tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55643853057434565662024-03-21T17:47:10.345-07:00My Dog NoseA blog about the adventures of Rambo, a PTSD service dog. Join Rambo as he travels about and learns new tasks. "Real heroes don't die, they just reload." ~John RamboUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-5907261814781982142017-11-28T15:51:00.001-08:002017-11-28T15:53:03.755-08:00FDA Warning: Store-Bought Bone Treats Could Kill Your Dog<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-size: 14px;">The FDA has issued a warning about Store-Bought Bone Treats that can kill your dog. Please pay attention to this and keep your dog safe and happy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Just a note on FDA warnings about dog treats: I missed the FDA's warning about sweet potato chews and the illnesses they caused. Sure enough, when I gave Rambo sweet potato chews he became deathly ill and the FDA even got involved in his veteranarian care and with the vendor. Please don't make the same mistake I did!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-size: 14px;">You can sign up for Dog Food Advisory Alerts by following the link in the last paragraph of this entry.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><b><span style="color: red;">***FDA DOG FOOD ALERT ADVISORY***</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-size: 14px;">The United States Food and Drug Administration has issued an <strong>important warning</strong> regarding store-bought <strong>bone treats for dogs</strong>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-size: 14px;">The associated treats have already caused numerous <strong>illnesses</strong> and even <strong><span style="color: red;">death</span> in at least 15 dogs</strong>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14px;">To learn which products are affected, please visit the following link:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14px;"><a class="m_-8042875901685292917validation-enabled m_-8042875901685292917valid-link m_-8042875901685292917validating" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l%3DvV94yc%26m%3D3bsK2oHOTlO0_1z%26b%3DTiudOsjY_gUmEBRQQRGVmg&source=gmail&ust=1511997559803000&usg=AFQjCNG7h02cOEx4bu0Ky1oo2zaTYClBCA" href="http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=vV94yc&m=3bsK2oHOTlO0_1z&b=TiudOsjY_gUmEBRQQRGVmg" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">FDA Warning: Store-Bought Bone Treats Could Kill Your Dog</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Please be sure to </span><strong><span style="font-size: 14px;">share</span></strong><span style="font-size: 14px;"> the news of this important recall even</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14px;">t with other pet owners.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;">Mike Sagman, Editor</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14px;">The Dog Food Advisor</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><span style="font-size: 14px;">P.S. Not already on our dog food recall notification list yet? <a class="m_-8042875901685292917valid-link m_-8042875901685292917validation-enabled m_-8042875901685292917validating" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l%3DvV94yc%26m%3D3bsK2oHOTlO0_1z%26b%3Dzw76jrEYF8eZjFqVSP42tA&source=gmail&ust=1511997559803000&usg=AFQjCNHadApGX_-ztHjHUW6GjsajsAkIpw" href="http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=vV94yc&m=3bsK2oHOTlO0_1z&b=zw76jrEYF8eZjFqVSP42tA" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Sign up to get critical dog food recall alerts sent to you by email</a>. <i>There's no cost for this service.</i></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-78262346426481135452017-11-03T21:59:00.000-07:002017-11-03T21:59:08.887-07:00An Open Letter to the dog sitter that cancelled three hours before my dentist appointment<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first question that came to my mind after your heartless cancellation of our arrangement for you to watch my dog, after the inevitable question of “why,” is why do you advertise as a dog sitter? Do you understand the implied trust someone comes to you with? Do you think that my coming to you to watch my dog is just something I did for fun and that I had nothing else important to do? Do you understand that my seeking someone to watch my dog shows how important that dog is to me as well as how important the time I needed you to watch him is? Somehow I doubt it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I came to your home with my dog so you could meet him and ostensibly evaluate both of us before you accepted us as a client. I understand this and I made the effort. I was clear that I had a dental appointment the next morning. Did you think I was just making this up?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second question that quickly came to mind certainly calls your judgement into question. If you are capable, just imagine my disbelief that quickly turned into panic when I woke up at 9:21 am to see that you cancelled your commitment only 18 minutes earlier. After I instantly tried to contact you I received only silence. Then I read the message you sent at 8:06 am:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi Peter- I see you haven't responded through rover yet with your confirmation or payment. If this isn't done by 9am, I'm afraid we won't be able to help today.”</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can only deduce from this that everyone in your kombucha and granola world gets out of bed at the butt crack of dawn. Meanwhile there are others of us who have different sleeping hours let alone sleep problems that I’m sure you wouldn’t understand. Why would you set an artificial deadline that you never forewarned me of by sending a message that you could not be sure I received? Why would you begin to think that I wouldn’t hold up my end of the commitment to not only show up but to be sure you are paid? Were you not listening to me last night as you sat two feet away from me that I said this was the first time I have used Rover and wasn’t sure how it all worked? A reasonable person would have taken this into account. A reasonable person might have even just waited until I showed up to remind me to confirm the appointment through the website so you could be sure you got paid. You, on the other hand, assumed I was just going to flake on you while I was sleeping and not getting your messages. That level of ignorance truly boggles my mind.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But wait, it gets worse. I sent many a scathing letter to Rover’s customer service. Rest assured they will be reviewing your account, Your failure cost them money so you now have another little checkmark in the “bad” column. Since you cancelled your commitment I was unable to leave a written evaluation on your profile so I am left with social media in which I will certainly point out your shortcomings.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While Rover’s customer service valiantly started calling every dog sitter they could find in Portland to find someone to watch my dog on short notice, I watched the minutes until my dentist appointment dwindle down to the point that I could not make it even if I found someone to watch my service dog. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Did I fail to mention that I had a an appointment at the dentist to get to? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since I am a disabled veteran I get my dental care at the VA hospital. It takes at least 3 months to get an appointment. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At least</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. So you have not only wasted the three months it took me to get this appointment, now I have to wait another three months for the same damn appointment. I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the tooth that I was to have worked on today will not make it another three months. Your disregard for honoring your commitment leaves me in an even worse predicament when I will need to go into the dentist on an emergency basis without anyone to watch my dog on short notice. How do you think that is going to work out for me? My other option is to go to a civilian dentist and pay the bill out of pocket without insurance. I live on a fixed income so that really isn’t much of an option. So I just want to be sure that I say thank you for costing me so much time, pain, anguish and money. You really did a good job of screwing me over.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alas, it is not just me that you severely let down. You know that three month timeline it takes to get a dentist appointment at the VA that I just mentioned? The fact that I had no choice but to call and cancel my appointment literally at the last minute means that appointment time was wasted. That open time could have gone to another veteran who is also likely to desperately need the service. Nope, not on your watch. You also put me at risk of being denied future dental care because I had to violate the VA’s 24 hour cancellation policy. What am I supposed to do when someone gives me no choice inside that 24 hour window? I can tell you the VA doesn’t care why I cancelled my appointment, they just know I cancelled and wasted the valuable time that they provide for veterans and that’s squarely on you. I should also point out that the only veterans that get dental care at the VA are veterans that are 100% disabled (or service connected dental issues). The harm you did is not “just” to veterans, it is to those veterans who are the most severely disabled and need the care the most. Thanks for doing your part to support veterans.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You, my dear, have a huge dose of karma coming your way. And while I don’t make it a habit to wish ill upon others, it’s not beneath me to celebrate should a whole bunch of sorta-awful (but survivable) things become you. Schadenfreude. Look it up.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hexes. Karma. Juju. Whatever you want to call it, it’s coming for you. It’s been coming since 9:03 am this morning. It might not strike tomorrow. It probably won’t rear its ugly head until you least suspect it. That next toothache that is most assuredly coming your way, even if it's 20 years from now, is going to remind you of how your own lack of patience, compassion and commitment hurt someone else needlessly.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you start getting puss oozing sores inside your mouth that burn like fire leaving you unable to talk, eat or drink, please think about me. Think about the pain and anguish you caused to men who sacrificed in service to your country while you deem yourself so important that you let your impatience and lack of judgement get the better of you. That’s Karma.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You know what they say about karma? The same thing they say about sketchy sitters.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><a href="https://www.rover.com/members/kristen-c-loving-care-when-your-not-there/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.rover.com/members/kristen-c-loving-care-when-your-not-there/</span></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-14589292295777648382017-08-04T21:58:00.001-07:002017-08-04T21:58:59.335-07:00That's Not a Real Service Dog!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are two things every service dog handler will face during almost any outing into the public: discrimination and fraud. These two things together make it hard for people who really need a service dog when they are out. The general public knows little about service dogs and the law that provides their protection and privilege. Then there are some that know just enough to scam the system which is a double whammy. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> "I honestly didn't expect to have any</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> problems with going places with my </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">service </span></i><i><span style="font-size: large;">dog but they were there </span></i><i><span style="font-size: large;">from</span></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">the outset."</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a preface, in every instance that I will describe, Rambo is dressed with his vest and Halti. This is not to mention that, at least to the knowing eye, he<i> behaves</i> like a service dog in public. That is to say, his behavior in public is really quite good. He often exhibits better behavior in public than the children we encounter.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdEBlAZTbXIBNh0Mop1PqlHaUpJSVojn_x0ADEJgP8Ib3O7FEaMOAbBCCDl5H7itvnQD8F3uYQfNmZzUZ75-BE6jvwblerZVex6PBrPfqrcHS0ABqxrhpvarrSzMd0Hk1P8ldg6neN3Wep/s1600/Looking+out+3rd+floor+VA+window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1015" data-original-width="1600" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdEBlAZTbXIBNh0Mop1PqlHaUpJSVojn_x0ADEJgP8Ib3O7FEaMOAbBCCDl5H7itvnQD8F3uYQfNmZzUZ75-BE6jvwblerZVex6PBrPfqrcHS0ABqxrhpvarrSzMd0Hk1P8ldg6neN3Wep/s400/Looking+out+3rd+floor+VA+window.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The foremost discrimination issue that I have run across is that most employers, including many large companies and corporations, fail miserably at training their employees about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This becomes glaringly obvious when I try to enter a restaurant or check into a hotel with Rambo at my side. Far too often, as soon as Rambo and I walk through the door, I see the confused look come across the people that work there. Sometimes I get dirty looks right from the start. I understand now that these people simply don't know any better and I blame their employer as ultimately the responsibility to follow the ADA in their establishment falls firmly in their lap. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My understanding of discrimination and how to deal with it didn't come easy or fast. I honestly didn't expect to have any problems with going places with my service dog but they were there from the outset. I was forced to learn how to handle these situations or I was going to have to avoid them and avoidance wasn't a choice. I had never experienced honest-to-goodness discrimination before I started going out in public with Rambo. It has given me a greater appreciation of what every disabled person in this country experiences. Now I understand the protests I see on the news when someone is discriminated against. Its an ugly, helpless feeling that triggers anger, sadness and self doubt. No one should ever have to feel like that simply because of who they are but it is a commonplace occurrence every minute of every day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not going to get into the intricacies of the ADA in this post. I will explore that in greater detail at a later time. For now, I just want to give you some examples of the situations that I have encountered and how I have dealt with them. You may find yourself in similar situation and maybe you will find some of the things that I have done helpful for you (but I am a sarcastic, take-no-guff kind of person and my responses aren't always "polite."). Some of these examples will be rather short and I will supply only with what was said to me and my response. While these are all very frustrating, sometimes they can be quite funny as well. <i>(I'm looking at you, TSA!) </i>To balance things out I will include a couple of situations that really demonstrate what a properly trained, well behaved service dog can pull off in public.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The most common situation in which discrimination occurs are in restaurants. I read news stories all the time about how someone with a legitimate service dog was denied service or even kicked out of a restaurant simply because the employee didn't know any better. While I'm on the subject of restaurants, let me stop and ask this question: what is it about the people in this country that they get instantly upset when they see a dog enter a restaurant? They give me the impression that the simple presence of a dog is somehow unsanitary and dog hairs will somehow waft up from the floor and across the restaurant to land on their plate. The ASPCA estimates that 44 percent of all American homes have a dog. Despite a dog that goes into their kitchen, dining room and living room these people somehow manage to survive the presence of a dog. In Europe, well behaved dogs are welcome at restaurants and no one even notices. Only in America does this sort of nonsensical thinking become a large part of what fuels service dog discrimination in restaurants. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One summer afternoon I drove to the Oregon coast to let Rambo play on the beach. Afterwards I headed over to my favorite brewery to have lunch and see what might be good on tap. To enter the restaurant, I have to go through a shop on the lower level where the sales clerk often acts as the host/hostess for the restaurant above. On our first trip up the stairs I had no problem. The waiter that met me upstairs wasn't sure of what to do so he asked the bartender. One look at Rambo and he told the waiter to seat me anywhere I wanted. Easy enough. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After lunch I took Rambo out for a potty break with the intention of returning to our seat so I could enjoy one more beer. Upon our return, as we started to climb the stairs, the girl behind the cash register loudly proclaimed that "NO DOGS ARE ALLOWED UPSTAIRS!" This caused everyone else in the shop to instantly become quiet and turn to stare at the brazen jerk taking his pet up to the restaurant. I politely told the girl that Rambo is my service dog and that we are going back up to enjoy the libations. I took one step and she declared, "THAT'S ONLY FOR PEOPLE WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES!" Oh boy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wasn't in the mood to do her boss' job and train her on the ADA so I simply told her that I am going back upstairs to my table and if she had a problem with it that she should call her supervisor. That's not the best example of being a good ambassador but sometimes I just want to get on with what I was doing. I figured if she did call a supervisor perhaps at that point some training might get done. I have returned to this brewery many times since and have never had another issue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only a few months ago I had the unfortunate opportunity to go the my local VA hospital emergency room for excruciating pain that was running down from my neck to the tips of my fingers in my right arm. The pain was substantial enough to keep me from sleeping more than a couple of hours for two nights straight. Once I got to the ER and got checked in I was eventually called into a room just off the waiting room to get my vitals taken. Once we were inside, Rambo noticed someone in the adjacent room who just happened to be handling some sort of bag made of cellophane. The cellophane noise gets Rambo's attention because its the same noise he hears when I go for the treat bag. I told Rambo to sit but his attention was on the sound of munchies. So I tapped him gently on the nose and told him to sit again. He took his time due to his distracted state to actually sit down but he did what was asked. The nurse had the gall to look me square in the eyes and say, "That's not a real service dog."