Black went from a stray running the streets to becoming a service dog for the member’s son who has autism.

Black was a stray running the streets. His picture was in the newspaper for adoption at the local pound and I lucked out and was the first there.

He went right up to my son who is on the Autism spectrum. I have been interested in getting and training a service dog for my son and Black seemed a good candidate.

So far Black has settled in and loves all the kids. Having him around calms my son down when he is anxious or upset. Black right away took to him. He is wonderful. The chances of a pound dog to work out this good are almost nill.

Black was sent to us I am sure. He is a true gift from God.

It sounds like this was a match made in heaven.  We wish Black and his new family a long and happy life together.

Bo invites everyone to read a chapter from his upcoming book BAD TO THE BONE due out late September. It’s a funny memoir about the crazy adventures we have shared together over the last 14 plus years, told through Bo’s eyes.

Okay Bo, take it from here….

I recently read a survey that most dogs don’t like vets. I was shocked to hear those results.

I mean, what’s not to like? The camouflage? The ability to relieve themselves on a battlefield? It certainly can’t be the yummy c-rations.

Then I realized the survey was talking about veterinarians, not veterans. That made me feel better.

Well, since I’ve stumbled upon the subject, let me just send a quick thank you for all the members of the armed forces. Without their sacrifice, the freedoms we enjoy in this country would most assuredly be replaced by the chains of totalitarianism.

I know that all dogs know this and are eager to provide support. Check out the study the Dept of Defense has on tap to figure out just how great of animals we are, courtesy of the Kansas City Star.

Can a canine companion soothe the volatile emotions of a soldier haunted by post-traumatic stress disorder?

It may sound far-fetched, but the Department of Defense wants to find out.

It is spending millions of dollars on medical research projects like this that may yield groundbreaking results but are too speculative for other government agencies to consider.

So the Defense Department is financing a $300,000 study that will pair troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with dogs trained to sense when their masters are about to have a panic attack and give them a calming nudge or nuzzle.

These psychiatric service dogs have been assisting people with a variety of mental illnesses since the late 1990s. About 10,000 such dogs are now in use.

“Absolutely beautiful animals. Very well behaved,” said Chris Kornkven, a Persian Gulf War veteran from Helenville, Wis., who stopped to pet the dogs.

“They seemed like they would be really helpful, particularly for individuals living alone,” said Kornkven, who has PTSD. “I think (a service dog) would give them some independence.”

The dogs can serve their owners in several ways. For example, they can sense when someone with bipolar disorder is becoming manic and give an alert by barking or nuzzling. The dogs also can provide a reality check to people experiencing hallucinations; if the dog does not react to voices, it is assurance that no one else is in the room.

I know I’ve helped my old man through his hallucinations. He still thinks that he’s writing this blog. Sorry pal, these words were formed in the mind of man’s best friend, and delivered through his paws.

Humans, they’re so self-absorbed.

Photo courtesy of GARVEY SCOTT/The Kansas City Star

The funniest dog blog, written by a dog, on the internet. Commentary on the latest animal news stories of the day.

Since PetSmart is a pet supermarket it’s one thing to allow dogs, what if you were walking in your local grocery store and you saw someone with their dog, not a service dog, would it bother you? What about if the dog went to the bathroom in the store?

In Portland’s Pearl District this is happening, it’s become dog owners versus non-dog owners. Dogs are now  frequently seen in grocery stores and in the last year the food safety division of Oregon’s Agriculture Department has received over 600 complaints about this issue.

The New York Times has the details on what’s happening in Portland.

“Usually they’ll hold off and not make a complaint until they’ve seen a dog urinate in the grocery store or jump up and try to swipe a pack of meat,” said Vance Bybee, the head of the food safety division. “Or they’ve seen dogs pooping in the aisle, that sort of thing.”

In response to the complaints, Oregon is about to begin an unusual campaign, distributing posters and pamphlets to about 4,500 retail stores that sell food. The message is this: Animals, except those trained to help the disabled, are not allowed.

The campaign, however, is not likely to make the problem go away, state officials and dog owners say, particularly in a neighborhood like the Pearl District, where many people who are not physically disabled consider the company of their pets therapeutic and insist on taking them just about everywhere. Some banks put water bowls by their front doors, and dog day-care facilities take time to serve pets the specially packed lunches their owners make for them.

