Smart Paws: Ancient Partner to Service Dog Today

Copyright © 2011 Elizabeth Victor

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ISBN: 978-1-4620-0034-0 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4620-0035-7 (cloth)

ISBN: 978-1-4620-0036-4 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011904967

Printed in the United States of America

iUniverse rev. date: 5/12/2011

Contents

Preface

About This Book

Part One Waking Up

1. A Time Together

2. Choosing Recovery

3. Ah Ha

4. Expanding My World

5. A Creative Childhood

6. Anthropomorphism

7. Animals in Cultures

8. Moving to Arizona

9. Shama

10. Back to School

11. A Job

12. School Again

13. Art, History and Therapy

14. Growing Up With Dogs

15. Learning Map

16. Gamble Before Rusty

17. Raccoons and Friends

18. Campus Pals

19. Cats and a Monkey

Part Two Matching Needs and Heart

20. Search and Find

21. Utah

22. Keeping Rusty

23. Along Came Camping

24. Initiated Camper

25. Beluga Butt

26. Bonding

27. Velcro Dog

28. Improvement

29. Discovery

30. Certification

31. Making It My Space

32. Sonoran Desert

33. Disappearing Act

34. Dancing in Mexico

35. Birds at the Beach

36. Getting Comfortable

37. Outings

38. Frightening Moment

39. Crowds

40. Pals

41. Adora

42. Lyric

43. Katie Now and Bella

44. Happy Home Until

45. The Girls and Lisa

46. Ozzie

47. Charlie

48. Smokey Bear

49. Making Friends

50. Sashay and Boots

51. Squawking Parrot, Belly Dancer and Orangutan

52. Dogs in Unique Places

53. Beauty and the Bees

54. The Ferry Ride

55. Travels East

56. The Comfort Toy

57. What’s To Like About Grooming

Part Three Our Long Learning Curve

58. Family Member

59. The Nose Knows

60. Long Ago Lessons

61. From Wolves and Art

62. Tea Cup to Giant Mastiff

63. Traditional Dogs of Asia

64. Doggie Intelligence

65. Marvelous Dog Brains

66. Privileges

67. Our Best Friends

68. Stop That Critter

69. Nutrition Sense

70. Health Care Advances

71. Animal Protection

72. Clever Ones

73. Adaptability

74. Partnerships

75. New Dimensions

76. Picking Your Pooch

77. Family Values

78. Natural Wisdom

79. What It Takes to be a Service Dog

80. Helper Paws

81. Our Impact on Others

82. Thoughtless Treatment

83. My Partner, My Friend

84. Understanding

85. Playful Learning

86. Why a Rusty

87. The Right Partnership

88. Rescue Me

89. Well Behaved Partners

90. Some Little Facts to Plan By

91. A Successful Training Model

92. Training Challenges

93. Treats and Training

94. Doggies’ Special Needs

95. Life Lessons

Post Script

A Dog’s Creed

About the Authors

Acknowledgements

Bibliography

Endnotes

Preface

Ever since Rusty and I attended a Pets Are Wonderful Support, PAWS, conference in Los Angeles in the summer of 2005¹, I have burned with a desire to find a way to help educate the public and bring the joys and challenges of having a service dog partnership to those who would benefit most. At that conference I met Joan Esnayra, founder of Psychiatric Service Dog Society, based in Virginia.² As we talked I felt the birthing of an idea seed. My education and work experience had been centered on mental health issues. The concept of utilizing the abilities of our canine friends to assist with the management of emotional and behavioral problems made wonderful sense.

My first effort was an attempt to create a complete business and training plan to establish a program dedicated to the joint training of service dogs and mental health patients. Unfortunately, my health just wasn’t faithful enough to see me through so much work. I still have the dream to inspire someone else to take my work and run with it.

I was slow to recover from hepatitis C³. The toxins in my body were fading along with its attendant brain fog, when I began to think about the injured service people returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, emotionally and physically challenged. Rusty, my service dog, provided such support and comfort to me. I realized it was a story worth sharing if it would help others grasp the enriched quality of life a canine partner can offer. A person faced with previously unforetold challenges may be completely unaware of the wonderful possibilities available.