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Excuse me?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"That's not a service dog. When a service dog is told to sit, he does it <i>'zip'</i> right away."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My eyes went wide with astonishment! This was a new one to me. So I asked, "are you a trainer?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"No." she said. But I know people who do train dogs and I've seen service dogs sit when they are told."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Okay" I responded. "Since you're not a trainer and I'm not a nurse, how about you stop accusing my dog of not being an exceptionally well trained and ADI accredited service dog and I won't question your credentials to be a hack nurse?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was the end of that fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When it comes to staying at hotels with a service dog, the best advice I can give is the nicer the hotel, the better trained the staff. If I stay at a cheap hotel I always seem to get what I paid for, as you will read.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I told every hotel story I have there would never be an end to this. So I will give you the ultra-abridge version of multiple stories in somewhat of a rapid fire succession.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Checking into a San Diego hotel, the clerk asked me for Rambo's papers. I told her that is he not a pure bred and doesn't have any papers. She said if he doesn't have papers she will charge me a pet fee. I told her that was against the law but she persisted. So I gave her Rambo's JLAD ID card and told her that is all the "papers" he has. Good enough.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Does your dog have I.D.?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>He's not old enough to drive or drink so he doesn't have one yet.</i> (I showed him Rambo's JLAD card after getting in the jab.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Is that a service dog?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Yes, he is my service dog</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Leaning over the tall counter) "Ok, he has vest on. It can't be a service dog if it doesn't have a vest."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I'm sorry sir, we don't allow pets here."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Oh, that's good to know. So there won't be any pets distracting my service dog.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Oh, its a service dog? Can you make him do a trick?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Oh for fu......Rambo, wave bye bye to the nice man behind the counter.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I did not know you were bringing a service dog. I can't rent you the third floor suite you have reserved. I have to put you on the first floor in the pet area."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>No, you are giving me the room I reserved and as far as you are concerned, this dog is invisible.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I'll have to call my boss."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Tell your boss I know lawyers.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I'm going to have to charge you a pet cleaning fee."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Can you go in and out the back entrance with your dog, please?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I can't let you stay here! What if someone comes in that is allergic to dogs?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"We don't let dogs in training stay here. Only real service dogs."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Is your service dog housebroken?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Why do you have a service dog? You aren't blind!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Are you here to visit a hotel guest? We have waiting outside on the patio."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So much for the industry of hospitality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is just the beginning of the misadventures Rambo and I have had to endure. In my next post I will regale you with tales of the fun we've had at restaurants and shops all over the country. I will end that with our encounters with obviously counterfeit service dogs and their handlers which is a subject I tackle quite loudly!</span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-8414547432533227802017-07-23T21:40:00.003-07:002017-07-23T21:43:55.261-07:00Rambo Undergoes Surgery!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was a cold, snowy December day. Rambo and I got up early and went through our usual morning routine. That generally includes taking Rambo out to relieve himself and, weather permitting, we play fetch for a while. He is always full of energy and eager to play when he first gets up. He is as much a morning dog as I am not a morning person. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After our morning play session, I usually clean up dishes and such then its time to feed the hound. Once he's caught his breath he gets his breakfast. Between coming in from playing and the additional water he drinks after chowing down means he has to go back out to pee within an hour or two. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was cold and snowy out so I got us both dressed for the cold and figured we might take a short walk. As expected, the first thing Rambo does when he gets outside is to go to pee. I always try to give his pee and poop a once over every time he goes. It's a great 15 second health check. On this particular morning, as I glanced down at Rambo peeing, I was horrified to see a bright red spot in the snow and a stream of blood coming out when there should have been urine!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can't tell you that I was calm and cool when I saw this. In fact, it scared the hell out of me and I was sent into an instant panic. Ok, maybe panic isn't the right word. It was more of a high state of alarm with my only goal of getting Rambo to the vet immediately and I pity the fool that gets in my way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo's vet is only a couple of miles away and traffic wasn't heavy so he was in the vet's office within 15 minutes of his bloody urination. The vet took him in right away. They ran several blood tests and got an abdominal x-ray. The x-ray showed two <i>very</i> large bladder stones and the vet said they will have to be removed. The vet put him on antibiotics, gave me instructions on what to watch for and I was told to come back with Rambo on Monday to consult with the surgeon. Once the surgeon got to give him a once over she scheduled the surgery for the next day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next morning came and I dropped Rambo off at the vets. I couldn't go home and I didn't want to wait in the vet's office so I planted myself at the breakfast joint around the corner and started my clock watching.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Following way too many cups of coffee, the vet finally called. She said the surgery went well, Rambo is doing fine and I can come pick him up in a couple of hours. So I paid my extended breakfast bill and went to a Mexican place across the street for "lunch." Ninety minutes later, I couldn't take it anymore and I went into the vet's office just a little bit early.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The vet came out and talked to me about the surgery. She showed me a picture of the two nasty stones they took out of my dog's bladder. As you can see in the picture below, there are plenty of sharp, jagged edges to tear up his bladder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The vet sent the stones off for a biopsy to determine what kind of stones they are. Apparently bladder stones result from different types of imbalances so the stones can be formed from different substances. In Rambo's case, the stones turned out to be <i>Struvite </i>stones. Struvite stones are made up of "<span style="background-color: white;">t</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial";">riple phosphate and magnesium ammonium phosphate." They are usually formed when a diet rich in potatoes and grains is fed to a dog or cat. Rambo was on a vegetarian diet because he has protein allergies. The vet explained that a dog usually has to be genetically susceptible to forming struvite stones and crystals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The vet gave me a prescription for a special dog food (read: more expensive) that is formulated to prevent struvite crystals from forming in the urine. Rambo has had two follow-up urine tests to see if he still has crystals in his urine. Fortunately both tests have come back negative. I take him in for two more tests over the next six months. If his urine is clear of crystals at the one year mark we can consider putting him back on regular (non-vegetarian/grain-free) food and monitor him for another year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Finally they said they would bring Rambo out to me. Oh boy, he came out dragging his feet and looking totally miserable. He was also drugged up to the max for pain and could barely walk. To his chagrin, he was given The Cone of Shame to wear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All at once I was so happy to see him and so concerned about him at the same time I just sat on the floor with him and gave him some loving until the office staff insisted that I get up and sign their paperwork. They gave me antibiotics and pain meds for my poor dog then set us up with a follow up appointment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once we got home, Rambo pretty much slept the entire first 24 hours that he was home. If it wasn't for the fact that I had to get him up to pee and to drink water I would have just let him sleep it off. But now drinking and peeing were a priority for my fuzzy buddy and that is exactly what I will help him do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After a few day it was obvious he was feeling better but he sure was damn miserable up until then. He would sit on the sofa and just look like he felt awful. There was nothing I could do for him but be close and attend to his needs. He wanted to get up and go play fetch so bad I felt really bad for the little guy. He managed to make it a full two weeks with the cone. After his follow up appointment the vet said his incision was healed enough that he wouldn't harm it so off came the cone. But still no active play for a couple more weeks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you ever tried to entertain a dog that can't get outside to burn off some energy? I tried everything that I could to keep him engaged but he really just wanted to go outside and run. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The day he hit the date the vet said it would be safe for him to play again, we got up early and I drove Rambo to the beach and let him loose. There is nothing in this world that this dog enjoys more than running on the beach and splashing in the water. He is in a seriously good mood all day long if he gets some beach time in.</span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In a total act of compassion, I ended up in the emergency room not long after Rambo's surgery with severe abdominal pain. They discovered I had a diseased gall bladder with some fun looking stones of my own. Surgery was scheduled not long after Rambo's so I got fixed up as well. Thankfully, I didn't have to wear The Cone of Shame.</span><br />
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</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-75871511570927473982017-05-21T16:36:00.000-07:002017-05-21T16:56:09.504-07:00This is not the way I wanted to fire up this blog again!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These pages haven't seen any new word for a few months. For that I should apologize. Perhaps. The truth is, I have been unwilling and unable to sit at a keyboard and try to makes sense of everything Rambo and I have been through in the past 6 months. I will do my best in coming tales to bring you up to speed. Some of the things I am referring to deserve their own story and some can be clumped up one one simple title of "Well, Poop!" We have had many adventures, some good and a few just plain terrifying. Hopefully that whets your appetite sufficiently to read the missives to come.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let me address my absence. I will keep it simple. I've been preoccupied with various problems in my life that don't bear repeating in depth. Most of it is probably bigger in my mind than in reality and would likely bore you. I've also had some medical issues that have reared up unexpectedly but all is well now (as well as can be for a Gulf War Veteran anyway). Let me just say that an inflamed gallbladder is a nasty bit of business and can cause abdominal pain that definitely gets my attention. I had an infection in my spine that irritated a nerve that ran all the way down my arm. The pain ran down my arm and was excruciating. I barely slept for a week and my doctor refused to give me pain medication (for no apparent reason for which I have not let him forget!). Finally some heavy duty antibiotics took care of the problem. In all, that episode took most of a month in which I could barely lift my right arm to the keyboard without intense pain on top of my hand and forearm going numb. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Through all this, Rambo was a trooper. He snuggled up to me when he was able and otherwise annoyed the hell out of me while I was moaning in pain in his best attempt to distract me from the torture, keep me focused in reality and even put a smile on my face now and again. A dog like this, you can't buy with money. He's just a big, black furry ball of love and he never lets me forget it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now I have to address something that just happened to Rambo and I. Frustratingly, this is not the first time this has happened and I'm fairly confident that it will not be the last.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today I checked into a hotel in Spokane, Washington. We are just staying one night and I picked a decent hotel with a fair price. The hotel in question is the Madison Inn by Riversage, a fairly nice place by all reviews. Previous guests touted the nice service, decent rooms and the quiet location. Of course, no one wrote anything about service dogs. There really aren't that many of us, I suppose. All I know is that when I walked in with Rambo everything started going downhill faster than I could have ever expected.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Things actually went okay until it got to the, "and I see you have a pet" statement. I politely informed him that Rambo was my service dog. At this point, if he would have just kept his mouth shut, I would have been okay with whatever he did and would be none the wiser. But he had to say, "Well, I have you booked into the 4th floor. I'm going to have to move you down to the second floor {the pets allowed floor]. I asked if I could just stay in the room they had me in and that I would prefer not to be in the pet section as other dogs will distract my dog (and perhaps elicit the occasional bark which really try to avoid but Rambo's German Shepherd DNA comes out when I least prefer it).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At this point I got the "The hotel separates dogs from people with allergies" line. I've heard this too many times and my response just rolled off my tongue, "The ADA and the courts state that my right to have my service dog accompany me where I want to go trumps people's allergies. I would like to stay in the room you have me booked in."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At this point, the guy behind the desk got nasty, compete with the appropriate facial expression and said, "how would you like to just cancel your reservation?" I told him no and if he was going to discriminate that I would gladly call the police to spell it out to him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He continued, irate, and said, "So what am I supposed to do when I have to comp someone's room because of allergies?" I told him immediately and in no uncertain terms that was his responsibility and unequivocally not mine. I informed him that the law and courts have said that the business is responsible for moving guests with allergies as far away from the dog as is possible or desirable. I further volunteered that if he choses to segregate me and my service dog to a place that I do not wish to go that would be discrimination in which I could raise a civil suit. I also offered to help him with law if he wished to which he did not respond.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At that point he suddenly became Mr. Nice and continued to check me in. I don't know if it was what I said although I doubt it. I think he acquiesced because other guests had come into the lobby and I'm happy to have an audience when someone who clearly has no clue as to what the law says pertaining to service dogs starts to give me the run around. I am too well versed in the law and my options to allow anyone to discriminate against me or try to humiliate me in public ever again. I welcome the challenge but it is usually a battle of wits with an unarmed person and they get thrown to the mat in every instance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The final thing he says is, "I see you are in a King room. I've given you an upgrade." I said thank you and left it at that. When I got to my room, it is exactly the same type of room I booked, Perhaps the upgrade business was for the audience. Regardless, it was not an upgrade.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So once again I will have to write a letter to the management of the hotel, whether that is local or national, and explain to them the misunderstanding and ask them to please have someone from their law department please, please, please teach your employees about the ADA and subsequent court decisions that affect it. I will point out to them that hotels that have a knowledgeable staff never give me any problems when it comes to a simple room request. In fact, I am often greeted without any reference to my dog whatsoever until the desk clerk informs me that they put me in a room that should be convenient for me to take Rambo in and out as needed. They frequently add that, if I don't like that room location, that they will move me to wherever will best accommodate my needs. Its simple and easy to make a guest feel welcome with just a wee bit of knowledge. In any case, other than his attitude, I can't wholly blame the guy at the desk. That squarely lies on his management.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I should not have to start off my stay at a hotel with the front desk minion getting irate when I make a simple request. I'm not just paying good money for a room to sleep in. I'm paying for a staff that should treat me in a respectable manner as a paying customer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will end this rant here and if anything further comes of it, I will update things as they come along.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the next few days, I will share with you an experience with Rambo that flat out scared the hell out of me that ended up with Rambo in surgery. Blood, gore and guts coming to this blog soon!