RE: [PyrNet-L] Re: Service Dog for a person with MS

["Xerri, Tania (2318)" <txerri@baycrest.org>]

Hello Tracy, Thank you for taking the time to dig out the article and type
it up in your e-mail message!- May I pass it along to the woman I am
inquiring for? It is full of information that I may need to quote when
contacting trainers. With all of this information surfacing this really
looks like it can be done - once it is decided what functions the dog should
be aiding with. I have a member of my own family with MS, she is still
ambulatory - if this works, I may get a Pyr trained for her as well. 

Best Regards, Tania 

	
	<<<I have the article in front of me now - it was in the April 1996
edition of
	'The Mountaineer' the mag of the Pyrenean Mountain Dog Club of
Victoria.

	It was written by Evelyn Cruickshanks about her support dog 'Kodi'.
I will
	paraphrase the article......

	Evelyn qualified for a 'hearing ear' dog, but also had feet problems
and
	balance problems along with other things.  She had suffered some
falls. She
	also suffered a home invasion prior to getting the dog - she never
heard the
	intruder (she lived alone).  She had 10 small grandchildren and
numerous
	visitors so wanted something gentle but protective.

	There was a long waiting list for hearing ear dogs and they would
not be
	able to specify a breed, so this would not meet her other needs.
with the
	help of a community worker from the Woolongong City Council, they
began
	working with Kodi and working through the red tape.

	She got Kodi as a puppy and took her to obedience classes (she was
banned
	from the puppy class when a tiny cocker spaniel decided to inspect
her mouth
	from the inside LOL!  Apparently Kodi was very gentle, but was
banned
	nonethe less).  Progress through the classes was slow but sure.

	Kodi was taught to alert to sounds and was trained to get on and off
buses,
	travel in lifts etc and met lots of people.  They were assisted by a
	registered trainer (Steve Austin - well known here for everything
from
	animal film work, dogs for disabled children, customs and quarantine
	detection training etc) but there was no established training for
'support
	dogs'.

	Problems were experienced with 'accreditation' in that Guide dogs
and
	hearing ear dogs were accredited, but not "Support Dogs".  Kodi
helped to
	break new ground in getting that accreditation.

	Kodi assists with things like:

	assistance (sitting to standing positions) for those who struggle
with
	walking frames to get up or down, but can dispense with them once in
	position.

	asistance with fetching necesary household items (even crutches and
dropped
	articles)

	Negotiating steps

	Protection from intruders etc.

	She mentions the only difficulty she has is turning her around in a
crowded
	bus - Kodi had to learn to back out!

	From all reports in the article, Kodi did this with all the calm and
dignity
	only a Pyr can have :-).

	I will finish with Evelyn's final words though:

	"PS. I lost a mug off the coffee table when she was younger.  I
found it -
	the handle poked out of her mouth!" ;-)

	Tracy Bassett
	Canberra, Australia
	espinay@dynamite.com.au
	visit my webpage at
http://members.dynamite.com.au/espinay/index.htm>>>