Service Animals.
Polar and Billy. Credit: The Ma Family. In this three-article series, Paw Nation shadows Billy Ma as he attends the Canine Assistants Training Camp, meets his new service dog and learns how the dog can help him by turning on lights, pulling his wheelchair and, becomes his best friend. (Part one is about the first days at the training camp, part two is about when Billy and Polar find each other and part three, here, is about their early days at home.) On a Friday morning in late July, Polar heads to his new home. The sandy retriever leaves the comfort of the Canine Assistants service dog training facility outside Atlanta, where he has lived all his life, and flys to Columbus, Ohio, ...
Ned and Kasey. Claudia Kronenberg Photography In June of 2005, Ellen Rogers got the call every parent fears. Her 22-year-old son, Ned, had been in a car crash. He'd suffered brain injuries and was paralyzed from the neck down. The Rogers' lives changed in an instant, but they survived the ordeal, thanks to Kasey, an Argentinean capuchin monkey trained to assist the disabled. Rogers recounts the touching story in her new book, "Kasey to the Rescue: The Remarkable Story of a Monkey and a Miracle," which hits stores this week. Rogers recently talked with Paw Nation about Ned, Kasey and life with a monkey. After your son's accident, why did you decide to adopt a helper monkey? It was ...
Billy Ma and Polar, David C. Scott for Canine Assistants In this special series, Paw Nation shadows Billy Ma as he attends the Canine Assistants Training Camp, meets his new service dog and learns how the dog can help him by turning on lights, pulling his wheelchair and, hopefully, becoming his best friend. To read part one click here. MILTON, GA. - It's the second day of camp. A dozen dogs are lined up in cages in the Canine Assistants classroom, waiting to get matched with the children they'll go home with at the end of two weeks. If all goes well, the dogs will love and protect these children for the rest of their lives. Ever since the dogs were 3-day-old puppies being carried around ...
David C. Scott for Canine Assistants In this and upcoming articles, Paw Nation shadows Billy Ma as he attends the Canine Assistants Training Camp to meet his new service dog and learn how the dog can help him by turning on lights, pulling his wheelchair and, hopefully, becoming his best friend. MILTON, GA. - On a sweltering morning in July, the service dogs are pacing in their cages while the lucky dozen children who have made it off the assistance dog waiting list make their way to the first day of training camp. Some with wheelchairs or walkers, others leaning on their parents, the kids have traveled from as far as California to the Canine Assistants headquarters north of Atlanta. One ...
Sure our birthday is officialy over but we couldn't resist bringing back one last gallery of photos. Whether you caught these images of service animals the first time around or not, we hope you'll enjoy this trip down memory lane with us. Besides, what's not to love about the relationship between these amazing animals and the people they are helping? http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizationConfig,entry&id=605465&pid=605464&uts=1271341212 http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/media_gallery/v1/ke_media_gallery_wrapper.swf Service Animals Horsing Around Have you ever seen a woman ride a horse into a ...