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have to add just one more thing. At some point, there will even be aerial photography!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-74320106298724195272016-11-08T02:14:00.001-08:002016-11-08T02:14:51.866-08:00Rambo tears the Trail Blazers to shreds!<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BbaWW0k7IZY" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen=""></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-14188507308323481142016-11-07T00:47:00.001-08:002016-11-07T00:47:02.056-08:00Hey Blazer fans, Rambo is a Suns Fan!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rambo really likes going to basketball games, especially if the Phoenix Suns are playing. Since we live in Portland we don't get to see the Suns play live very often. When they come to town Rambo always gets tickets and makes me take him to the game. He is a HUGE Devin Booker fan! Hell, he's a dyed in the wool Suns fan if there ever was one! He never misses a game on tv either. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In honor of the Suns coming to Portland and, seeing as the Suns (and Booker in particular) have beaten up on the Blazers so far this season, here's a little reminder for Trail Blazer fans just in case the bitter memory has faded all too quickly:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keep an eye out for a new video from Rambo tomorrow when he'll be showing you exactly what he thinks of the Portland Trail Blazers!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GO SUNS!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-78151040415241648312016-10-31T14:56:00.002-07:002016-10-31T14:56:36.355-07:00A Girl And Her Service Dog Head To The Supreme Court<h1 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-image: none !important; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Gotham SSm", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: -0.00625em; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/10/31/499876610/a-girl-and-her-service-dog-head-to-the-supreme-court" target="_blank">A Girl And Her Service Dog Head To The Supreme Court</a></span></span></h1>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are very few days that go by that I don't hear about, see or personally experience the wretched disregard and outward disdain for service dogs and their handlers. The majority of the time this draws my ire and gives rise to the impetus for educating the ignorant and putting the downright offensive imbeciles in their place. Other times I find the way people with service dogs are treated just breaks my heart. The story below is one that really tugged on my heartstrings. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope the Supreme Court does the right thing and upholds this girls rights. It is unfortunate that the peoples behavior towards service dog teams lean towards the extreme. Either they don't want the dog around or they want to smother the dog with attention and, ultimately, distraction from their job. (To the majority of humans who are in the middle and live and let live, thank you!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can click on the title link above to go directly to the story. I have also included the text below.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can bet I'll be keeping an eye on this case and will update here after the politically wounded Supreme Court comes up with a decision which is expected in June. Justice Sotomayor's comments during the hearing give me hope. Justice Sotomayor, when addressing the the representative for Napoleon Community Schools, stated, "I'm so confused by your position. I'm so horribly confused." I like that woman.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Here is another article that speaks about the Court's hearing: <b> </b><a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2016-10-31/supreme-court-hears-case-on-service-dogs-and-education" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Supreme Court Hears Case on Service Dogs in Schools</a> )</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/10/31/499876610/a-girl-and-her-service-dog-head-to-the-supreme-court" target="_blank"><b>A Girl And Her Service Dog Head To The Supreme Court</b></a></span></div>
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">October 31, 20165:00 AM ET</i><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Heard on NPR Morning Edition on OPB</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Nina Totenberg</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday takes up the case of a girl, her service dog and a school that barred the dog from its premises.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ehlena Fry was born with cerebral palsy, a condition that significantly limited her motor skills but not her cognitive ability. So when she was 5, her pediatrician recommended that her parents get a service dog to help her become more independent. Family and friends threw fundraisers to scrape together the $13,000 needed for the right dog, and in 2009, Ehlena and her parents went to Ohio to train for two weeks with their new goldendoodle, a cuddly, big white pup named Wonder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Frys had talked to Ehlena's school about the dog, but when Ehlena brought Wonder to class with her, she was told the service dog was not allowed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">School officials have refused to talk about the case, but their legal position is that under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the district was already paying for an aide to help Ehlena physically in school and that the dog was unnecessary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ehlena's parents replied that the dog was not part of their daughter's education plan. He was intended to help her perform more functions by herself, to make her grow stronger and more independent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having a service dog for Ehlena, they maintain, is akin to having a service dog for a blind student instead of requiring the student to navigate the school by holding on to the arm of a teacher.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wonder was trained to hit handicap buttons for her, to open and close doors, to pick up items she dropped, and perhaps most importantly, to stabilize her so that she could make transfers from a chair to a walker, or from a"One of our whole goals in getting Wonder for her was that eventually, the more she was able to use Wonder and navigate her environment, that she would need the aide less and less," says Ehlena's mother, Stacy Fry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Early in the dispute, after mediation, the school agreed to a 30-day trial with Wonder, but Stacy Fry says the dog was not permitted to sit with Ehlena in class or to go with her to the lunchroom.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of our whole goals in getting Wonder for her was that eventually, the more she was able to use Wonder and navigate her environment, that she would need the aide less and less.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ehlena's mother, Stacy Fry </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">says the 30-day trial, in fact, was marked by one hostile act after another. "There was so much animosity," she says.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She says that Ehlena and Wonder were even required to demonstrate a toilet transfer with adults from the school watching, an experience that Stacy Fry says was devastating and traumatic for her daughter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the 30-day trial, the school returned to its no-dog policy. Although Wonder is a hypoallergenic breed, the school said among other things that two children and one teacher were allergic to dogs, and that one child had a dog phobia because he had previously been attacked by a dog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the Frys home-schooled Ehlena and then transferred her to another school district where Wonder was welcomed with open arms. He went to class with Ehlena and to lunch. He was in the staff section of the yearbook. He had his own ID card. He was in the class picture. And, says Ehlena's mother, the relationship between dog and kid was integrated into the school seamlessly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"It was amazing, and they were so accepting," Fry observes. "It was such a teaching tool, for the other kids."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Frys sued the old school district under the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal laws. They sought unspecified money damages for the emotional distress they say their daughter suffered before transferring to the new school district. walker to a toilet seat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ehlena's mother says the suit is not about money, but is meant to forge a path for other children with service animals "so that they don't have to have what happened to my daughter happen to their child."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"That is success for us," Stacy Fry says.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Represented by the ACLU, the Frys want the Supreme Court to declare that, when disabled children are prevented from having qualified service animals at school, they and their parents can go directly to federal court.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the school district, backed by the National School Boards Association, argues that to allow such suits could cost school districts millions of dollars. They note that 6 million disabled children are covered by the law that guarantees individualized special education for disabled children, and that that law requires parents to exhaust administrative appeals before going to court to challenge an education plan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So far, the Frys have lost in the lower courts, as have parents like them in most parts of the country. But now their case is before the Supreme Court.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ehlena will be there, with Wonder. The goldendoodle, after seven years of hard mobility work, has retired to a pet's life. Ehlena, now 12, is in middle school.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"He helped her bridge that gap," Ehlena's mother observes. "Working with him helped her to learn how to not need him as much."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A decision in the case is expected by summer.</span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-49624581206015997302016-10-10T16:19:00.000-07:002016-10-10T16:32:55.309-07:00Advice from a trainer: Don't talk to the service dogs<h2>
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<a href="http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/story/news/local/2016/10/05/advice-trainer-dont-talk-service-dogs/91611934/" target="_blank">Advice from a trainer: Don't talk to the service dogs</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I realize this is most likely a waste of electrons but this bears repeating because it seems the majority of people think I'm lucky because I get to bring my "pet" with me everywhere I go. What they don't understand is that I wouldn't be "everywhere" if I didn't have my "pet" with me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When unthinking (nee STUPID) people <i>constantly</i> distract my dog, particularly in crowds where I'm already on edge, it becomes extremely frustrating and can trigger a panic attack (and I promise you won't like my attitude when I'm trying to get you to leave us alone!). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Isn't it enough that you all point and stare like I can't see you? How many idiot parents do I have to walk away from while they teach their kids that its okay to point and stare at disabled people? ("Look at the dog Susie, look at the doggy!") I already have to put up with employees and managers at hotels, stores and restaurants that have no idea how to deal with a service dog team (i.e. they have no clue as to what the law actually says). Can't you just leave us alone when we are walking through a throng of people with our own agenda which doesn't include being stopped so you can molest my dog while I wish I was anywhere but where you are? I bet if I walked up and did the same thing to your child that you do to my dog you'd be calling the cops in a heartbeat. You won't put up with sort of thing, why should we have to endure it?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Would you walk up to someone in a wheelchair and start petting their wheelchair? Same thing applies to my service dog who is, in fact, medical equipment. I get it, you're a dog person. So am I. But please leave your dog tactile fetish for your own canines and leave my dog alone already.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If the tone of this writing doesn't penetrate the skull of the people who think I bring my dog out for their enjoyment then I will put it in simple terms: please leave my dog and I alone when we are out in public. I'm really tired of it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don't take it from me, read what a professional service dog trainer has to say about it:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/story/news/local/2016/10/05/advice-trainer-dont-talk-service-dogs/91611934/" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">Advice from a trainer: Don't talk to the service dogs</a></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-83512232504353270372016-08-31T19:58:00.001-07:002016-08-31T20:23:21.597-07:00SUPERPOWER DOGS: A movie about Man's Greatest Hero!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.cosmicpicture.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdA95X1bBECroVJG51joo0NpxqK_qfVV6emJA_rwZpAQFTIRF3k4BBC0xLFLx1M4PFHDx2tt4-qHwoxTOCfLJFFAdwgrn-xJHCP1hlkhGzkkRRUo5RurMv3H8Bi_O7I4wZ7Y6zeMch6BhT/s640/facebook-share.jpg" width="640"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.cosmicpicture.com/" target="_blank">Cosmic Pictures</a> is creating a 3D IMAX movie about the real heroes in our lives: our dogs!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to their announcement on <a href="http://prefundia.com/projects/view/superpower-dogs/10081/?mc_cid=bfc087c0aa&mc_eid=fd500e6fdb" target="_blank">Prefundia</a>, "</span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SUPERPOWER DOGS is an epic 3D live action movie for IMAX® and giant screen theaters about amazing dogs who fight crime, save lives and make our world a better place. Produced in association with the California Science Center, SUPERPOWER DOGS...</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">will showcase the heroic accomplishments of search and rescue, therapy and medical detection dogs and the science behind their extraordinary abilities in a way that people have never experienced or understood. Our goal is to deepen people’s appreciation for these remarkable animals, celebrate the profound bond between us, and build a stronger foundation of support for working dogs around the world.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">"</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pretty cool, huh?!?</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cosmic Pictures is going to crowd fund the movie on <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/" target="_blank">Indiegogo</a> in the very near future. Their campaign isn't live yet but if you go to their <a href="http://prefundia.com/projects/view/superpower-dogs/10081/?mc_cid=bfc087c0aa&mc_eid=fd500e6fdb" target="_blank">Prefundia page</a> and enter your email address they will let you know when the campaign launches. Then, if you are so inclined, you can pitch in a few bucks to help make a move that will really bring awareness to the average folk about dogs, their behaviors and, most importantly, the jobs they do for us.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dogs have been by Man's side for 15,000 years. We've genetically developed over 400 pure breeds from the mighty wolf. Most of those breeds were developed to fit a certain need for our ancestors. From guard dogs to shepherds to rat killers, dogs have helped man survive through the ages. Hopefully this movie will be the fitting tribute they deserve.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cosmic Pictures </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">will donate 20% of the film’s profits, and the profit of their upcoming Indiegogo campaign, to working dog organizations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take a minute and go check out their <a href="http://prefundia.com/projects/view/superpower-dogs/10081/?mc_cid=bfc087c0aa&mc_eid=fd500e6fdb" target="_blank">Prefundia page</a>. While you're there, be sure to sign up for their Indiegogo campaign launch. It would be awesome if everyone would pitch in but if you sign up you aren't under any obligation for anything and you can keep track of the movie's progress and launch date. You can also follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (see the poster below).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I already ordered Rambo's Superdog outfit for opening night! Then again, he doesn't need a cape for me to know that he's my hero!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-4350104075877737332016-08-24T12:42:00.000-07:002017-01-05T14:54:06.718-08:00An Open Letter to the Woman Who Thinks I Abuse My Dog<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First off, I must apologize for giving you the impression that I was abusing my dog. I appreciate your concern.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On that same note, shame on you for not having the mental fortitude and courage of person to speak to me directly. I could have cleared things up right on the spot instead of having to take the time out of my day to explain it here. I suppose it is easier to go behind my back after sufficient time to embellish the perceived horror and complain to someone who also has better things to do than make phone calls to me to tell me someone didn't have the fortitude to approach me in light of such perceived heinous cruelty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wouldn't normally bother worrying about the opinions of someone who is obviously ignorant to the facts but you tarnished my reputation and upset me to the point of tears. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo and I have been together for roughly 22 months. You saw us together for maybe two minutes. So you jumped to a conclusion based on observing us only 0.000002% of the total time this dog and I have been together. That is an awfully small sampling size of information by which to pass judgement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My point is, you don't know me and you don't know my dog. You know nothing of our backgrounds and apparently you didn't take into account the fact that I was in a VA hospital and maybe there was a whole lot more going on in my day besides my dog getting out of control that I had to contend with.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo and I have formed a strong bond and I assure you that this dog is far from being abused. He is pampered, spoiled, loved on and tended to with all the love and attention that I can give him. In return he gives me the same. When we are at home he is almost constantly near me. If he is not sitting at my feet, he is curled up next to me with his head on my lap. This dog sleeps with his head on my chest when he isn't curled up, pushing his body up against mine. Rambo has the best preventative health care plan and veterinary insurance that money can buy. He is fed nothing but high quality dog foods and treats. He has a plethora of toys that we regularly use together. He is equipped with every canine safety device I can find. