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Dog Helps Paralyzed Woman Take Steps


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I know you have heard me talk (ad nauseam) about the Great Dane site I watch and how much I love the service dog Ethel. She was donated to a young woman who was paralyzed from the waist down and suffered some brain injury from a motor cycle crash. Well, on July 15th. Ethel helped Julia walk four steps. I do love that dog! Here is a clip from Youtube of them. It's 15 seconds of pure joy. Ethel doing what she was trained to do. Have I ever mentioned how much I've loved that dog from the time I saw her being born? And she is only 2 years old. Oh yeah, Julia did pretty good too.



Edited to add Ethel's instagram page. She goes to church too. Sigh
https://instagram.com/explore/tags/littlemiss_ethel/ Edited by Jeepers
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I give monthly (as do many many others) and send in doggie treats and toys. They get a huge grant from Charlie Annenberg. He is responsible for all of the cameras too. It's the only place that I know of where you can see where your money goes by watching their webcams 24/7/365. I guess that $300.00 shot Ethel got when she was having Lyme issues really paid off! I am so darn proud of her my heart could burst. You'd think she was my dog and I trained her.

 

Ethel wears my heart on her shoulder. :wub:

 

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Edited by Jeepers
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Thanks for sharing!!! Ethel and her tribe...oh yes her trainers and Jeepers too

are so wonderful!!

 

Pets mean so much to the young and old alike.

I am so glad the AL lets me take my dog into the building. She is often

petted by the residents..rather makes their day in a very small way.

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Twilight, you are so right about young and old alike! Some of the dogs that aren't going to quite be up to service dog standards are taken to nursing homes and hospitals. They also take them to schools so children can understand about service dogs.

Speaking of young, there is one little girl who has one of Carlene's dogs and she just graduated from the 5th. grade. She takes George to school with her every day. It was a long hard battle for the school to accept him but it finally worked out for them. The little girl has a very rare disease. I can't think of the name of it but it's something like Mojito. Ack, I know that's a drink but it is similar sounding. Anyway, Bella and her family decided to give back and they had tee shirts made to sell. She pledged all of the profits would be split between Service Dog Project and Boston's Children's Hospital. Yesterday their local radio station had a 'radiothon' for the children's hospital and "Team Bella and George" gave $3,200.00 to both organizations from the tee shirt sale. She is a real inspiration. She gave a similar check to SDP last Thursday. SDP was expecting around $200.00 or $300.00.

Here is a picture taken yesterday of the group at the radio station. Bella is the little girl in the front holding the big check with the big smile. George is on the left and another service dog, Sienna, is on the right. It has been an exciting week for all of us.

Edited to say it's Morquio Syndrome. :blush:

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Edited by Jeepers
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Yes they are because of their size and temperament. These Danes are from a breeding stock in Europe. That is all she uses so far because they are more sturdy and stockier than the ones over here. As a matter of fact, she is getting another one that arrives on Monday. It's a puppy and will be used to keep the gene pool fresh. No interbreeding there. Well, except one time (her first experience with a Dane) he jumped the fence and had 3 baby momma's at once! That's how she got started.

 

I don't know what your medical issues are, doesn't matter, but here is a video that was made about a week ago by Carlene (owner/trainer) on the proper way to use a dog for standing up after a fall. One of the most important things you have to teach them is to "brace" so they stand perfectly still unless you tell them to move. You can see and hear in the first video I posted how Julia tells Ethel when to move over. And also they need to get used to you holding on to them. They're main purpose is to balance you and for you to lean on them...in more ways than one!

 

Standing up from a fall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0-HvCLGB6s

 

Misha jumps the fence at about 2:10 on the video. LOL

Edited by Jeepers
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  • 2 months later...

This weekend was Dog Fest at the Service Dog Project. Everyone invited. Maybe next year for me. Lots of good food, entertainment, people and dogs. I just wanted to share a couple of pictures that were posted. One was of Carlene in the wheelchair race. She isn't in one but she trains dogs for them. Her face! Ethel is to the left...sigh, she won. The other is of Ethel chilling out smiling for the camera. The last one was posted by someone that I captioned and posted. Carlene in the wheelchair race trying to use her feet as brakes. It might be one of those, 'you had to be there caps". I hope we all can have her attitude when we are in our mid 70's.

