”!)

We went for the 1st time yesterday as Chloe was due for her Bordetella (intranasal) vaccine, a fecal check w/ Giardia testing (oooo… gross but necessary), and she needed a health certificate as she is flying with me on July 5th and July 12th “intra-state”. I was so thankful she didn’t need a urinalysis this time! (She gets it once a year and needs it done in January). Have you ever tried to “catch” a dog’s urine first thing in the morning? A “girl” dog? I’ll have to blog about the joys of that in January!

My vet told me that they recommend that Bordetella be given with a shot. Yes, the vaccine does wonders to have that concentrated anti-bodies sprayed right in the mucus membrane. Problem is that most dogs sneeze immediately and “blow” it everywhere… including on the vet and owner! It doesn’t do much good when most is “blown” out. He explained that many vaccinated dogs who had the intranasal vaccine, were catching kennel cough when boarded, etc., anyway. Made sense enough to me that Chloe received hers through injection.

The vet tech was a man. And Chloe? Well Chloe was in love! (The vet was a man too, but hey! He gave her a shot! Did he expect kisses?) The vet tech also was a massage specialist. So guess what Chloe received FREE while we waited for Ebony to come back from getting her blood drawn? Chloe stood perfectly still and if she’d been a cat… she’d have PURRED. Of course, this then cemented her undying love for this perfect stranger. When he finished she went “belly up” and showed off her tattoo while asking for a belly rub through the excellent usage of “body language”. He was all for it… and I allowed it because I had removed her vest.

I have a feeling if Chloe will get a free massage every time she is there, she won’t mind the vet so much now! (Recommendations are that working dogs go to the vet every 6 months for “well checks”, shots, boosters, titers, etc).

Denise Portis
©2008 Hearing Loss Diary

Acceptance is…

Published on May 20, 2008May 28, 2008 by hearingelmo2 Comments

Have you ever had a time in your life where you realized that accepting the way things are is all you can do right now?

The advocate in me chafes at what acceptance means. There is a part of me that yearns to be instrumental in change; that other late-deafened adults will be encouraged and helped by the things I do. In the public arena I try to be a good example, a positive influence that stimulates change in access, communication strategies, and coping mechanisms.

As a person with a working dog and one who has carefully counted the cost of what that means, I want to be a good role model. I hope to help create an awareness that there are other types of working dogs that are not guide dogs for the blind. I want to be instrumental in other’s acceptance of other types of working dogs.

It is much easier for me to “go to bat” for others. If it means a sacrifice will help someone else, I do so with little thought about whether or not I should. However, exerting emotional, mental and physical efforts in which the end result helps only me? Well… that is much harder!

When I first began losing my hearing, I lived in North Carolina. I had a friend who had a great deal of experience in working with people with hearing loss. Thoroughly exasperated one day, she put her hands on her hips and exclaimed, “Denise! You are the most difficult person to HELP! If and when we can, would you just sit down and LET US?” To this day, it is still something I struggle with each and every day. I want to “help”, but don’t help me!

I hope that I’ve mellowed with age, for in truth it is pride that keeps me from humbly accepting assistance from others. I’ve actually learned to ask for help! That’s GROWTH in my opinion! (grin)

Acceptance can be difficult to embrace. I accept that I have a hearing loss. I have a disability that at times makes communication difficult. I accept that I will need to ask for help at times in order to clarify, and that I will need to clearly communicate my needs.

Sometimes, acceptance means that right now… nothing can be done to improve your situation. My family and I are members of a really wonderful church here in Frederick. Our church is “big” on “small groups”. It is a way for the members to really get to know one another and to become involved in each other’s lives on a more personal level. Without going into a lot of unnecessary detail, there is no place for me in any of the current small groups. I’m encouraged that there are “plans in the works” to create a small group this fall that will be in a quieter setting with no children, etc. For now, however, I accept that there is not a place for me. Acceptance can mean to be brave and smile right through the feelings of loneliness. Acceptance does not mean that you “give up” emotionally and wrongly convince yourself that “this is the way it will always be”.

I am in a tough situation with my assistance dog, Chloe right now. A new person in my life has a very severe allergy to animals with fur. It is actually a life-threatening asthmatic reaction to pet dander, and she is unable to be near me if Chloe is with me.

Chloe isn’t a pet. As an assistance dog, her job is to be with me even if I do not immediately need her ears to hear or her “steady stance” to balance. To leave her at home in her kennel on occasion is not a problem. But to do so regularly, affects our bond in a negative way. It’s tough when a “new person” enters your life that you want to get to know better, but you must limit getting together with them because you cannot leave your assistance dog at home a great deal. I must accept that sometimes I can’t get to know someone like I would hope, as I cannot undo all the work and training I have gone through in order to live a more independent life.

Acceptance isn’t always an easy, “feel good” choice. At times, one must courageously determine that you can “accept” the way things are for the present. Right now, “acceptance” has actually caused a lot of heart break in my life… it has caused many a heated argument, frustration and sleepless nights. I can, umm… (BIG SMILE) accept that!

Denise Portis
©2008 Hearing Loss Diary

Spring Break with an Assistance Dog

Published on March 28, 2008March 29, 2008 by hearingelmo1 Comment

This Spring Break was much different than last year’s. For one thing Terry was off the whole week too, as he is now in “education”. It was great having him off at the same time we were! This year, I had Chloe with me too. It’s hard to believe that we will be together for a year April the 11th!