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He has a safety harness tethered into my car's seat belt system so we're both protected in case of a crash. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He has three pairs of boots (complete with boot liners), three coats (one down coat for the cold, a cooling coat for summer and a rain coat), a floatation vest, a GPS tracker, LED collars and the list goes on. There is nothing that leaves this dog wanting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo is a very unique dog. I'm sure anyone can say that about their dog but Rambo truly does have some traits that are unique for a dog in his position. The most important thing to consider is that, before Joy brought Rambo into her training program, he was rescued from an unfortunate situation where he was abused and neglected as a puppy. This has left some very deep and lasting scars on his psyche. It affects him in a profound manner to this very day. When I brought Rambo home it became very clear that he was deathly afraid when an adult male human raised his voice in his direction. This very thing happened on Rambo's first day in his new home. He tried to snatch a bit of my dinner that I had left on a plate next to my chair. When I saw him going after the plate I simply gave him a sharp, "Rambo, No!" Instead of just getting down, which he does now just fine, he ran to the front door and cowered, his eyes darting back and forth, searching for an escape from what he thought was the physical punishment to follow. That absolutely broke my heart. I got on the floor and called him over to me. He literally crawled across the floor expecting me to hit him. When I put my arms around him and told him it was okay I saw this dogs entire body relax. He stood up and started wagging his tail and he looked genuinely relieved that he avoided any physical punishment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From that day on I have been very cognizant of how he reacts to me and I purposely work towards stopping that behavior whenever it arises. Over time Rambo has grown and matured. He no longer goes off like a fire alarm when someone knocks at the door. Instead he gives one bark and goes to the door, as he has been taught, to let me know someone is there. Now, if I raise my voice, instead of running away, he comes to me and gets right in my face to calm me down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As well as anyone, I wholly understand what it is like to live through life-changing traumatic events. It has tortured my soul for years and my life was empty until Rambo came along and helped me live again. I know the fear and panic he feels when a situation triggers the ever lingering open wounds of past trauma. I know what it is to go into a blind rage and lose all control (something Rambo never lets happen anymore!). I know that there is little that can bring me out of that dark place where I have no choice but to scream at the ghosts and demons to chase them away. It is a terrifying place to go to and it is hard to come back from without someone being persistent in their endeavor to bring me back down into reality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have seen this same rage and loss of control in Rambo too many times. I am certain that he was not only abused by human hands but that there were other dogs that, if they did not physically attack him, frightened him sufficiently that he carries an uncontrollable fear of unfamiliar dogs with him to this day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I don't know exactly what you saw or think you saw at the VA hospital but what Joy described to me didn't fit the facts that I remember from that day. For one, Rambo never barked in my presence while at the hospital. I do know that he barked after we were separated, calling for me as I have seen him do before but I was nowhere near him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I know what I saw and what I did in response was not in any way out of line when the totality of circumstances is taken into account. This is, by the way, where you failed to get the whole picture before drawing illogical conclusions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Twice that day Rambo encountered other dogs rather unexpectedly. Usually, if I can get in front of his behavior, he will mark the dog and we will proceed as quickly as we can away from the other dog and that will be the end of it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I can't remove Rambo from the other dog and he perceives the other dog to be a threat, he can and will become entirely uncontrollable. He becomes so frightened of the other dog that the only thing he can do is try to aggressively chase the other dog away. When he gets into this mode I can see the fear and the loss of control in his eyes. I can feel him using every muscle in his body to direct his efforts at challenging the other dog. It is hard for me to see him get like this because I can empathise. I can also intellectualize my fears but Rambo doesn't have that luxury. All he has left is to act in the only way he knows how. Unfortunately, that is wholly inappropriate behavior for a service dog and he only gets away with it because I take immediate action to curb the behavior. This is not an easy task, I assure you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo is 85 solid pounds of fit, healthy and strong young adult male dog. He can easily overpower me when he wants to and has done so on more than just a few occasions. I have had to deal from the onset with his behavioral problems when around strange dogs. Joy and her staff have even worked with me to help train him out of this behavior. Much of the time the techniques that they taught me will work. Things such as distracting him with treats or a rubber ball often work but only if I see the other dog first and manage to get Rambo distracted well before he spots the other dog. If he sees the other dog first, particularly if the dog is very close, all bets are off. Believe me, I've faced the embarrassment of trying to shove a treat in my dogs mouth only to have him spit it out and continue on his mission to chase the other dog away. I've looked foolish more than once with an out of control dog in one hand and an rubber ball in the other with the dog not even acknowledging the ball. I've found myself more than once in a helpless panic as my violently pulling dog has shaken himself free from his Halti with only an eighth of an inch strip of cloth keeping him from breaking free and causing who knows what kind of damage. That little piece of cloth holding him to his leash is not the least bit reassuring as I've seen this dog break loose from a metal chain leash without even missing a step. This leaves me little choice but to grab the dog by the collar and/or vest and physically drag him away from the other dog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Keep in mind that this sort of behavior is quick to draw a crowd and I can feel the stare of a thousand pair of eyes as they burn holes through me. I can hear the thoughts of an otherwise silent crowd wondering why my service dog is behaving like a crazed animal. The entire situation is bad for both of us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When this sort of behavior occurs, I have very little choice but to be physical with my dog. He is very difficult to get under control given his strength and the driving force of his deep seated fears. If that is what you saw then I understand why you thought he was being abused. My actions were, in fact, totally necessary to keep my dog under control. What may have looked like a dog under control to you was not what was happening. You couldn't feel him still pulling against his Halti over and over. You couldn't see his eyes that were straining in their sockets to look back at the other dog. You had no idea how this dog can go from a down to yanking at his leash to get away. I do know, however, exactly what this dog is capable of and I have to work very hard to keep him under control in this situation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To make matters worse, the VA hospital is the last place on earth I need my service dog to misbehave. It is bad enough that I have to get my care from a federal institution that is busy putting up more barriers to service dogs than is reasonable, I don't need them banishing my dog because he is going crazy in a public space in VA grounds. There is a whole lot more at stake for me than worrying about whether you think the effort it takes to keep my dog under control is what you consider proper. If you have read this with an open mind then you should now know that your assessment of the situation was incorrect and that your lack of courage to speak up to me directly has put me on the spot as a bad dog parent which is entirely untrue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Under almost any other conditions, Rambo is exemplary in his behavior and tenor. I have the utmost confidence in his ability to follow commands and to understand my various forms of communication. He is, bar none, the most well behaved house dog I have ever known. He never chews on anything that isn't specifically given to him for that purpose. He doesn't ever get up on the counters without being told to do so, he rarely barks (and is the reason I acutely remember when he does so) and he never makes any sort of mess. The only disagreement we have is who the neck pillow shaped like a giant dog bone belongs to and who the bed actually belongs to. Other than that, we get along together in perfect harmony. Neither one of us are ever lacking in attention from the other. We are so tuned in to each others moods and feelings that often there are no words needed. I think there is nothing cuter than Rambo after a day's adventure, waiting at the foot of my bed and encouraging me to hurry up for our afternoon nap. He knows my routines better than I do and has bought into everything I do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo is well trained beyond the tasks required of him from Assistance Dogs International (ADI). On command, Rambo will search the entire house for me which is very useful when I come home to find the door ajar (which has happened). He retrieves my medicine on command. He can turn on and off the lights. He can wave bye-bye. He can retrieve each one of his toys by name. In fact, I've documented over 60 words or commands that Rambo understands. There are certainly many more words and non-verbal cues that he understands that I have either not noted or he is using without my awareness. My point being, I could not train this dog in so many tasks without providing him with a positive, happy, even fun environment in which to learn. A mistreated doesn't respond like Rambo does. Rambo is a happy, loving dog who has an unfortunate traumatic past which we are both still learning to live through. There is no easy or quick fix to overcome PTSD. It is a constant learning experience, one that is often overwhelming and deeply affects those around us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Feel free to respond here openly and honestly. The damage you've sown has already been reaped. You can't make me feel any worse, I assure you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">UPDATE: Yes, I heard you yesterday at the VA hospital. That was extremely rude of you to walk by me and say "poor dog." Next time I will NOT keep my civility and I WILL call you out in front of everybody. Bitch.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-9057095484059411512016-07-29T16:58:00.000-07:002016-07-29T17:32:37.154-07:00International Assistance Dog Week (IADW), August 2-8, 2016. Theme: Fake Assistance Dogs Cause Legitimate Harm!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It will soon be <a href="http://www.assistancedogweek.org/" target="_blank">International Assistance Dog Week </a>(IADW) (August 7-13, 2016). <i>(<span style="color: yellow;">Bonus: </span> there are coupons for dog gear on their web page! Click on the link to get up to 25% on Kurgo lifetime guaranteed dog gear plus others!!!)</i> Assistance Dogs International (ADI) will be working with their affiliates worldwide to help curb fraudulent service dogs. Speaking of "worldwide......."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.....Australia and Canada have tougher standards for identifying service dogs in public than the United States. The US law for service dogs, found in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), are vague and easily abused by people who want to take their pets or emotional support dogs into restaurants, stores, etc. Many of them probably don't think about the harm they are doing to people with well trained, and often certified, service dogs. I'm not going to expound on the problem as there is a plethora of articles on the internet about people abusing service dog access.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Perhaps it is a form of discrimination to require legitimate service dogs be certified and that a record of the certification be available since that will zero in on people with disabilities. Well, I don't think it would be that much of a sacrifice if it stopped the ignorant people from bringing their untrained dogs into stores who then misbehave in a variety of manners. I don't think it is any more of a hassle than producing a driver's license during a traffic stop, showing identification to prove age in a bar and a hundred other instances where a person is required to prove their eligibility for various things such as driving, drinking, getting on an airplane and verifying your identity when using your credit card. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwiIw71LREIuMHZ9uxId-juGokbmky169GGr79F-iSvwUHuVDVJ3mWKwvQGfUwupXEvo89eriENb3cz6tykCNlsfKySKuzklI_Q9VLVgaTCgbmv0-0wzjTpM7y-tZtS4TCmOo0MTxtbXBC/s1600/IMG_20160321_190051793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwiIw71LREIuMHZ9uxId-juGokbmky169GGr79F-iSvwUHuVDVJ3mWKwvQGfUwupXEvo89eriENb3cz6tykCNlsfKySKuzklI_Q9VLVgaTCgbmv0-0wzjTpM7y-tZtS4TCmOo0MTxtbXBC/s320/IMG_20160321_190051793.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo's JLAD coat.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu173Y97NE7QNNrHW4Aw20gb2UKgzrW630DcGmEmxoRuOrWPMhZLJ1W-ADJO9FVTTfCXv-rozB-kdbadjSi8l5FGgUCIoTyqrNBpPXp_IPeaqEhZTwdy5Z1g9fFS5xXbw4k6fR5QbGP8ha/s1600/IMG_20160321_190105798.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu173Y97NE7QNNrHW4Aw20gb2UKgzrW630DcGmEmxoRuOrWPMhZLJ1W-ADJO9FVTTfCXv-rozB-kdbadjSi8l5FGgUCIoTyqrNBpPXp_IPeaqEhZTwdy5Z1g9fFS5xXbw4k6fR5QbGP8ha/s320/IMG_20160321_190105798.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I swear this is in English!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am fortunate that Rambo's training organization, The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs (JLAD), is certified by Assistance Dogs International (ADI). Rambo is required to pass an ADI public access test then, assuming he passes, is issued an identification card with a photo of us together, the organization's information and the fact that Rambo is ADI certified. They also provided Rambo with a working dog vest with a clear window to display his certification card. (No, I'm not publishing a hi-res photo of his JLAD/ADI card for anyone to duplicate. Get your own the hard way!) His vest is also custom embroidered with the JLAD logo. You can't buy this vest from some scrupulous web site. It is only available to JLAD graduates. The design of the vest makes it very obvious to those who choose to actually read the information on it that this vest comes from a legitimate training organization However, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> the "Do Not Pet" warning is apparently written in Swahili and totally unintelligible to the average American!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am proud to say that, more than anything else, Rambo's exceptional behavior in public also serves to separate him from the fraudulent service dogs. I frequently receive compliments about how well behaved Rambo is when we are out and about. I also get nice comments from people when they see that Rambo is well cared for. From his grooming to the hearing protection he wears and the boots that keep his feet from burning on hot pavement, people tell me that they are glad to see me taking the extra steps to protect Rambo from the elements. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdu4N0ZP2_F13Wwx1gpy1ZkVqTEQTE9J8qcy2yvWvDCmqfr2Me2EuakgP9JyY5lFDjrpsqo1npRufAo3Zg3tjGyXIX1slnKGL7jC0eqkqs9cjVodGnt-FC2tUysfCZIfw7VUxAgBUAnIzf/s1600/Rambo+on+the+coast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdu4N0ZP2_F13Wwx1gpy1ZkVqTEQTE9J8qcy2yvWvDCmqfr2Me2EuakgP9JyY5lFDjrpsqo1npRufAo3Zg3tjGyXIX1slnKGL7jC0eqkqs9cjVodGnt-FC2tUysfCZIfw7VUxAgBUAnIzf/s640/Rambo+on+the+coast.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo rockin' his JLAD vest and safety harness on the California coast.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My point to all this is that I think <i><span style="color: yellow;">it is time for this country to amend the ADA and require service dogs be certified by ADI through their public access test.</span></i> I doubt most dog owners would take the time or even be able to train their dogs sufficiently to pass the ADI test. Rambo received thousands of hours of training from a multitude of trainers to be able to pass the test and I constantly keep him on his toes with continued training. In fact, he has to go back to JLAD next year to pass another public access test to keep his ADI certification current. I'm totally for that!</span></div>
