Posts tagged "service dogs"

Student Starts Club to Help Disabled and Puppies

by Kristen Seymour (Subscribe to Kristen Seymour's posts): Dec 17th 2009 5:00PM Filed Under: Dogs, Pet Adoption

man feed puppy Getty Images

The need for service dogs is huge, as is the cost. University of Kentucky sophomore Logan Bright knows this, and wants to help by starting a club at her school under the 4 Paws for Ability organization.

"I have a strong passion for showing people that community service is more than work; it can be fun too," Bright told Paw Nation. While at Wittenberg University in Ohio (which she attended before transferring), Bright had learned about the program, which lets students who live off-campus bring home five-to-six-month-old puppies in order to help ready them to be service dogs for the disabled.

According to its Web site, 4 Paws for Ability "say[s] yes when many more traditional assistance dog placement agencies say no." The students keep the puppies for a semester, during which time 4 Paws for Ability provides food, toys, medical expenses, a crate, and a service vest.

Each caretaker's main responsibility is to socialize the puppy in different situations. The dogs must learn to be around both people and other animals, indoors and outdoors. The puppies are potty trained and able to sit through class before students take them home.

For now, only Bright and one other student are signed up for the program, and in order to be an official club at UK, at least five students are needed. We only wish this had been an option while we were in college -- doing a good deed by keeping a puppy, with food, toys and medical expenses covered by another organization? Sounds ideal!

Dogs4Diabetes Help Manage Human Blood Sugar Levels

by Kim Jack-Riley (Subscribe to Kim Jack-Riley's posts): Oct 26th 2009 5:00PM Filed Under: Dogs

Flickr/Mrs. Logic

When Seattle-area resident Kim Pouncy's dog, Mack, kept waking her up in the middle of the night, she thought the 3-year-old Labrador was having behavioral problems. But when the midnight nudges became simultaneous with Pouncy herself feeling dizzy and weak, she realized there was more to it. Mack was alerting her owner to a drop in blood sugar.

"I'm a Type II Diabetic," Pouncy told Paw Nation, "and I'm dependent on insulin. It's hard to say how long it took for me to catch on that Mack was alerting me. I didn't realize when she was doing it during the day, but when she did it at night three or four times, I finally got it because she would wake me out of a sound sleep."

Diabetes alert dogs are appearing more and more all over the country. Dogs4Diabetics, Inc. (D4D) began almost seven years ago, when its founder began researching the possibility of training dogs to detect type-1-diabetes-related hypoglycemia, and to physically alert diabetics to a hypoglycemic situation.

According to former D4D board member Martha Hoffman, the organization has seen great success in matching people with their talented and trained alert dogs. "The program is effective and genuine," Hoffman tells Paw Nation, "and all the dogs are tracked by their accuracy as measured by their partner's blood-sugar readings."

Hoffman confirmed that along with D4D's training to alert to lows, the dogs began independently alerting to lows before they happen. The dogs seem to recognize when blood sugar is starting to drop, way before a meter reading shows a low. This helps people avoid the low, and better prepare before onset.

While scientists have not yet defined all of the elements that compose the warning process, diabetics agree that alert dogs are in tune to the physical, emotional and physiological changes that occur during the complex prelude to diabetic symptoms.

Al Franken Passes Dogs-for-Vets Bill

by Paul Ciampanelli (Subscribe to Paul Ciampanelli's posts): Aug 5th 2009 3:00PM Filed Under: Dogs, Pets News

Photo: Win McNamee, Getty Images

Al Franken, newly sworn in to the Senate last month after getting elected in November, has already successfully passed his first piece of legislation, apparently wishing to make up for lost time. The Democrat's bill introduces a pilot program to help provide dogs to vets.

No, not that kind of vet.

The bill, called the Franken-Isakson Service Dogs for Veterans Act, will help provide service animals to wounded US war veterans. The program seeks to accomplish a number of goals, such as pairing at least 200 service dogs with wounded vets, half of which will be soldiers who suffer from mental-health disabilities, not just physical disabilities. It also will be part of a scientific study to further discover the therapeutic benefits of these service animals.

Franken penned an op-ed in the StarTribune describing the inspiration behind his bill. In January, at President Obama's inauguration, Franken met Capt. Luis Montalvan, a veteran who had been an intelligence officer in Iraq. Capt. Montalvan had survived an attempt on his life, but was suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. "Luis explained that he couldn't have made it to the inauguration if it weren't for his dog," Franken wrote.

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Miniature Dogs

Miniature Poodle
Miniature Poodles, like all Poodles, are excellent swimmers who originated as a water retrievers. All Poodles, Standard, Miniature and Toy are actually one breed, just different sizes. Miniature Poodles, who can be white, black, apricot or gray, are usually 15 inches or under, according to the American Kennel Club.

David McKelvey/http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgmckelvey/3748491903/

Miniature Dogs

Miniature Dachshund
The Miniature Daschund, only 11 pounds or under, is not a separate classification of the Daschund -- it's just a smaller version of the Standard. The miniature dog, with its long bodies and strong sense of smell, are both hunters and lapdogs, according to the American Kennel Club.

Miniature Dogs

Miniature Schnauzer
The Miniature Schnauzer is of German descent and was originally bred to be a small farm dog. The most popular of the three Schnauzer breeds, the Miniature Schnauzer is a attentive, lively and a favorite among celebrities like Mary Tyler Moore and Bill Cosby. The strongly built miniature dog is between 12 to 14 inches, according to the American Kennel Club.

Miniature Dogs

Miniature Bull Terrier
Just like the playful Bull Terrier, the Miniature Bull Terrier, who originated in England, has a similar personality. Don't let its size fool you – the Miniature Bull Terrier is strong, energetic and audacious. Miniature Bull Terriers are between 10 to 15 inches and can be solid white or colored, according to the American Kennel Club.

Miniature Dogs

Miniature American Eskimo Dog
The American Eskimo Dog is one of three separate categories of the American Eskimo Dog. Between 12 to 15 inches, the bright white dog is loving, protecting and sociable. Now a great companion dog, the miniature dog was once a circus dog, according to the American Kennel Club.

Miniature Dogs

Miniature Pinscher
Also known as the "Min Pin," the Miniature Pinscher is a German Breed whose ancestry includes the Daschund, Italian Greyhound and the shorthaired German Pinscher. The quick, curious dog is the perfect apartment dog. Despite its small size, the compact pooch makes a wonderful watchdog. The spirited miniature dog, about 10 inches to 12 1/2 inches, can be red, black, or chocolate with tan, according to the American Kennel Club.

Miniature Dogs