The summer of 2009, when Minnesota Senator Al Franken⁴ proposed and pushed two bills in Congress I just had to cheer. In a Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune newspaper article on July 20, 2009 he summarized his impassioned views stating in part, "Service dogs can be of immense benefit to vets suffering from physical and emotional wounds. Yes, they provide companionship. But they can also detect changes in a person’s breathing, perspiration or sent to anticipate and ward off an impending panic attack with some well-timed nuzzling. They are trained to let their masters know when it’s time to take medication and wake them from terrifying nightmares. Service dogs raise their master’s sense of well-being. There is evidence to suggest that increasing their numbers would reduce the alarming suicide rate among veterans, decrease the number of hospitalizations, and lower the cost of medications and human care."

The bill, passed October 22, 2009, authorizes a pilot study with no less than 200 service dogs from accredited training programs to be placed with veterans.⁵ An equal division will go to physical and psychiatric patients. The three year study will be overseen by the Secretary of Veteran Affairs. The National Academy of Sciences will deliver the report to Congress at the end of the study. The therapeutic and quality of life benefits for participating veterans, as well as the economic benefits and savings in health care costs, are prime areas to be evaluated. Measuring productivity and employment gains using service dogs is another area for evaluation. There is one other important measure they will take from this study. That is the effectiveness of using service dogs to prevent suicide. There has been enormous support from Congress with promises of further support to follow in the future.

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act we can once again see some of the wonderful benefits it provides.⁶

With these events taking place I have come to hope that our little tale will initiate a spark of desire to explore the merits for individuals with challenges a service dog could ease. The need is greater than the available funding to provide trained dogs. Perhaps the way Rusty and I found will inspire others to rescue or purchase a canine partner and train together. Whatever road taken to the discovery of the healing power of the human-animal bond it is a road worth traveling.

It’s time to share with you the magic that can come from a bond with an intelligent being of another species. Here in our story it is one specific dog. A Golden Retriever dog named Rusty. My boy has not only brought me out of a very deep depression, every day he provides my path to independence. Rusty along with my third or fourth lease on life has turned this all around.

My friends can’t get over the change. We think I must truly be feline with nine lives as I have been expected to die many times. It is about time I come forth with my thoughts and experiences. My life has not been particularly conventional. I just have always wanted to live and find out what is around the next corner. Rusty’s dependable physical and emotional support with his light spirit buoys my zest for life.

About This Book

This book has multiple related themes intertwined. It is my story of discovery and challenge that ultimately took me along a road to a sense of completeness so often denied those of us living with physical challenges. It is told to provide that little nudge to others so challenged.

Chapter numbers listed below indicate those chapters where the major focus is the given theme.

1. The history of the human-dog bond.

7,13,15,18,59-67,71-77.

2. The co-learning-curve of Rusty and myself, including mutual adventures.

22,23,25-29,35,37,46-48,51,52,54,55.

3. My personal history as a disabled person facing challenges, and how my relationship with animals was a great support. This theme is to motivate other disabled to face their challenges. Each short story about other animals and dogs in my life illustrates an important feature of the human-dog relationship.

2-4,8,10,13-15,19,28,29,36,82,86.

4. Various aspects of dog selection, training, and care, especially for service dogs.

30,41,74-76,79-95.

In theme (4) I speak directly to prospective users of worker dogs. This is not to exclude those already having working dogs and those who have no need or desire for them, but who may gain insight from what I say about selecting, training, and caring for a dog.

Almost a hundred endnotes provide computer links (urls) to websites related to parts of the text.

I have email, a blog, and a website, where I welcome comments and questions from readers.

email: eloise.rusty@gmail.com

blog: http://smartpaws-rusty.blogspot.com/

Part One

Waking Up

Pushing Up Cement Clouds, Eloise’s drawing:

Vision During Cardiac Arrest, May 22, 1971

1.  A Time Together

"God does not throw us away just because we are

not perfect or because we have problems or challenges.

He watches over us and even brings others into our

lives to help us when we are in need."

Unknown

The country has gone to the dogs according to some observers. It is not an epithet. It is a delightful fact. Over the past thirty years the dog population in the U.S. has grown in numbers and social stature. The intelligence and willingness of man’s best friend has been recognized and tapped for a multitude of tasks.