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<span style="color: yellow; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I think there should be tougher penalties for fraudulent service dog owners.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: yellow;"><i>I think there should be a law forbidding the sale of generic service dog vests and other service dog identification.</i> </span> The sale of such items should be allowed only to certified service dog teams after providing proof of passing the ADI public access test. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most of all there needs to be a massive federal information campaign about fraudulent service dogs. There should be an employer's guide to dealing with dogs that enter their premises.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is an example of how just a little bit of education can go a long way: A month or so ago, Rambo and I visited the restaurant at the Full Sail brewery in Hood River, OR. When we walked up to the dining room hostess, she asked me what kind of service dog that Rambo was. I told her that he was primarily a PTSD service dog but he provides other services as well. The young lady looked perplexed then excused herself while she went to ask someone else what she should do. She came back and showed us to our seat. I was grateful that this did not turn into an access issue. After we were seated I pulled out a little card I carry that outlines the ADA service dog provisions, explaining what a business can and cannot do or say. It is meant to be educational tool so I gave one of the cards to the hostess. I told her that she seemed hesitant because she was unsure of what to do. My favorite line to use in this case is, "since your management has not educated you on how to deal with service dog teams, take a look over this card when you get a chance and you will be armed with the information you need. When you are done with it, please pass it on to your manager."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We went back a few weeks later and this time the hostess (a different person) looked down at a card that was posted on her lectern and she read off the two questions that the ADA allows and, satisfied with my answers, guided us to our table. Very well done!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I don't know for certain that my giving that card (see below) to the first hostess is what actually triggered giving the hostesses at least the proper script to keep them legal but I have to commend Full Sail for taking the proper steps in a positive direction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is the front and back of the cards that I carry with me:</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjXwPZ0koB1da493r-27i_hV2XoxCTd66Ubwb_il7xxN6LOEAZQwcqqpnRzV9JYNWdLing82rpVjzd_bq9RKiBE4XXyZDVwyiMtZ0J6LSty1caeuH30TL-bP1wOv17g45PkasTegzd3Ir/s1600/ADA+Service+Dog+Law+Card-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjXwPZ0koB1da493r-27i_hV2XoxCTd66Ubwb_il7xxN6LOEAZQwcqqpnRzV9JYNWdLing82rpVjzd_bq9RKiBE4XXyZDVwyiMtZ0J6LSty1caeuH30TL-bP1wOv17g45PkasTegzd3Ir/s640/ADA+Service+Dog+Law+Card-001.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUferuB7o7rTtINHtjphtuNwtM2metFss6dJP4F4bY6mUMcQkEzrShGwLB4CUbvn7IS5ZB8Ukd-7nb5R1DKolBwMQzGNKt8IXEXn7BllRzW01m6V73Dn1qHP1KIFbl7LXejZHQsNZhffd/s1600/Service+Dog+Card+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTUferuB7o7rTtINHtjphtuNwtM2metFss6dJP4F4bY6mUMcQkEzrShGwLB4CUbvn7IS5ZB8Ukd-7nb5R1DKolBwMQzGNKt8IXEXn7BllRzW01m6V73Dn1qHP1KIFbl7LXejZHQsNZhffd/s640/Service+Dog+Card+back.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96G36fW5K_delP5CPTENKJK7RE9CaR1idVrEvIqzZYumDhw1onO1K1oNpgFdbCczOUpGqxrk4H4Ntbp8rMCLgpfph43GtpFcFD2XALVpQcZc63lVIOqUSJmi7pkHpA7E-16akid391nWJ/s1600/Security+Guard+Stops+Dogs.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96G36fW5K_delP5CPTENKJK7RE9CaR1idVrEvIqzZYumDhw1onO1K1oNpgFdbCczOUpGqxrk4H4Ntbp8rMCLgpfph43GtpFcFD2XALVpQcZc63lVIOqUSJmi7pkHpA7E-16akid391nWJ/s640/Security+Guard+Stops+Dogs.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.pressreleaserocket.net/fake-assistance-dogs-cause-legitimate-harm/473745/" target="_blank"><br />
</a></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.pressreleaserocket.net/fake-assistance-dogs-cause-legitimate-harm/473745/" target="_blank">I</a> will get off my soapbox now and let you read about International Assistance Dog Week (IADW), August 2-8 and what ADI and affiliated training organizations are doing worldwide to protect legitimate assistance dog public access (Click links below!):</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.pressreleaserocket.net/fake-assistance-dogs-cause-legitimate-harm/473745/" target="_blank"><br />
</a></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.pressreleaserocket.net/fake-assistance-dogs-cause-legitimate-harm/473745/" target="_blank">Fake Assistance Dogs Cause Legitimate Harm</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.assistancedogweek.org/" target="_blank">International Assistance Dog Week (IADW), August 2-8, 2016</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks for taking the time to read this post! Comments are welcome! Please subscribe here and at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/studyinlight" target="_blank">Rambo's YouTube Channel! </a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img alt=" Rambo's YouTube Channel" border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkWSGqyB3JaHzZX0jKOBTdThAUbhOpfksePyFzpTAvltt3gICyG_6BG3DdASxCHCUN1GgU89TN4pM3ayyyAH5WlUEiJ1TqCGWfP2Wi67Tcf28RGyH-kh8smwZDgu-AbI0sSw7U4mllBHD/s640/Rambo+YouTube+4.jpg" width="640" /></span><br />
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<i><span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo is a JLAD Dog! He comes from The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs (JLAD) in Salem, Oregon. They are an <a href="http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/" target="_blank">Assistance Dogs International (ADI)</a> accredited organization that is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to raising and training assistance dogs and placing them in positions of service, including veteran's with PTSD.</span></span></i><br />
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<i style="color: #ffd966;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Joy St. Peter, Founder and Director</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>(503) 551-4572</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Mail:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>PO Box 12023</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Salem OR 97309</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>E-Mail<a href="mailto:info@joydogs.com" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>info@joydogs.org</a></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.joydogs.org/index.php" target="_blank">The Joys of Living Assistance (JLAD) web site</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.facebook.com/JLADjoydogs" target="_blank">The JLAD Facebook page</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.joydogs.org/index.php" target="_blank">The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs</a></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdsnz-ojW2Zxxe2CNNXURIba9J74kB02Z-IIDY0wMhmIAwYxXvwaMXTLXq8fM0MJfgB8_GgvmMqMSPmQ3mI-m5XEOZPHeI6uMabT4uptqbRy1-GvanQ1HG2qd2cNZwagHddFOeFd0EzE5y/s1600/JLAD+Logo+-+Edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdsnz-ojW2Zxxe2CNNXURIba9J74kB02Z-IIDY0wMhmIAwYxXvwaMXTLXq8fM0MJfgB8_GgvmMqMSPmQ3mI-m5XEOZPHeI6uMabT4uptqbRy1-GvanQ1HG2qd2cNZwagHddFOeFd0EzE5y/s200/JLAD+Logo+-+Edited.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-82936835858764549572016-06-24T19:02:00.001-07:002016-06-24T19:11:52.967-07:00Kickstarter Alert! - Kloudline: The World's Lightest Dog Leash<h2 class="normal mb1" style="border: 0px; color: #020621; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Liberation Sans", FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 32px; font-stretch: inherit; font-weight: normal; line-height: 40px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1051815773/kloudline-the-worlds-lightest-dog-leash/description" style="background-color: black;" target="_blank">Kloudline: The World's Lightest Dog Leash</a></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having a service dog and going out in public means being ready for any dog related emergencies that can crop up. That explains why I have poop bags, dog treats and treat bags stashed everywhere. If I get in the car and realize I've forgotten something, no problem. There is probably a spare one in the trunk. Rambo has his own suitcase when we travel and it has an extra of everything I can carry: leash, collar, boots, bowls, water bottles.....you get the idea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I learned very quickly that Rambo can bite through a nylon leash in an instant whether he means to or not. We were in San Francisco to get some tests done at the VA hospital there. Rambo's leash inadvertently got stuck in his mouth and it only took him a couple of bites to turn a six foot leash into two utterly useless three foot leash halves, leaving me with a loose dog on VA ground (eek!). Ever since I have kept a lightweight leash in his pack. Unfortunately, no matter how light the leashes have been they always managed to add too much weight to his working coat and make it lean to one side.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today I was scouring Kickstarter for new pet campaigns and came upon <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1051815773/kloudline-the-worlds-lightest-dog-leash/description" target="_blank">Kloudline</a>. They have designed two lightweight but strong leashes: The Minimus and the Ultralight. I jumped on an Ultralight leash that weighs in at less than an ounce! The Minimus is similar to the Ultralight but it comes with a nice, printed polyester webbing handle on the human end. The Minimus comes in at just a hair over an ounce so you'll have a light but strong leash whenever you need it.</span><br />
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<img height="273" src="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/012/744/936/6c8ead5a15830e041aecdc70a9ecb646_original.jpg?w=680&fit=max&v=1465940860&auto=format&q=92&s=781f66e7279c32b2e7f107b153d342dc" width="640" /><br />
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<a href="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/012/840/599/9e8b3b5f044a7ea3f01226d03e61706f_original.jpg?w=680&fit=max&v=1466703407&auto=format&q=92&s=1198d72fafd59312b37d73a9657241fc" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/012/840/599/9e8b3b5f044a7ea3f01226d03e61706f_original.jpg?w=680&fit=max&v=1466703407&auto=format&q=92&s=1198d72fafd59312b37d73a9657241fc" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The leash itself is made with a "braided rope called Dyneema® which is extremely strong and lightweight while maintaining a soft hand feel. Size for size, it is the same strength as steel." </span><br />
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<img height="360" src="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/012/777/286/ddb1c3f9698e5fb9d98c0176c096fe1a_original.gif?w=680&fit=max&v=1466184669&q=92&s=0020c6af042b43a9669343c6d369c96d" width="640" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can get the full low down on the campaign on Kickstarter at this link: <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1051815773/kloudline-the-worlds-lightest-dog-leash/description" target="_blank">Kloudline</a>. Pledge a few bucks for one of these leashes and help support a dog-centric endeavor!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Oh, here is another incentive for <i>me</i> to try Kloudline: Rambo broke a chain leash when he decided he wanted to play with a squirrel when we were at the lake. It took me totally by surprise. I was sitting on the bench reading something on my phone and the next thing I know there is a black blur going by my feet. My first thought was not to worry about it since Rambo was chained to the heavy bench with a leather and chain leash. Just as quickly I jumped up in surprise as that black blur turned into my dog running after a family of ground squirrels who weren't up for playing with a dog 50 times their size. To his credit, Rambo came right back to me immediately when called (with an eye over his shoulder for those pesky squirrels!). I was not happy when I realized that he broke the chain and didn't even skip a step.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC87Pb6JCSa3_8zNg9Zotd6vEUcY3t3wq9h2BW8zuBbEWF_tdweN5av8yBz686aPvHN8IOpwgcaTqlCa6Untqqo6jB8gG-oeBEUOR8a1ud_nkRoTZnZ7nGxG55A0Rcdws-hkPh_rjZWS9G/s1600/Broken+Chain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC87Pb6JCSa3_8zNg9Zotd6vEUcY3t3wq9h2BW8zuBbEWF_tdweN5av8yBz686aPvHN8IOpwgcaTqlCa6Untqqo6jB8gG-oeBEUOR8a1ud_nkRoTZnZ7nGxG55A0Rcdws-hkPh_rjZWS9G/s640/Broken+Chain.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The chain suffering from some rust from sitting in the trunk of my car didn't help matters.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo isn't a chewer so I don't worry about his chomping on this leash to get loose but I bet he'd make another dash for it if the squirrels tease him enough. I'd like to see if he can break this leash! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Poor squirrels.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">---------------------------</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><i><span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo is a JLAD Dog! He comes from The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs (JLAD) in Salem, Oregon. They are an <a href="http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/" target="_blank">Assistance Dogs International (ADI)</a> accredited organization that is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to raising and training assistance dogs and placing them in positions of service, including veteran's with PTSD.</span></span></i><br />
<i style="color: #ffd966; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></i><i style="color: #ffd966; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Joy St. Peter, Founder and Director</i><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>(503) 551-4572</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Mail:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>PO Box 12023</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Salem OR 97309</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>E-Mail<a href="mailto:info@joydogs.com" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>info@joydogs.org</a></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.joydogs.org/index.php" target="_blank">The Joys of Living Assistance (JLAD) web site</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.facebook.com/JLADjoydogs" target="_blank">The JLAD Facebook page</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.joydogs.org/index.php" target="_blank">The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs</a></i></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.joydogs.org/sponsors.php?donation=yes" target="_blank"><img alt="Donate to Joys of Living Assistance Dogs" border="0" src="http://www.joydogs.org/images/DonationBtn.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.joydogs.org/sponsors.php?donation=yes" target="_blank">Donations are encouraged!</a></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-37661800689183632752016-06-15T17:25:00.000-07:002016-06-15T17:26:19.256-07:00It's a Matter of Trust!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On a recent trip to visit my mother in Las Vegas we encountered a variety of people at the airport while we were waiting for our flight home who were either very helpful or very interested in Rambo. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First I have to say thank you to the fine employees of <a href="https://www.southwest.com/" target="_blank">Southwest Airlines</a>. The minute I walked through the airport door with my dog and lugging three suitcases a Southwest employee rushed over to help me. She didn't even know if I was a Southwest passenger and apparently that didn't make a difference. She grabbed my suitcases and asked where I was going. When I told her we were flying Southwest she took me directly to a ticket agent at the counter. It doesn't sound like much but it really was a major help at the time that came without request.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfuNp4d4ogmTpDbxo1rkObdO4Ic0XsYE1p_vaiAtlAPYP14SrFmyXgav8uuGMvQ4bIKcK2sT8xeENYa73tuNAk3nF684kiGDVzuujfc5VNgx9c9K1RpdxlqpNQV-X9TkvWZ8VBULufrhg/s1600/IMG_20150419_091707907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfuNp4d4ogmTpDbxo1rkObdO4Ic0XsYE1p_vaiAtlAPYP14SrFmyXgav8uuGMvQ4bIKcK2sT8xeENYa73tuNAk3nF684kiGDVzuujfc5VNgx9c9K1RpdxlqpNQV-X9TkvWZ8VBULufrhg/s640/IMG_20150419_091707907.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Rambo likes to look out the window during landings! (Note his hearing protection!)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukiqwumqGGJxqmkgUePXUtlLMxfzxRuD2SZWsyNQjMN1B3rQEzgFKUkb6By__37o1lMxKIgdTtJFsSGpK4Xp-kKNe2oFU8nAZwW9Lgnwc82I3N7UbdGFA0do5boJmFKqt43vscVNSjFso/s1600/IMG_20150419_091757545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukiqwumqGGJxqmkgUePXUtlLMxfzxRuD2SZWsyNQjMN1B3rQEzgFKUkb6By__37o1lMxKIgdTtJFsSGpK4Xp-kKNe2oFU8nAZwW9Lgnwc82I3N7UbdGFA0do5boJmFKqt43vscVNSjFso/s640/IMG_20150419_091757545.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Rambo watching out the window as we taxi into the gate. Almost potty break time!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbByKMSZxOulqv0ecQFRBPdiUMJI2MHxOc-mA1i2aN1qoStpUFw4nDogNLo4OoIxKmsiS_VYZLKzUKVD1wQg-9i_TypNUyuci1p31CKB0X4uD_vUeG-MG-1HDbU-aRSHJEhlJwjptz_xtG/s1600/IMG_20150409_052130500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbByKMSZxOulqv0ecQFRBPdiUMJI2MHxOc-mA1i2aN1qoStpUFw4nDogNLo4OoIxKmsiS_VYZLKzUKVD1wQg-9i_TypNUyuci1p31CKB0X4uD_vUeG-MG-1HDbU-aRSHJEhlJwjptz_xtG/s640/IMG_20150409_052130500.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Rambo has tucked himself nicely into the corner of the bulkhead.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the main reasons I fly Southwest Airlines, besides the low fares and friendly staff, is because of their seating policy. Southwest does not assign seats, only boarding order. Consequently they have no problem letting Rambo on the airplane first and holding a bulkhead window seat open for us. I've never had a single problem with the staff of Southwest and they have all welcomed Rambo with open arms. I really can't' ask for any more than that! Just try flying with an airline that not only has assigned seating but charges extra for prime seating and you will know what I'm talking about. The FAA regulations require that an airline allow service dogs and their handlers to sit in a bulkhead seat upon request. Sure, the FAA says that but just wait to hear who says what when a paying passenger is asked to move to another seat. Its probably not going to happen and then Rambo would have to squeeze into a space where I'm supposed to put my feet if there were even enough room for my feet to begin with. Thus, Southwest Airlines should be the official service dog airline.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now on to a short tale that Rambo's trainers should find very encouraging: While waiting to board at the Las Vegas airport for our return flight home several people became interested in Rambo. Some wanted to just visit with him and others wanted to know more about what he does for me. I welcome questions like that when I'm hanging around and waiting like everyone else. Its a good opportunity to educate people about service dogs and veterans with invisible wounds and it keeps Rambo well socialized.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">One visitor in particular really stands out. She was just a toddler, barely able to stand on her own. I just happened to stop to wait right next to her and her mother. The girl was on my right and Rambo was at a heel position in my left. The little girl started to get excited about Rambo's presence. She was pointing at Rambo, pulling on her mom's arm and making happy noises. So I brough Rambo up to this tiny girl. Face to face, Rambo outweighed this little one by 70 pounds and he has more teeth than she will ever have. Even if Rambo is just curious and bumps the girl with his nose he'll topple her over. That is just enough to scare a toddler and teach her to fear dogs and I certainly don't want that to happen!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was very aware of the hazards of putting this large dog up against a toddler. Partly because, when I brought Rambo home a year and a half ago, he would lunge at little children. He wouldn't bark, growl, show his teeth or any other defensive behavior. He would just jump at them. I don't know if he was trying to play or if he felt threatened because he was at eye level with another living creature who made direct eye contact with him. Regardless of the reason this was a behavior that I found wholly unacceptable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the advice of Rambo's trainers, I asked my friend to bring his little girl over and help me teach Rambo to behave properly. We did this a couple of times and it went well. I learned one trick very quickly which I will demonstrate shortly.</span></div>