The Pearl District, developed by Hoyt, was built on an old rail yard and is one of Portland’s downtown neighborhoods. It is an upscale newly developed area with condominiums, retail shops, parks, and dog-passionate residents. The project which began in the 1990’s didn’t start out trying to build a place for dog lovers to live, it just sort of happened.  Being dog friendly has now become central to its identity.  Tiffany Sweitzer, who is the president of Hoyt, even has her dog Scout featured prominently in their advertising.

Do you think non-service dogs should be allowed in stores?  What about food stores?  Does that cross a line? Give me a bark, let me know what you think.

* Pic courtesy Leah Nash for The New York Times

I posted Sam and Brittney’s story on Monday and if you haven’t read it yet take a minute to do so, they are an amazing duo.

Sam is a very special dog. I am currently [and will be until May of 2010] training him to become a Certified Service Dog, AND Arizona’s first Courthouse Dog. His job will be to sit up in the witness stand with victims, mainly children, who have been terribly abused and traumatized, and will be a comfort to them and can help them to testify.

There are only four or five other Courthouse Dogs in the US, and out of those, Sam will be one of the first that is actually a Service Dog. The others are only Therapy Dogs, and do not have public access…which means they can be, and often are, removed from the courtroom.

All of Sam’s training is being done through The Foundation for Service Dog Support. He truly is special, though, because the rest of the dogs in the program are being trained to become service dogs for individuals with a physical disability, but because of Sam’s phenomenal temperament and personality, he was chosen for this very honorable position.

-Brittney-

Sam was chosen as the winner of the 2009 Community Pet Service Hero award for his work assisting crime victims in the courthouse. He is truly a one-of-a-kind dog, I think you can see why he is the blog’s first Dog Of The Week. We are honored he, along with Brittney, are Dogster members.

In May I posted about Dogster member Brittney (two-legged) and her dog Sam, partners in the Puppy Raising Program. The Foundation for Service Dog Support, a non-profit organization based in Arizona, runs the program. They are a support and resource center for those with service dogs, and those who seek information and training on service dog issues.

The program allows students to earn HS credits, while learning puppy raising, canine obedience and canine safety programming. At the end of three semesters, the teams must successfully pass the FSDS Certification test, and the dogs will then be matched with individuals in the community with disabilities who require service dogs.

Over the summer Brittney has been interning at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, and she and Sam were involved in several cases  assisting crime victims. I just received word that Sam was chosen as the 2009 Community Service Pet Hero because of the role he is playing in the courts.

In one case, a small child was too frightened to go to court and testify because she had to face her abuser. The attorney from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office got permission for Brittney to bring Sam to court with her, they accompanied the child into the courtroom. With Sam there, the child felt safe. She testified, and the perpetrator was convicted. The prosecutor said that Sam’s presence there made a difference.

Sam will receive a custom designed medal at a black tie banquet in October. Wow, what an amazing achievement for both Brittney and Sam. Congratulations to this amazing duo.

Founder Ellen O’Neill-Stephens uses well-behaved dogs to act as companions for traumatized victims of child abuse. Dogs are used to help calm a child’s nerves and to help them talk about things they may not be comfortable saying to an adult.

We know this works well with reading programs where dogs are used to help children with reading difficulties.  Those kids are often afraid to read out loud for fear of being ostracized by their peers, but stick a dog in front of them and all of a sudden they start reading.  After all, dogs never criticize.

“Sometimes, these children will say things to the dog that they’re too embarrassed to say to a person,” Stephens said. “We had a girl who had been severely abused and she could never talk about it. But she petted Jeeter for over 90 minutes straight and she was able to tell what happened.”

It’s not easy to become a courthouse dog, only about 30 percent of dogs in training actually make it. Usually golden or Labrador retrievers are used, trainers start working with them when they’re only 8 weeks old and training continue for about 18 months.

For instance, the courtroom dogs are trained not to respond if food is thrown at their feet. In fact, she said they won’t eat at all until they’re given direct permission to do so. And they will stay still for long periods of time, which is often necessary when a child is testifying.

“In a forensic interview, our dogs will just lie there and be available to be petted,” Stephens said. “These dogs have to be able to be able to tolerate that kind of thing. A pet will want to get up and run around, or will want to engage with the child. The forensic investigators don’t want that. If a child were to go into an interview room and start playing with a dog, then it’s over.”