During my lifetime I have met many smart dogs. I grew up with bird dogs. Hunting was in my family’s blood. The selection and training of fine dogs was the meat of endless conversations. I am setting out to tell you a dog story that is intertwined with other dog stories and facts about the status of dogs today. The hero of the basic tale is my service dog named Rusty.

A cold wet nose touching my hand has always meant comfort to me. This is a story about one particular cold nose and the everlasting impact he has had on my life. It is snatches of my life as a kid with a disability as well as embracing things I have studied along with tidbits learned from sharing my life with dogs, which are my building blocks. As I am counting my blessings I wish to take you through our adventures and share some lessons learned. This has been a journey from despair to empowerment.

One day, after I completed several fun paintings I felt a need to paint Rusty. I wanted to honor him and there are just so many yummy treats one can give a dog to say, job well done. Painting a portrait of this wonder dog has revealed so much beyond a likeness. The painting reflects his joy in life that has revived my love of life. He taught me to remember to laugh and how laughter can heal. He can be a comedian or a serious observer at other times. Laughter with him has had great healing power that has restored my interest in life. Without any plan, my painting highlights this aspect of his personality. I’m no great painter but my heart seemed to lead my brush. We have no finished work of art here, but rather a snapshot of a moment in time. It really is a painted sketch that I am afraid to complete. It captures Rusty and makes me happy just as it is.

Rusty’s and my time together has brought warmth to so many. Because I have been able to become less dependent upon him, we have made an effort to show the world around us what a marvel a well trained service dog can be out in public. Rusty is a pretty good judge of character and applies this skill in choosing to whom he responds. Only with permission will he approach someone. He seems to understand the importance of simple kindness. His tail will talk its happy talk for a child or individual he perceives as a good prospect as a friend. A friendship to Rusty is any amount of time from a moment to a lifetime. Rusty will sense a person who needs a hug and if permitted will provide his doggie version. There are always many smiles from folks saying Rusty, you just made my day. He gets told how very handsome he is when out in public. But it is his spirit that I love so much. He’s far from the most gorgeous Golden Retriever ever seen but he is handsome and his loving spirit radiates.

Rusty Ready for Work

It is not just this recent liberty to socialize in our effort to help the public learn about service dogs that makes up our story. Life since July 3, 2001 has been a major learning experience for both of us. This journey has been our learning curve. We have had struggles to do the right thing for each other. The road to our partnership is rough and smooth, curved and wracked by blind spots. In other words just like life.

As a chronically ill child I was partially an outcast subject to the cruel teasing of some other children. I chose to spend my time in the company of friends. These friends mostly had four legs but a few were people. Being somewhat isolated I developed a perspective on an animal’s capacity to think and communicate. I observed animals in everyday environments; I am not a scientist. What I am is a person blessed with great curiosity happy to have been in the company of animals my whole life.

Acute illness takes my spirit right back to the support of my four legged doggie friends.

2.  Choosing Recovery

"Dream as if you’ll live forever,

live as if you’ll die today."

James Dean

Choosing recovery filled me with an almost manic sense of urgency. Upon finding myself so extremely ill I felt like curling up and dying. Escape from pain and depression held out a magical lure. I just needed the right wizard to assist my escape. Physically I felt washed up but my mind screamed that I needed to get my priorities straight and take care of business. It was time to fight the odds as I had done before. Life was worth the fight. This was to be no different even though I felt ancient and worn out.

This time, however, some essential key to my spirit was missing. I felt cut off from my sense of oneness with the Earth and her creatures. Most of that first year I was lost in myself too ill to recognize the context of the void I felt in my spirit. It was clear to me I needed to be rescued from myself. The fear and anger that inhabited my mind were a consuming sickness apart from the disease and other physical complications.

An aerial view of an approaching dust storm is the closest way to describe the onset of my collapse. The cloud blotting out my ability to learn, to think and remember just grew denser as the time passed from late 1997 to July 2000. Though it took many months, I succumbed, to the loss of everything I fought so very hard to have and maintain. My sun was being blotted out ever so slowly. It is an insidious beast that creeps through the soul and steels the mind, even the will to live. That roiling cloud of mind dust blocked my ability to think or follow instructions. The psychic and physical pain grew worse as the cloud enveloped my very being.