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<i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back to the airport. </span></i></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So there was Rambo, standing face to face with this little girl. The first thing I did was to immediately give Rambo a "down/stay" command. This simple step removes the incidental danger of Rambo knocking the toddler down. Rambo also seems calmer when he is in this position. This is partly due to the fact that dogs recognize this as a submissive position. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After Rambo got down on the floor, I kneeled down at his side. I told Rambo to "be nice" which he understands after being told this every time he has ever chomped on my hand when getting a treat or showed any other kind of unintended aggressive behavior.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then I reminded Rambo to stay then told him to "visit," This let him know that he is now allowed to divert his attention from me and to greet whoever is in front of him or whoever I point to. He is always very good about this and, after about 30 seconds of getting loved on from a stranger, he will swing his attention back to me, awaiting whatever command I use to bring him back. Not only does this help keep Rambo socialized it often diverts the persons attention away from me which is helpful when I don't feel like talking to someone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo is now in a down position, stretching his neck to sniff the toddler and his tail in happy wag mode. Standing to Rambo's right is a woman who felt she needed to voice her opinion about the situation. Loud enough for the whole world to hear no less.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just as the mom of the toddler let the little girl get close enough to Rambo to pet her, the other woman said, "I wouldn't let my kid close to a dog like that!" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Ugh!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo was in full Service Dog gear with his JLAD vest and his bright red Halti. It wasn't like some unkempt Pit Bull was snarling and growling in this little child's face. Rambo was as calm as he could be and the little girls face was filled with wonder and joy. Even to the uniformed this wasn't a situation that screamed "Danger, Will Robinson!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I admit, her statement put me a little on the defensive. I found it hurtful and certainly uncalled for. I simply could not let her comment stand without saying <i>something</i>. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While the toddler was petting Rambo without incident I looked up at the woman with an obvious look of distaste on my face. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She had not only insinuated that my dog was a danger to this child, she denigrated my personal judgement. If I thought for one second that Rambo presented any sort of hazard to this cute little human being I would never let him anywhere near her. I don't want the child hurt and I don't need put myself in a liable position. But, I know I can trust my dog. That's more than I can say for a lot of humans I've known!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I looked up at the naysayer and made sure we made eye contact. Then I calmly informed this obviously uninformed person, "I am willing to trust my </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">life</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> to this dog. Trusting him to be gentle with this little girl isn't really asking all that much!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This didn't seem to phase her so I elaborated. "This dog comes from an accredited service dog organization. He is very well trained which requires a great deal of continual time and effort on both our parts. Please don't insult me or my dog when you don't understand the situation."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Obviously rebuked, she didn't say anything at all which was fine by me. Opening her mouth was what put her on the short end of the stupid stick in the first place. Hopefully now she is just a tiny bit more aware of the depth of a service dog's training. I know the people around her were certainly aware as I saw many give her the hairy eyeball glance after I spoke my mind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I might add that I was also just a little miffed that this woman had managed to divert my attention away from my dog when I should have been monitoring his behavior regardless of how much I trusted him. I wasn't worried that Rambo would do anything like bite the girl but the possibility still existed that he could accidentally overpower the little one just by standing up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">In the meantime, Rambo was wagging his tail as best as he could in a down position. The little girl was all smiles and giggles as she got to pet Rambo. I was very proud of my dog at that moment. Rambo and I have gone through a lot of training struggles. My heart always swells with love and pride when I see the effort to overcome those struggles come to fruition. His JLAD trainers have been involved with helping me with fine tuning Rambo's training from the very start and I know they are always just a phone call or email away if I ever have any questions. That gives me peace of mind knowing that, when it comes to dog training, I am not alone.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeN71pOjHSVRABp56b0rfhn71y0SLWpHDZJs8-cTP7Owuu0uURoVl4acgVNgKPOSL8mdJ-wZei9V8hCLA_f0UX4f-x9yGIoJJlsV0jZah9wdtv8ZvC7QyD8RQgT1PnVjOZsmGy6ssvVFL/s1600/OMM+Starbucks+12-13-2014-128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeN71pOjHSVRABp56b0rfhn71y0SLWpHDZJs8-cTP7Owuu0uURoVl4acgVNgKPOSL8mdJ-wZei9V8hCLA_f0UX4f-x9yGIoJJlsV0jZah9wdtv8ZvC7QyD8RQgT1PnVjOZsmGy6ssvVFL/s640/OMM+Starbucks+12-13-2014-128.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">A little guy visits with Rambo during a fundraiser for the Oregon Humane Society</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <i><span style="color: #ffd966; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo is a JLAD Dog! He comes from The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs (JLAD) in Salem, Oregon. They are an <a href="http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/" target="_blank">Assistance Dogs International (ADI)</a> accredited organization that is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to raising and training assistance dogs and placing them in positions of service, including veteran's with PTSD.</span></span></i><br />
<i style="color: #ffd966; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
</i> <i style="color: #ffd966; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Joy St. Peter, Founder and Director</i><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>(503) 551-4572</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Mail:<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>PO Box 12023</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Salem OR 97309</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>E-Mail<a href="mailto:info@joydogs.com" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>info@joydogs.org</a></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.joydogs.org/index.php" target="_blank">The Joys of Living Assistance (JLAD) web site</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.facebook.com/JLADjoydogs" target="_blank">The JLAD Facebook page</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.joydogs.org/index.php" target="_blank">The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs</a></i></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.joydogs.org/sponsors.php?donation=yes" target="_blank"><img alt="Donate to Joys of Living Assistance Dogs" border="0" src="http://www.joydogs.org/images/DonationBtn.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.joydogs.org/sponsors.php?donation=yes" target="_blank">Donations are encouraged!</a></span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-74910827222207356902016-06-15T12:05:00.001-07:002016-06-15T12:05:30.227-07:00Kickstarter Alert! The Grrowler - A dog collar with a water bowl built in!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I saw this idea and jumped on it right away. This is a great idea for just about anytime you take your dog out. Please give them a look and consider a pledge to help this product to market. Check out the video below and then click on over to their <a href="http://kck.st/25KvtXN" target="_blank">Kickstarter campaign</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Grrowler</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, a solution to all your pet's needs... a 3-in-1 dog collar that transforms into a water bowl and stashes your doggy bags!</span><br />
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<img src="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/012/627/055/4af99894ca5b3f0a708425661d1d2b0a_original.png?w=680&fit=max&v=1464973377&auto=format&lossless=true&s=20e3f3a40cbe7105761f8b3cbd92ef81" /><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="360" scrolling="no" src="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1899935285/the-grrowler-a-dog-collar-with-a-water-bowl-built/widget/video.html" width="640"> </iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-1611468205124430812016-06-12T15:25:00.001-07:002016-06-12T15:25:42.252-07:00Kickstarter Alert! All natural & Hypoallergenic Dog Shampoo!I just backed Muttz + Sudz all natural and hypoallergenic dog shampoo on @Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/501005155/muttz-sudz-all-natural-and-hypoallergenic-dog-shamUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-37764862941868930382016-05-25T05:21:00.001-07:002016-05-25T05:21:30.452-07:00Rambo's Barks & Beads Boutique Package Opening<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mvrNsdG56Jg" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-18369845485335874412016-05-17T01:20:00.003-07:002016-05-28T17:36:31.754-07:00I'm going to need a new dog. I think I broke mine!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Okay, broken might seem to be a bit of an exaggeration but, well, read on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm in Las Vegas visiting my mom and of course Rambo is along for the journey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My mom has lived in the same apartment complex for over 20 years now. About five years ago a handful of feral cats moved into the complex, no doubt spurred on by some well meaning cat lover who put some food out for them. The city and the apartment management have refused to do anything about the problem and now there are easily 25 cats that call the complex home. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is normal to go out to my mom's car in the morning and see kitty paw prints on the hood and windshield. It's not uncommon to see groups of them sleeping on the hood of a car in winter or hiding underneath a car in the summet to escape the desert sun. One time a guy came out and counted 20 cats on top of his car! He has the photo to prove it too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Enter Rambo. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>There is always someone bigger and badder but the bigger and badder don't mess with me!</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He was pretty good when he saw a single cat. His ears perked up and he gave the cat the eye but easily moved on when he was told to "leave it."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then came two cats. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This caused Rambo to stop in his tracks and go into full radar lock mode. He kept his cool even with a little excited doggy dance. Still, with hardly any urging, he left the cats behind and we went on our merry way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This afternoon the word must have spread in the local feline populace and six or seven cats were waiting in ambush for Rambo's afternoon walk.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I don't think Rambo has ever seen that many cats at once. There mere presence wasn't an issue. It was when they decided to scatter in six different directions (including "up") that was about all Rambo could handle. The sight of all those little critters scurrying every which way hit Rambo right in the prey drive! Wearing only his collar, as opposed to his Halti, he dug in with those powerful haunches of his and just about took me lawn surfing. He was hell bent on chasing these cats, never mind that he was going to drag my face through the grass in the process!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once I regained my footing and control of my dog, I realised that this might be a problem. This was later confirmed during an evening walk when he turned to me and said, " be very, very quiet. I'm hunting cats!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course he didn't say anything but actions can be louder than words and his actions said it all. My well trained, well behaved service dog just became a hunting dog. Ugh. His head was darting back and forth and he started peering uner every parked car we passed. Great, just what I don't need is a distracted service dog. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Using my wits and relying on my own training, i had to figure a way to counter this new but unwanted behavior. He now has a new command added to his vocabulary. When he ducks his head under a car to look for a kitty to chase he not only gets a "leave it" command but he gets a "no hunting" admonition along with pulling his head up followed by immediate positive reinforcement with a treat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So far this evening that approach seems to be working to curb the hunting behavior. I can't really fault him too much since he has never been faced with so many quick moving targets at once. It still worries me but I suspect that once he is removed from this environment it won't be a real problem anymore.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the other hand I bet I could make a few bucks from the residents of the apartment complex if they were willing to pay to get rid of their feral cat problem once and for all. All I have to do is let Rambo off his leash and I guarantee every one of those cats will go over the wall, never to return.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But then I really would need a new dog!</span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-86031398946418832802016-05-16T01:56:00.001-07:002016-05-16T23:50:39.769-07:00Support a Portland Designer & Make Your Dog Safer at Night!!!<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <b>Kickstarter Alert!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm always looking for new and innovative ways to keep Rambo safe, healthy and entertained. An excellent source for finding new and interesting items of all sorts is <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/" target="_blank">Kickstarter</a>. As I've noted before, I scour the site regularly looking for the next great thing to come along. I am, admittedly, a tech junkie but I aways put creative dog campaigns first in line for my pledged dollars. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I find a project that interests me and it comes from a person or company in my home state of Oregon I will usually jump on it. In this case the project is in Portland. For me it can't get any more local than that!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Allow me to introduce the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rareflective/reflective-dog-apparel-rufflective-packable-rain-j"><u><u>Rufflective</u></u></a><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rareflective/reflective-dog-apparel-rufflective-packable-rain-j" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Packable Rain Jacket</a> designed by Elton King.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOeDLBOcWoPDaL0sYICBH8p00EOPuNU9LECE6ytZ6a0rTrLcrMH3pcyR5zfCyXHci9Qg3GqPT93E7APGks1FjvE1VlCvRh-O9xzn7hQnaV50n9LkVtXCxtYPKxVopnkez_joGhe_Y39HW/s1600/e9541340b0994efd18301111ebf24ec8_original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOeDLBOcWoPDaL0sYICBH8p00EOPuNU9LECE6ytZ6a0rTrLcrMH3pcyR5zfCyXHci9Qg3GqPT93E7APGks1FjvE1VlCvRh-O9xzn7hQnaV50n9LkVtXCxtYPKxVopnkez_joGhe_Y39HW/s640/e9541340b0994efd18301111ebf24ec8_original.jpg" width="552" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This isn't your typical dog rain coat. Elton's coat is made with <i>Lumitech Area Reflective Fabric.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />So? <br /><br />So, unlike every other dog coat that promises reflective properties and tries to get by with reflective piping or patches, this entire raincoat lights up when light hits it! <br /><br />Never mind that it's a packable, comes in different colors and even has human accessories, it's a major night dog safety coat! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo is as black as the night and all but disappears after dark. I am constantly trying different night safety items so he can be seen. I've used flashing LED collars, flashing tags and another coat that had an LED strip built in that gave up the ghost after its first encounter with a Portland rain storm. <br /><br />Needless to say, I'm excited about this coat! Raining or not, this coat will be worn every night.<br /><br />Please take a look at the campaign on Kickstarter by following this link: <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rareflective/reflective-dog-apparel-rufflective-packable-rain-j">Rufflective</a><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rareflective/reflective-dog-apparel-rufflective-packable-rain-j"> Packable Rain Jacket</a> and give your support by pledging for a coat or twelve.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don't wait too long before getting in on this campaign as it has only 21 more days to go and it's already 120% funded which means it's a go-ahead campaign and retail prices after the campaign are going to be higher.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Enough from me. Take it away, Elton!</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9W5hUzzqtCI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9W5hUzzqtCI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>This post is not sponsored by Rufflective, Elton King or Kickstarter and I receive no incentives for others purchasing items by clicking through the links on this page. I just really like this project!</i></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-36843566548011608712016-05-04T15:51:00.001-07:002016-05-04T15:51:20.782-07:00Please. Watch. Listen. Learn!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I keep a running log of the stupid and intrusive things do when people see Rambo and I together in public. Service dog handlers and trainers won't be surprised by any of it but I'm certain that others have a few things to learn when it comes to dealing with a service dog team in public. This is even more important for a veteran with a PTSD dog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Someday I'll organize and publish my own list of stupid people tricks but for now I think this video says an awful lot!</span><br />
