After we lost our beloved dog Stinker, we adopted Bear
from the animal shelter. This cute little half Chow half Lab
puppy only cost $50 which included his first trip to the vet
and his shots. Of course, now I read in the newspaper that you can
adopt a pet for just $25, and let me tell you it is the best
investment you will ever make.
Bear was not a quick study when house training was
involved. We tried the newspaper method. He found the
newspaper alright and he liked to walk on top of it, but when it
came down to doing his business, he did it right beside the
paper. This went on for several weeks although it seemed like
months, but our darling little ball of fur finally got the hang of
it. It's comical now, but it was pretty stressful at
the time. Don't give up, there's always hope.
The next thing on our list was to teach Bear to be a
good citizen. Warren seemed to enjoy this activity like a
social hour. I'm smiling as I'm writing this because
he's such a sweet puppy. Perhaps he had low motivation
because we were always giving him treats without performing a
task. Eventually Bear was able to perform all of the commands
required to accomplish a Good Citizenship Award. A trained
puppy is an adorable puppy, and people really enjoy him. It
only took Bear a little longer to achieve it than those other
know-it-all dogs.
We went on perfectly happy spoiling Bear until one day
Warren and I were at a disability function. He told me about
a service dog trainer named Carol Christopherson and her
organization called Florida Service Dogs, Inc.. She could
train Bear to be a service dog. I had already met Carol
Christopherson before at one of my disability
functions.
I asked Warren, "Did you have a hard time talking
to her?"
He chuckled, "No, why?"
I said, "Because she is deaf."
He didn't believe me. I said, "Yes, she is."
After that he had the occasion to talk to her again, and he
realized she was deaf and lipreading..
I decided I needed a service dog because I had been
using a wheelchair for about four years, and people that use
wheelchairs drop things, at least I do. And, it's pretty
difficult to retrieve them. I thought it would be very nice
if I had a service dog that could pick things up for me when
needed. When I heard about Carol's Florida Service Dogs,
Inc., I was so excited! Bear, Warren, and I would be going to
classes together.
There were about six teams for training on that first
night. Some teams had been together for a while, and some
were first-timers like us. The first thing Carol does is
to evaluate your dog. When it was Bear's turn it took
about 10 minutes for her to evaluate him. She checked him for
motivation, aptitude, and attitude. To my shock, she said he
was borderline aggressive. Looking back at it now, I can see
how he got that grade. Carol told me that Bear could stay in the
class as long as there weren't any problems, but he might not be
eligible for certification. We were perfectly happy
continuing on in the classes, and he learned so much.
The first thing that I had to do was wear my dog.
Wearing your dog consists of having him on a leash every waking
moment. It seemed to be much more annoying for me than Bear.
After a while I got used to it, and so did Bear. Bear went
everywhere with us! This delighted Warren, Bear, and
me.
When I reported to Carol about Bear misbehaving when we
went out.
I said, "It was because it was his first time to
go there."
"Every place is his first time," Carol
explained.
We did our best, but it was an awfully long time in
training before a breakthrough. Bear's motivation improved
after we stopped treating him for no reason at all. Practice
was paramount several times a day. We kept going to classes
and eventually the light bulb went on for Bear.
After we learned the teaching technique with a pair of
socks, Bear went on to learn to pick up a pencil, credit card,
bottle of water, medicine bottle, telephone, and the mail. This was
a huge success in my book!
I'm giggling as I'm writing this because it took so long
to train Bear and me. He goes to the doctor, the bank, the
grocery store, any restaurant, and the pharmacy. In other
words, he goes everywhere with us, and we love it! It's cute
now because people ask me how long it took to train him, and I tell
them about two years. Bear was not a quick study, but he's
certainly been worth it. I thank Carol Christopherson for
that.
I know that someday I may have to get a new service dog,
and I hope Carol Christopherson and Florida Service Dogs, Inc. will
still be around. If you've been thinking about a service dog, I
highly recommend Carol. She can help. For more information,
please look at her website and give her a call. Perhaps you've
heard of the TTY services. An operator will assist you in speaking
with Carol.
BUDDYNME@BELLSOUTH.NET
800-549-2600 Voice to text phone number
http://www.floridaservicedogs.net/index.html
Holy Bible:
"...Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of,
before ye ask Him."
Matthew 6:8
Nove 2010