Courthouse Dogs is in Washington State, unfortunately, this isn’t a nationwide program. Not all courtrooms allow dogs, which is a shame because they have been proven to be an invaluable asset.

You can read more about Courthouse Dogs on Dallas News. It was in Dallas at the 21st annual Crimes Against Children Conference, sponsored by the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center and the Dallas Police Department,  that Stephens spoke about her program.

*Pic courtesy COURTNEY PERRY/DMN

If you’re a baseball fan there’s a fun event not to be missed at an upcoming Gwinnett Braves baseball game to benefit Happy Tails.

Happy Tails Pet Therapy is an organization that provides animal-assisted therapy and animal-assisted activity visits, for healthcare facilities, social agencies and special-needs programs in the metro Atlanta community.

The Gwinnett Braves will have some new volunteers on hand to help fetch foul balls on Friday, August 14th as Happy Tails volunteers and their canine companions team up to raise money for the non-profit pet assisted therapy organization.

At the game 50/50 raffle tickets will be sold, 50% of the money raised from raffle ticket sales goes to a lucky fan at that night’s game. The remaining 50% is divided evenly between the Gwinnett Braves (for their charity) and the evening’s participating organization…Happy Tails in our case!

It’s the dog days of summer, so come on out and enjoy a ball game and pitch in to help out Atlanta’s furriest friends. Gates open at 5:30 and the game starts at 7:00. See you there!

To get parking information and directions to the stadium please click here.

* Rocco at the old ball game.

As hard as it is to believe it’s true, a blind border collie has his own guide dog.

Bonnie and Clyde, as they’re now called, were found wandering the streets where they were picked up and taken to the Meadow Green Dog Rescue.

Bonnie and Clyde do everything together, from walking and wagging to bounding and burying.

But Clyde is always just one faltering step behind.

That’s because he is blind – and his fellow border collie Bonnie acts as his guide dog.

She leads him to food or water, and lets him rest his head on her haunches when he feels a bit lost.

They are inseparable, and if Bonnie isn’t nearby Clyde refuses to move a paw.

The pair were rescued as strays three weeks ago and are looking for a new home together.

Cherie Cootes, 40, at the Meadow Green Dog Rescue Centre in Loddon, Norfolk, said: ‘Clyde relies on Bonnie the whole time. When she walks she tends to stop and make sure he’s there – she does look out for him. They really are the most lovely pair of dogs.

‘There’s absolutely no option of homing them separately, they have to go as a pair.’ Bonnie, two, and Clyde, five, were rescued after being abandoned on a street in the middle of a storm three weeks ago. No one has claimed them.

Miss Cootes said they would make ideal pets in a home with a large, secure garden away from busy roads.

Waveney District Council placed the dogs, who have no identifying collars or chips, with the rescue centre but no owners have come forward to claim them.

After receiving more than 500 calls from around the world inquiring about them the dog rescue has found Bonnie and Clyde a new forever home.

The centre staff are continuing their work to re-home 50 other dogs at Meadow Green, so keep them in mind if you’re interested in adopting.

* Pic by SPLASH/Mail Online

Sen. Al Franken is introducing a new bill which would give service dogs to injured veterans.

Franken’s legislation, which is an amendment to a 2010 military funding bill, would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to create a pilot program to train at least 200 service dogs through nonprofit organizations and give them to veterans with physical and mental disabilities.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that Luis Carlos Montalvan, a disabled Iraq war veteran, suggested the idea to Franken months earlier at the presidential inaugural ball in Washington.

“It was really like a dream come true,” Montalvan, a journalism student in New York City, told the paper.

According to the paper, Montalvan told Franken that his service dog named Tuesday helps him deal with life after suffering fractured vertebrae and a head injury in an attack near the Iraq-Syrian border in 2007.

“There is going to be a clear return on investment here,” Franken told the paper. “My hope is that at the end of this they’ll go, ‘A ha! These dogs pay for themselves or more than pay for themselves, we have fewer suicides, fewer incidents of hospitalization, less costs in prescription drugs and more productivity.’ “

Our disabled veterans are definitely deserving of a service dog.  After the program has been in effect for three years the National Academies of Science will be compiling a report on the feasibility and benefit of providing veterans with service dogs.

* Hanson in his service dog attire.