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<iframe height="360" src="https://interactive.tegna-media.com/video/embed/embed.html?id=2170802&title=Service%20dog%20etiquette&site=67&playerid=6918249996581&dfpid=32805352&dfpposition=Video_prestream_external" style="border-width: 0;" width="640"><br />
</iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-52310335588369742372016-04-20T23:28:00.001-07:002016-04-20T23:28:35.247-07:00Rambo Answers my Question<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whenever we travel and stay in a hotel with a big bed or sofa and even when we are camping, Rambo is quick to seize the opportunity to jump up and sit or lay right next to me. He seems to love to be close and enjoys the extra attention he gets by being so near. He will stay next to me until one of us decides we need to get up for a drink of water or whatever necessity comes upon us. I like it when he's next to me as well. I love to feel the soft fur around his ears and just generally be in contact with him. At night when he jumps in bed with me, if I am up to it, he gets a massage and some good scratching. I find this especially important after a long working day. I can tell he appreciates how good it feels and he will often fall asleep quite quickly.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He likes to sleep close to me. Close as in he often sleeps with his head on my chest.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rambo snoozing with his head on my chest. He snores too!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even when I'm driving, Rambo will push his all-weather bed I put in the back seat up against the front seats. He ends up building up extra space over the things that I keep in the back seat (more on that in a dog travel necessities post). Then he lays his body against the back of my seat and curls his head around to lay it down on the center console. Its a great spot for him to get some occasional ear scratches. On hot days I have two a/c vents sending cool air directly to the spot between the front seats. Rambo will bask in the cool air the entire trip. The only way he could get any closer to me is if there was no front seat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At home I have a single recliner in my tiny living room. There is absolutely no room for him in the chair when I am sitting in it. He is way too heavy to be a lap dog even though he tried it out a couple of times. Neither one of us was comfortable and he has since decided not to ever get up in my lap even when invited. He will, however, always find a spot where he can sit right at my feet or by my side. I have learned to look first before I put the foot of the recliner down or move my desk chair back so as to not step on or hit my dog with the chair. Since Rambo is all black he often gets stepped on or accidentally kicked simply because he is invisible in a dark room. This does not deter him from being as close to me as he can.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It dawned on me one day that it would be really nice if I had a loveseat or sofa so he could sit next to me while I'm watching tv or reading. So I did a little shopping, found a loveseat that also reclines and had it delivered. I donated my trusty recliner to a less fortunate veteran (who LOVES it!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As soon as I got the loveseat in place and sat down, Rambo was immediately poking his nose at my leg looking for an invitation to jump up. I gave him a little wave and up he jumped. Keeping mind that this is a loveseat and not a sofa, by time he gets up and lays down there is just enough room for him to curl up and be comfortable. He quickly learned that he could get a little extra room along with lots of extra love by laying his head in my lap or on my belly. So that night I relaxed on my new loveseat with my dog keeping me company and I don't think either one of us moved for a couple of hours. It really was a comfortable and intimate time for us. I was really glad that I got the loveseat so I could share my space with Rambo.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2PFf9j2m02xXROWci5Ir1LDZP_ztaVDP2XPaeDkeS65Kl3Qq6fN0S-_iXmSsvsQxxwOBNQeFBxUbrCxcwhrn4AyHAdHlypNa2eXBE_CIgXuhcB2uyUTjC_kAUKahFXArcsSvHwfPeG1I/s1600/With+Rambo+on+Loveseat+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2PFf9j2m02xXROWci5Ir1LDZP_ztaVDP2XPaeDkeS65Kl3Qq6fN0S-_iXmSsvsQxxwOBNQeFBxUbrCxcwhrn4AyHAdHlypNa2eXBE_CIgXuhcB2uyUTjC_kAUKahFXArcsSvHwfPeG1I/s640/With+Rambo+on+Loveseat+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rambo relaxed with me on the loveseat. I suck at selfies.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple of days later I got to wondering about what Rambo thought about the new loveseat and being able to sit next to me. I'm always curious about animal behavior and I try to understand what motivates my dog. There are always questions about what or how my dog thinks that will never be answered due to our vast language barrier. Does Rambo understand that this is a new piece of furniture or does his brain just see what is in front of him at the moment? Does he like the idea that he can now sit next to me while we're at home? Does he understand and appreciate that I got the loveseat on his account? (Ok, so that sounds a little eccentric but I love my dog and spoil him to no end, as he well deserves!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I figured that since he actually got up and sat with me that was about all the answer I was going to get and had to be satisfied with it. Whether he was aware and appreciative of the fact that the loveseat gave him the opportunity to snuggle with me when he couldn't before would remain a mystery.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At every meal time for Rambo I run him through as many tasks as I can under the circumstances. I'll make him heal, cover, fetch something and, if he is learning a new task, I will focus on that. Rambo is highly food motivated and will perform with a bounce in his step knowing that his dinner is waiting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few days after the loveseat came home to roost, it was breakfast time and I was running Rambo through tasks. I try to vary them up as he is very good at anticipating my commands if I do them in the same order every meal time. At this particular meal I was running out of different tasks to throw at him so I told him to "<i>go to bed</i>." He has a big bed made with a thick orthopedic cushion covered with simulated wool and it is very comfortable. When I tell him to <i>go to bed</i> he will trot over, make his snake-proofing circle then lay down. He loves to stretch out on this bed for his afternoon nap (if he's not napping with me). He will sleep in his kennel as well but eventually will move to the open air bed so he can stretch out. Not to mention that this bed is right in front of the a/c and is the coolest spot in the house on a hot day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This time, when I told Rambo to <i>go to bed</i>, he looked at me and I could see the gears turning in his head. As soon as his doggy brain figured out what I wanted him to do he took off at a run. As he took off I bent down to put his food bowl down. When I looked up, expecting Rambo to be on his bed, he wasn't there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A little glance to the right and there he was on his side of the loveseat, looking content and waiting for his next command (dinner is waiting you know!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After all my wondering about what Rambo thinks about his new piece of furniture, Rambo found a way to give me an answer.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRI0gHi9kau0DEtcxLCpbDnIZOBBgjcBnSED6C2IwrsyObv1q39k_aY1GYlOZ50sT5a9agziHos1rtwSkvZsBDNK5Zp0Im-YL5FzwkYJ_UPv4mi8Etg6uvryjYWst-aWzXzCZdoLQBAqxi/s1600/Rambo+on+loveseat+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRI0gHi9kau0DEtcxLCpbDnIZOBBgjcBnSED6C2IwrsyObv1q39k_aY1GYlOZ50sT5a9agziHos1rtwSkvZsBDNK5Zp0Im-YL5FzwkYJ_UPv4mi8Etg6uvryjYWst-aWzXzCZdoLQBAqxi/s640/Rambo+on+loveseat+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rambo claims his spot on the new loveseat</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now we enjoy our evenings watching tv together and I don't think either one of us could be happier!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-86344844486827339532016-04-20T19:19:00.000-07:002016-04-20T23:39:34.162-07:00Indiegogo Alert: Poof- The 0.1 oz, 60 Day Battery Life Pet Monitor. Only 2 days left!<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am always concerned with dog safety. Rambo is pretty good about coming when I call but I am always fearful that something could cause him to wander off for some reason with no way to find him. Sure, I can hope for the kindness of someone that finds him and reads his dog tags but that isn't a sure fire thing. What if he wanders off in the woods while we're camping? Ugh, the thought makes me sick to my stomach. I would be a mess if Rambo ran off and got hurt or killed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I went online to look for solutions and found "<a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/poof-the-0-1-oz-60-day-battery-life-pet-monitor/x/11100108#/" target="_blank">Poof</a>", a small little bean or pea (see the product on Indiegogo to see the descriptions of the two sizes) that attaches to my dog's collar. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/71FxEiZhzC4?rel=0" width="640"></iframe><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Poof is not only a pet tracker, it comes with a plethora of other functions. You can track your pets activity, track calorie consumption, sleeping time, etc.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's rechargeables and it is very reasonably priced at the Indiegogo backer prices.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They also donate proceeds to GreaterGood.org helping animals in shelters.</span><br />
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<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/g0I3CRT.png" />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Please take a look at this device and see if it interests you. If it does, I would urge you to get in on the ground floor before the campaign ends in two days!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <iframe frameborder="0" height="445px" scrolling="no" src="https://www.indiegogo.com/project/poof-the-0-1-oz-60-day-battery-life-pet-monitor/embedded/11100108" width="222px"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>This post is not sponsored by Poof or Indiegogo and I receive no incentives for others purchasing Poof by clicking through the links on this page.</i></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-3428178888571755222016-04-15T10:56:00.001-07:002016-04-15T12:15:04.012-07:00Connecting Veterans with PTSD with Service Dogs: A Congressional Tale<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Congressional Hearing Regarding Connecting Veterans with PTSD with Service Dogs</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>or</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>"Slower than molasses going uphill on a winter's day and more excuses than a dead horse has flies!"</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU-xOdLnU5G0tyxncgc_dQweDvWFbPGbzXzzYvqZ3y788ZnHjWqR-LBIdRundlzOEQv23Ol8f5GXPxaYouQ_eyMos22d-pUjF8vbMuxeTR77tG-i91szS0m7kSl8L1z4bKZYIiaOQ90YRp/s1600/IMG_20160321_172344163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU-xOdLnU5G0tyxncgc_dQweDvWFbPGbzXzzYvqZ3y788ZnHjWqR-LBIdRundlzOEQv23Ol8f5GXPxaYouQ_eyMos22d-pUjF8vbMuxeTR77tG-i91szS0m7kSl8L1z4bKZYIiaOQ90YRp/s400/IMG_20160321_172344163.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) is infamous for its blunders, cover-ups and moving to help veterans at a pace slower</span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> than a herd of snails traveling through peanut butter. This is not to mention spending money like a sailor on shore leave for contracts with underperforming outside agencies (outside, like <i>outside the United States!</i>) who are all too often exposed after one Congressional committee after the other gets fed up with the VA's antics and investigates.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The VA's approach to providing service dogs to veterans with PTSD is no exception. Mired in organizational gaffes, cost overruns and continued denial of the <a href="https://www.google.it/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi15LCLhJHMAhUH2mMKHT8ODTUQFghSMAk&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cf4aass.org%2Fuploads%2F1%2F8%2F3%2F2%2F18329873%2Fpsd_and_veterans_living_with_ptsd_-_gillett_march_23_2014_2.pdf&usg=AFQjCNGKkRE2AGeO1fQxW0AO5EIJ3D4yUw" target="_blank">overwhelming anecdotal evidence that PTSD service dogs are effective</a>, the VA's PTSD Service Dog research study <i>has only placed 40 dogs with veterans since the study was authorized in 2010 at a cost to taxpayers of $12 million! </i></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Granted, the VA is correct in its statement that there is no empirical evidence to support the effectiveness of PTSD service dogs. However, the VA has access to what is probably the single largest service dog handler population in the United States along with their VA mental health doctors and therapists. The number of veterans with service dogs is growing steadily as affected veterans seek help outside the VA's musty therapy rooms. If polled, scientifically no less, I would venture that the overwhelming majority of veterans with service dogs would attest to a drastic yet positive change in their lives. A change that they will attribute directly to their service dogs. Veterans that are able to get dogs are tossing their psych meds in the garbage and replacing them with </span><a href="http://www.bendbulletin.com/health/3004531-151/can-dogs-help-ptsd" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">the cold nose and loving eyes of their trained canines.</a> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I bet a review of those same veteran's mental health medical records would also reflect the positive effects of service dogs providing even more evidence for the VA to ignore.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOFW1mMNAGowvjp667MlkPrNVvIc3QodaPX7OzMNr1QhAv_ntvfxUgbkgWmh9cuWqCbu5x08bnWK_FUrWRkrEYSuFHdztOXTBzFn0N6uW7K4H8PnOqLMoN4M2jg6Z8raKpXkw2i6YV4Ox/s1600/IMG_20150827_141128713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOFW1mMNAGowvjp667MlkPrNVvIc3QodaPX7OzMNr1QhAv_ntvfxUgbkgWmh9cuWqCbu5x08bnWK_FUrWRkrEYSuFHdztOXTBzFn0N6uW7K4H8PnOqLMoN4M2jg6Z8raKpXkw2i6YV4Ox/s400/IMG_20150827_141128713.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wouldn't give up that cold nose and loving eyes for anything in this world!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I swear, the VA administration is stingy with money when it comes to spending that actually helps veterans which is in direct contrast to their unfettered wasteful spending and program mismanagement that, according to whistleblower </span></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jan. R. Frye, </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the VA’s chief procurement officer, </span></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/3/golden-hammer-vas-record-of-waste-fraud-abuse-keep/?page=all" target="_blank">who went public with a stunning admission that the VA likely wastes <b><i>$6 billion</i></b> a year on unnecessary contracts, purchases and services.</a> The list of financial fiascos exposed by Mr. Frye include, "</span></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> the agency's human resources department wasted $6.1 million on two conferences in Orlando, Florida, that treated employees more to vacation than to training" and "</span></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">that VA employees in the Bronx in New York City had swiped charge cards 2,000 times, saying they were buying prosthetic legs and arms for veterans. Each charge was for $24,999, one dollar below the VA’s charging limit for purchase cards. When lawmakers demanded details about the charges, they were told there was no documentation." For those of you without a calculator, the total amount of theft was $2000 short of $50 million.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can't make this stuff up. I'm not that creative.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I thought it was interesting that Dr. Michael Fallon, the Chief Veterinary Medical Officer of Research and Development for the VA (your tax dollars at work), in his testimony to the Committee cited the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). </span></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For most of Americans, the ADA provides equal rights and access to service dogs for people with psychiatric conditions as well as for those with physical ones. Yet the VA affords fewer protections under their far more restrictive regulations. Unlike almost every other Federal agency that has simply agreed to honor the ADA, the VA seized the opportunity to put up regulatory barriers that only serve to restrict the access to facilities and services to those who need them most!. (You can read the entire text of the document that Dr. Fallon submitted to the Committee below the video of the hearing.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I know that my local VA can't seem to get it right on the ADA vs VA regulations nor do they lift a finger beyond a poorly copied, quite unofficial looking notice discreetly put on a clinic door to inform veterans of the <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-08-17/html/2015-20182.htm" target="_blank">VA's access policies for service dogs as published in the Federal Register.</a> If you look closely you will see that there is no notice of authority or citation of law or regulation to support the asinine restrictions some dog hating neanderthal pulled out of his caboose just to throw his weight around. Most of the restrictions that they cite in this notice are well outside the standard practice of civilian hospitals and definitely not in compliance with the wholly-ignored ADA.</span></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ypMqm8dkKuqK0lxFMerKKsAVIBrobYx0geOjBGxbe42j2s_jnW1-IjmaT-NgKaf0ZjwWXCvuDkalzUmQqNkeo0zuxcT87uDiGSaSd-EM1nbu81KTilLCAaQ1Or0Rn9PnGVx7dqyLF9dJ/s1600/IMG_20160315_115921707.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ypMqm8dkKuqK0lxFMerKKsAVIBrobYx0geOjBGxbe42j2s_jnW1-IjmaT-NgKaf0ZjwWXCvuDkalzUmQqNkeo0zuxcT87uDiGSaSd-EM1nbu81KTilLCAaQ1Or0Rn9PnGVx7dqyLF9dJ/s400/IMG_20160315_115921707.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1TetbDMQFP3Xw-GVvr2zxPoTK5nENCJRaKkIiiFCUNv5KcCLZmgK9cKKgL64HdEDTFokXaKoeFcT4WL92tJUy_lp2CHlG2QZSl3AAIVBvPYs13M0kIXdQ5hcgLbH-674om8dOVMhD7OL/s1600/IMG_20160315_115928615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1TetbDMQFP3Xw-GVvr2zxPoTK5nENCJRaKkIiiFCUNv5KcCLZmgK9cKKgL64HdEDTFokXaKoeFcT4WL92tJUy_lp2CHlG2QZSl3AAIVBvPYs13M0kIXdQ5hcgLbH-674om8dOVMhD7OL/s320/IMG_20160315_115928615.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They do, however, have signs posted at the main entrance to the medical center informing visitors "only authorized animals" are allowed inside which cites the ADA as its authority. "Doh!" </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The Hearing wasn't for naught. Rory Diamond, the Executive Director of <a href="http://www.k9sforwarriors.org/" target="_blank">K9s for Warriors</a>, Cole Lyle, a veteran with PTSD, and Steve Feldman, Executive Director of the <a href="https://habri.org/" target="_blank">Human Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI)</a> all offered very positive and supportive statements confirming what every veteran with a PTSD service dog already knows: trained psychiatric service dogs are indeed effective. Of particular note is the list of results of the internal study done by K9s for Warriors that, among many other things, showed that "The average K9s warrior is on 10-15 medications when beginning our program. 