This analogy of a dust storm comes from living in Arizona. A dust storm is a very personal assault as you can see it slowly approaching. That is if you are looking. Then, without warning it can be a battering crushing blow that chokes out your very life, if you ignore or miss the signs of its approach. My dust storm was a sneaky villain that hid in my liver for over twenty years.

There were symptoms like fatigue and constant body pain. However, I had a job and family I was responsible for keeping housed and fed. All the years of school and hard work to reach my employment goals were finally coming to fruition. At last I had a career goal job in a fine environment. I just couldn’t accept that this cloud taking over my body and brain was indeed something very malicious, even life threatening. One day the lights and dreams of a successful professional life went completely out as I crumpled on my office floor. This was July 26th, 2000.

I went to bed too ill to deal with life going on around me, without me. Now I had to depend on others to assume my responsibilities. I am chastised even today, by my family for not making them understand just how very ill I was. This was a life changing ride and getting off didn’t seem an acceptable option. No way could I allow myself to wrap my brain around the concept that I was never going back to work again. I had worked so hard emotionally and physically to attain my goals. I shut down emotionally rather than allow myself to feel the swirling negative emotions. I went to bed and let my depression and physical illness find succor in sleep.

Although there were people who cared around me I existed in a wordless void. It took months to recognize that it was from an all together different being I needed guidance. One with whom I could communicate without giving words to my misery. I needed a sentient being that could give me strength and focus.

Who had I always turned to in times of great difficulty and in times of joy? I had lost touch with myself. Daily cares and responsibilities had robbed me of the childlike kindred spirit I felt with nature. I had grown up and I didn’t like it one bit. There had always been an inner child who remained close to the natural world and its inhabitants. I was not only sick from this insidious illness I was spirit sick. I had dogs, cats and other domestic creatures in my home, but being career driven I didn’t take time to really know each one. There is something essential to life in a relationship with an animal. Some animals reflect a gift of harmony and zest for life more than others, and I believe it is this special chemistry that can nourish and heal. I have found it to be so throughout the course of my life. It is this very magic recognized in the benefits of animal assisted therapy. It is the core of the human-animal bond. It is my life fuel from the very wellspring which I believe all balanced energy flows.

I realized I had starved my spirit just as millions of other people do when they become mesmerized with their daily existence. I had succumbed to the absorption of my strength through focusing on work and other responsibilities. It was imperative I renew my spirit to become strong enough to fight the physical battle ahead of me. Immersed in the world of work and family care-giver I had lost my greatest life force. Instinctively I slowly figured it out when I finely realized how very impaired my body was. I knew that only a special animal could help.

My dearest dog was old and struggling with his own health issues. It was youth, energy, enthusiasm, goodness, and joy that were needed to stir me. That is when I began the search that led me ultimately to Rusty.

Five months after my collapse one doctor came up with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. This turned out to be only the tip of my personal mountain hidden in the dust storm. I was little help in finding a cause because the only feeling I could relate to was despair. This was before the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. After time passed and the wars began, I started to see I was developing a strong sense of a parallel experience. A loose parallel derived from my problems and those experienced by the severely wounded returning from war. It’s hell, having your life course just shut down. This concept has grown and modified over the time of my partial recovery. I had always fought hard to maintain as near to normal life as possible. Now there wasn’t any energy to push forward. I realized I would never be able to pull off my charade of normalcy as before.

My mother drew strength from being on or near the sea as well as enjoying the mountains for inspiration. These are forces from which I too draw strength. However, I knew it was in the company of living, breathing creatures of this earth from who I could regain focus and a centered mind with a fresh new purpose. It was at this time, eight months after my collapse that I began my search for a dog to assist me and become my special guide. Such dogs, or other creatures, that rescue human companions are labeled angels. I needed an angel right then.

That was when I sat down at my computer and began looking for the perfect dog. It was obvious to me that I needed a helper dog to make getting about easier and as a spirit guide, to find my way through the months, even years, of treatment I faced. This was a lot to expect but I knew such a dog was out there and I would find him or her. In my mind I saw connectedness between the dog I chose