Walking around Gettysburg, felt great as I was so independent from the help (and worry) of my family! You’ll note that I am walking ALONE, and my husband was able to just enjoy himself. It’s Chloe’s job to “hear” for me now, and to assist me up and down “curbs”, etc. Even my daughter, Kyersten, (who would have probably NEVER have left home one day had I not proved I can be independent with Chloe…) was able to run ahead and check out dark allies. (That’s a different story that I’ll save for another time. Pics are on my facebook though!)

Chloe is a “smart dog” and takes naps when she is able too. She rests so quietly under tables, she often scare waiters and other guests when we get up to leave. She really needed a nap, as she was certainly into our walks. I think she likes Civil War history…

Towards the end of the day we ended up at Gettysburg outlet shops. She was practically asleep on her feet, but it’s difficult to get her to lay down when I’m sitting and she knows I’m having a wobbly day. It’s hard to convince her that I didn’t need her to lean on me! I hated having to put her in a firm “down/stay” just so she’d rest. (But I succeeded as she is a very obedient dog!)

She and I both went to sleep pretty quickly after our trip!

Back to Work

Published on March 18, 2008March 19, 2008 by hearingelmo2 Comments

Chloe was sick with a “tummy thing” Saturday through Sunday. Many people do not realize that a working dog is susceptible to occasional “tummy rumblings” and other “doggie colds” as they are exposed to so much more than a pet. At Fidos For Freedom, we are encouraged to take our working partners to the vet every 6 months for a “well check”. Chloe receives many vaccinations that are not even required by law, just to insure that her immune system has the very best defense against sickness. She gets sick about 3 times a year, and they are usually tummy things.

Early Saturday morning she woke me up with the same alert she uses to let me know my alarm was going off. At first I mumbled “good girl”, and reached for the alarm to turn it off. I think the fact that I was SO TIRED, I thought to look at the clock. 1:42 AM. Hmmm…

Chloe proceeded to show me why she got me up… poor sick girl! I put her on a hamburger/rice mixture for 48 hours. I fry and then strain (+ rinse with water) the very leanest hamburger, and boiled some white rice. Mixed together it seems to be the very best thing for an upset stomach. I keep these things on hand all the time.

The picture above is Chloe right when I told her Monday morning that we were going to “go to work”! She was so excited! She ran to the window, and then stayed literally under my feet until I dressed her in her vest to go. One of the hardest things for she and I is for me to have to put her in her kennel. Sunday morning church, and a few errands had her resting and me? Well I felt practically naked without her. I kept looking around for my backpack (Chloe’s stuff) everywhere I went.

Many adjustments are made and even necessary when you have a working dog. You have to prepare in advance before going anywhere. Do I have water for Chloe and her collapsible bowl? Do I have her mat? Do I have treats, extra leash, ADA law book and “rights of access” brochures? It’s almost like carrying a diaper bag with me wherever I go. I remember those days when my kids were little and I had to “cart” their stuff around. Now I am doing it again. But Chloe does so much for me… the least I can do is carry some of her things!

The nice thing about saying, “Let’s go to work”? Chloe enjoys working so much! She practically jumps into her vest, and prances right out to the van! She loves being by my side and “showing” me sounds all day long. If Chloe had her way? She’d not ever take sick leave.

Puppy Raiser – Why?

Published on December 4, 2007February 19, 2009 by hearingelmo1 Comment

   
Chloe as a puppy at her Puppy Raiser's home

Fidos For Freedom is currently in need of Puppy Raisers.

Everything a Puppy Raiser would need to raise a puppy is provided by Fidos For Freedom, thanks to the generous support of sponsors! Food, vet appointments, medicines, supplies and training classes are all free to Puppy Raiser volunteers. The only thing required of a puppy raiser is really that they love puppies, and are willing to invest themselves by providing a loving home for these puppies. The training classes are to provide encouragement, as well as provide instruction from house training to the basic obedience commands.

I have so many say to me, “I could just never love and raise a little puppy for a whole year, and then have to give them up!”

If I could just get every person who said that to visit one Saturday training session for the clients at Fidos! (If you contact the office in advance, you can actually come watch!) If only you could see the special bond between those who have been matched with a service dog or hearing dog! If only you could see the dogs trained to help a service client pick up dropped objects, remove hard-to-remove clothing like shoes or jackets, tug on cabinet drawers, open and close doors, etc.! If you could see the hearing dogs pick up dropped objects that their partner did not even know had fallen (like keys! Do you know how many times I lost my keys each year prior to Chloe?), and alert them to phones, alarm clocks, doorbells, timers, their name being called, etc.

I guess I am trying (probably ineffectively) to say, is that if you could only get a glimpse of what these dogs do for their partners, you’d not only be willing to raise a puppy, but would joyfully acknowledge the important role you play in the eventual partnership of a dog and partner with a disability! For ultimately, I hope that every Puppy Raiser volunteers to raise a puppy because they love PEOPLE.

A puppy never forgets their Puppy Raiser! Every time Chloe sees her Puppy Raiser, Linda, she goes “all a-wiggle”. She whines (in a semi-controlled and barely proper “sit”) and anxiously awaits me to acknowledge that I see Linda. There are days I know Chloe simply will not train or work until she’s gone to say hello to her beloved puppy raiser! I’ve had some other clients tell me, “Now Denise! Don’t let that hurt your feelings that she is so excited to see Linda!” I have to grin at that! Chloe’s excitement about seeing her Puppy Raiser speaks volumes. She was loved, she was allowed to be a puppy in a super home, and she is loyal to those who love her! I’d be worried if she was NOT happy to see her Puppy Raiser!

Linda has been raising another puppy. Want to know why? She loves Fidos; yes. She loves puppies; yes. But ultimately Linda loves people and knows the valuable part she plays in the eventual partnership of a dog and person with disabilities. What’s not to love about that?