92% see those medications reduced or eliminated after graduation, " and, "Before receiving their service dog, 93% of the participants reported that symptoms associated with PTSD played a major role in their inability to enjoy activities. After receiving their service dog only 18% of participants continued to report that their symptoms played a major role." Links to their testimony are provided below. They are a must read for anyone in the service dog industry and, of course, affected veterans.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Not too long ago I was asked, "how does a grown man find relief from his PTSD symptoms in a dog?" This person was in the position to make such an inquiry. He was not ridiculing me but was looking for a sincere answer to see if I understood the process that has taken place to change my life for the better since Rambo came along.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">I answered the question to the best of my ability without going into an hour long speech but ultimately it was Rambo who answered the question best. When I started to show fatigue and frustration, Rambo got up from his down position on the floor and very inconspicuously put his head in my lap. I looked down at his big brown eyes and ran my fingers through the soft fur around his ears and my frustrations melted away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The VA may not know if or how a PTSD dog is therapeutic but my dog knows!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is a view of how my day starts each morning!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Click the links below to read the testimony presented at the hearing:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016-04-14-Rory-Diamond-K9s-for-Warriors-Testimony.pdf" target="_blank"><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016-04-14-Rory-Diamond-K9s-for-Warriors-Testimony.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></a></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016-04-14-Rory-Diamond-K9s-for-Warriors-Testimony.pdf" target="_blank">Rory Diamond, Executive Director,<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>K9s for Warriors</a></span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016-04-12-Cole-Lyle-Testimony.pdf" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016-04-12-Cole-Lyle-Testimony.pdf" target="_blank">Cole Lyle, Veteran with PTSD</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016-04-14-Steven-Feldman-HABRI-Testimony.pdf" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016-04-14-Steven-Feldman-HABRI-Testimony.pdf" target="_blank">Steve Feldman<span style="white-space: pre;">, </span>Executive Director<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Human Animal Bond Research Initiative (HARBI) Foundation</a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Hearing: <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/connecting-veterans-with-ptsd-with-service-dogs/" target="_blank">CONNECTING VETERANS WITH PTSD WITH SERVICE DOGS</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">April 14, 2016</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To examine the benefits service dogs can provide to veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To question the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on its existing policy and issues related to its problematic study.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The FY2010 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the VA to conduct a three-year study on the costs and benefits of providing service dogs to veterans with PTSD and other mental-health problems.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">According to the VA, the study has undergone “multiple significant and unexpected challenges.”</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>STATEMENT OF DR. MICHAEL FALLON, CHIEF VETERINARY MEDICAL OFFICER OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (VHA), DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (VA) BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM APRIL 14, 2016</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Good morning, Chairman DeSantis, Ranking Member Lynch, and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to speak about Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and service dogs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">VA is in the midst of an ongoing study that pairs Veterans with PTSD with service dogs. I am accompanied today by Dr. Patricia Dorn, Director, Rehabilitation Research and Development Service,and Dr. Chris Crowe, Senior Mental Health Consultant and Liaison to the DoD Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and TBI. Section 1077 of the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act directed VA to undertake a 3-year study to assess the benefits, feasibility, and advisability of using service dogs for the treatment or rehabilitation of Veterans with physical or mental injuries or disabilities, including PTSD. VA designed the study to focus completely on Veterans with PTSD because: the benefits of utilizing service dogs and guide dogs for physical disabilities were well established;PTSD is a high priority health issue in Veterans, and the benefits of service dogs in assisting people with mental health diagnoses have not been established in scientific literature. As mandated by Section 1077, the study assesses the impact of service dogs on Veterans’ quality of life, their usage of prescription drugs and healthcare resources, and their employment status. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The study has been conducted in two phases. The first phase started in July 2011 and was a pilot study based primarily at the Tampa VA Medical Center (VAMC). Service dogs for the study were purchased from three organizations through contracts. Veteran enrollment in the pilot study had to be suspended in January 2012 after two </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">different service dogs bit the children of Veterans in the study. In response to these bite incidents, VA study team members maintained responsibility for interactions with Veterans after pairing, reduced involvement of the service dog vendor post-pairing, and increased the frequency of interactions between Veterans and the study team to identify and solve potential dog behavior problems as soon as possible. Veteran enrollment resumed in July 2012, but less than a month later ,Veteran enrollment was again suspended due to the discovery of serious problems with the health and training of dogs provided by the remaining dog organization under contract. 26 Veterans already participating had the opportunity to finish the study, but no new Veterans could be enrolled because no additional dogs were available. Of the 26 Veterans enrolled in this phase, twelve completed the study, and four are expected to finish by February 2017. VA recognized that major changes to the dog procurement contracts, study design,and study management were needed. Visits were conducted with a variety of dog training groups to seek advice and get suggestions on how to prevent the serious problems encountered in the pilot study. These groups included well-established and respected service dog organizations, military working dog training organizations, and Department of Defense and civilian Federal dog training units. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The original study design was reviewed again by mental health professionals, all of whom have a research interest in diagnosing or treating PTSD in Veterans and have academic appointments at affiliate universities. Collectively,they have published over 100 articles on PTSD, trauma recovery,or stress in scientific journals. Dr. Thad Abrams leads the Iowa City study team. He is a psychiatrist with the Iowa City VAMC Mental Health Service Line and has extensive experience treating Veterans with PTSD. Dr. Bekh Bradley-Davino was the initial lead for the Atlanta study team until he assumed greater responsibilities as the Director of the Mental Health Service Line at the Atlanta VAMC. Previously, he wasthe Director of the Atlanta VAMC Trauma Recovery program. Dr. Kelly Skelton now leads the Atlanta study team. She is the Acting Deputy Director of the Mental Health Service Line in Atlanta and the Medical Director of the Atlanta VAMC Trauma Recovery program.Until her recent retirement from VA, Dr. Kathy Magruder was a Research Health Specialist in the Research Service Line at the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Charleston, South Carolina VAMC. She has extensive experience as a clinical researcher, has published extensively on PTSD and other mental health conditions in Veterans, and is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Traumatic Stress. Dr. Dan Storzbach leads the Portland,Oregon study team. He is a Research Psychologist and the Lead Neuropsychologist for the VA Portland Health Care System Neuropsychology Clinic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a result of consultation with dog training experts and the mental health research team, as well as thorough analysis of other lessons learned, key changes were made in the study design: VA hired its own dog trainers to provide support to Veterans after they received a study dog, thus eliminating bias in the study. This required developing an entirely new position within VA. VA developed its own contract health, behavior, and training standards for dogs,instead of relying on the varying standards in use by individual organizations.These standards are based upon portions of DoD working dog contract health standards, and utilize the Assistance Dog International Public Access Test and the American Kennel Club Basic and Advanced Canine Good Citizen tests. VA dog trainers tested candidate dogs against the VA contract standards before accepting dogs into the study and paying for them. VA study staff are responsible for interacting with Veterans after they receive a dog to ensure that any problems with the dog or Veteran-dog pairing are quickly identified and corrected. Veterans with children less than 10 years of age in the household would not be eligible for the study until the safety record of at least 20 dogs from each organization could be evaluated. Note: no vendor has reached the 20 dog delivery mark yet; the evaluations are still in progress. Instead of purchasing dogs only from organizations located close to a VA study site, a full and open contract competition was held to seek out the best possible dog producers. The new dog “vendors” chosen were Canine Companions for </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Independence (Santa Rosa, California and other sites), the Armed Forces Foundation and partner K2 Solutions (Pinehurst, North Carolina), and the Auburn Technology and Research Foundation with partner iK9, incorporated (Auburn, Alabama). Instead of only one VA study site, three sites are opened to increase the enrollment rate and enroll Veterans from different parts of the country.Atlanta, Georgia; Iowa City, Iowa;and Portland, Oregon were chosen as the study sites for the revised (“Phase 2”) study.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We also standardized the service dog required tasks so that dogs from different vendors would have similar training, reducing experimental variability. The service dog tasks chosen, based upon Veteran feedback in the Tampa pilot study and input from VA PTSD clinicians, were “block,” “behind,” “lights,” “sweep,” and “bring” (retrieve).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The study was also strengthened by adding a second experimental group of Veterans who received emotional support dogs instead of service dogs. The basic obedience and health standards are the same for both types of dogs in the study, and both dog types provide love,affection, and an emotional bond with people, and have legal rights to housing and the cabins of commercial aircraft. However, service dogs are given much wider public access rights than emotional support dogs through the <a href="http://www.ada.gov/pubs/adastatute08.htm" target="_blank">Americans with Disabilities Act</a>, and only service dogs are trained in specific tasks that assist with a disability. By comparing and contrasting the results of the two groups, we expect to be able to better determine what features of each dog type are responsible for any benefits observed in the Veterans.Each Veteran enrolled in the study has a 50/50 chance of receiving a service dog or an emotional support dog. A description of all the test instruments used in the study and instructions for Veterans interested in volunteering for the study are found on the ttp://www.clinicaltrials.gov website (study number NCT02039843). The instruments are administered about quarterly over 21 months to assess measures of self-care, interpersonal interactions and participation in society, the severity of PTSD symptoms, sleep-related problems, suicidal ideation, severity of mood disorders and substance </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">abuse, anger directed at others, inpatient and outpatient visits, medication usage, and measures of employment and work productivity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Veteran enrollment in the revised Phase 2 study began in December of 2014. Early planning suggested that the three study sites would collectively be able to enroll about 12 Veterans a month; however, the study experienced severe delays due to human resources problems in hiring VA dog trainers, and the complexity of the study required additional staffing at each of the three study sites. These problems led to a much lower monthly enrollment rate. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As of the first week in April 2016, 107 of 220 Veterans have been enrolled in the study, and all three study teams will finally be fully staffed to achieve an enrollment rate of 12-15 Veterans per month, which would allow all 220 Veterans to be enrolled by the end of this year or early 2017. Veterans remain in the study for about 21 months so data collection will end about 21 months after the last Veteran is enrolled, which would be late 2018. The data will then be analyzed,and the results will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While VA does not purchase service dogs for Veterans, VA does provide benefits to eligible Veterans with a recognized service dog, which include free high quality veterinary wellness and medical/surgical insurance, certain hardware costs, and certain Veteran travel costs associated with training with the service dog. This benefit extends to service dogs prescribed for a disabled Veteran to manage a diagnosed visual, hearing, or substantial mobility impairment, in order to enable the Veteran to live independently.38 C.F.R. §17.148 (77 Fed. Reg. 54,381, Sept.5, 2012). Currently, VA does not provide benefits for PTSD or mental health dogs because they are not known to be effective in overcoming specific functional limitations; this study is incredibly important in building the evidence base. VA continues to monitor other scientific literature for quality evidence to inform future policies and remains strongly committed to completing the current PTSD and service dog study at an estimated cost of at least $12million. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Existing Effective Treatment of PTSD</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">VA is strongly committed to the delivery of the best care for Veterans with PTSD. Advances in research have led to a range of effective treatments for PTSD that reduce symptoms and increase functioning and well-being. The VA/Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guideline recommends trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy [such as Prolonged Exposure(PE), and Cognitive Processing Therapy(CPT)], Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, stress inoculation, <i>selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and venlafaxine, a serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor</i>, as primary treatments for PTSD. PE and CPT are among the most widely studied types of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy. Evidence demonstrating their effectiveness is particularly strong. VHA Handbook 1160.01, Uniform Mental Health Services in VA Medical Centers and Clinics, requires that all VA medical centers provide access to either PE or CPT. VAhas supported this requirement by training upwards of 7,000 therapists in these treatments as part of a broader initiative to disseminate evidence-based psychotherapy for mental disorders.Uptake of PE and CPT across the VA health care system was rapid; by 2009, 96 percent of VA facilities were providing PE or CPT and 72 percent were providing both.VA also offers a range of treatment options to treat PTSD and associated symptoms and is using telehealth technologies to increase the availability of treatment for PTSD. VA remains open to new and innovative treatments for PTSD and supports research on these treatments as part of its portfolio on PTSD and related conditions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today. We are prepared to answer any questions you or other Members of the Committee may have. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-79194193645307485532016-04-09T06:31:00.001-07:002016-04-09T06:31:19.745-07:00Colorado Creates Law Against Service Dog Frauds<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/20uQOyAcAbk" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5564385305743456566.post-8837120692624027672016-03-29T04:00:00.000-07:002016-04-20T23:41:37.176-07:00HurriK9<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rambo's primary daily exercise usually involves at least one session of fetch. I have some days that it really hurts my shoulders to throw even the smallest dog ball. I tried one of those plastic arms that holds the ball and lets you send it a lot farther than you can throw it by hand. It seems its a lot easier to lose balls over the fence that way too. (Seriously, as long as Rambo and I are together you should invest in stock of the company that makes Chuck-It balls. I don't just buy them when we run out, I have a monthly subscription!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ahem....where was I? Oh, I was browsing Kickstarter again the other day and ran into a fun looking gadget. Check out the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/322583566/hurrik9-the-100-foot-ring-launcher-for-dogs">Kickstarter Campaign</a>. Its over in just a few days!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'll share my own video when I get to take Rambo out and watch him look at me with a confused stare wondering when I'm going to throw the damn ball already! He hasn't been a flying disc kind of dog but I'm hoping this new toy will change that.</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="480" scrolling="no" src="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/322583566/hurrik9-the-100-foot-ring-launcher-for-dogs/widget/video.html" width="640"> </iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will have some more Rambo adventures posted up soon. I have a lot of photos and videos to sort through!!!!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0