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Our Abby-girl is much to hyper at this time. She absolutely loves people and will sit while they pet her, but her butt is going 90 miles an hour. As for her helping me get up? Probably not because she's never been exposed to anybody even laying their head on her tummy :-( We kept hoping she'd settle a bit and then train her for more serious duties. She'll be 4 this December and hasn't settled down a whole lot. They told us Labs will settle down a lot when their 3, now they say 5. Who knows...but, she's our lab-brat! LOL

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Awww. I love that little lab-rat! She has other good qualities like being a good alert-er. Problem is you usually have to start to train them early...very early. There might have been some training videos posted. If so, I'll post them here. There were dogs everywhere and food everywhere and not one of them made a move toward the food. My beagle would have been all over the food and people too. I would have had to hung my head in shame and took her home. New puppies eye's are starting to open and they are trying to walk. Soon gruel feeding will begin which is a riot to watch.

One little girl (Bella) was running and jumping all around. Something she has never been able to do her entire life until she got George the Dane. Doctors said she would most definitely be permanently in a wheel chair by now if it wasn't for him. :yar:

Edited: I forgot to add that Ethel's Julia gave a short talk and said, "I'm no longer afraid to be alone when Dusty is deployed. The most important thing Ethel does for me isn't helping me walk or get up. It is that Ethel confirms my own strength and helps me find my own confidence. :yar:
Dusty is her Army husband and is deployed overseas someplace.

Everyone there has their most favorite dog. Can you guess who mine is?

Edited by Jeepers
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  • 3 months later...

Just a little update on 'my' little girl from her mom. She carries her own mat to the pool. Look at her nails. Gawd, I love that dog. :wub:


Hello! Merry Belated Christmas!
I apologize for my delay in writing my update on life with Little Miss Ethel. She and I are doing great, she's my steadfast companion in the long hours of studying for the medical school admissions test.

In November she accompanied me to the Paralympic Training Site Lakeshore Foundation in Alabama where I shadowed Dr. Morgan, a Paralympic who leads research on the body mechanics of wheelchair athletes. Ethel loved jogging alongside me on the track as I tried out different racing wheelchairs and got her first taste of real Southern culture as we toured downtown Birmingham.

I train for my upcoming triathalons in the pool while its rainy and gross outside with Ethel watching over. She doesn't understand why anyone in their right mind goes willingly into the water and so she gets very excited to brace for me to pull out of the pool when I'm done.

After some trial and error, her vet here and I figured out that some of Ethel's skin issues (hair falling off of her paws and blistering) was caused by an allergy to chicken proteins. Unfortunately, chicken fillers are used in a lot of processed dog food/treats but she's frolicking with a shiny coat now that she's on Purina Salmon.

I'm proud of say that Ethel is also on the lowest dose of steroids she can be on from her blood disease from last February. If her next blood test (next week) comes back with a strong platelet count, then Ethel can be off steroids completely. With the decreasing steroids came a decrease in weight and she's back to her original size of 120lbs. (Although I assured her she never stopped being the most beautiful service dog in the world).

There's not much else to report on this end, we had a wonderful Christmas and Ethel got to tear apart all her new stuffed animal friends with a wagging tail. She has been and will always continue to be the best gift I could ever wish.

Thank you Carlene and thank you all of SDP!
Julia."

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Abby would eat the polish off :-) She's got all the qualities of a therapy dog...but lacks the "settle" that she needs. When I sit in the floor she gets so excited she's all over me. After a bit, she'll lay down with her head on my lap and take a short snooze...then she's UP and I WANT TO PLAY! So therapy session is over. I don't allow her to "play" when I'm sitting on the floor.Oh well...she's our baby girl :-)

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She is a big girl and tall too. Her eyes are still baby blue.

 

I have a feeling Julia and Ethel get a mani/pedi together. Julia is a girly-girl. Abby may not be service/therapy dog material (few are) but she serves HER purpose and that is to make You2's happy and give lots of love and laughs. That's worth a million.

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  • 3 months later...

My favorite dynamic duo. :wub:

 

Carlene,

I hope spring is starting to show in New England! I wanted to give you an update with Ethel.

On any given day, I leave a crime scene of evidence proving I'm generally terrible at paraplegic-ing. I transfer clumsily, stand awkwardly and fling arms around recklessly. You've given me this incredible gift of stability for this klutz in a wheelchair.

A few days ago, I once again found myself on the floor trying to transfer in the bathroom. Ethel was by my side immediately, leaving her lookout position on our bed. Tail wagging, she was more than happy to help me back into my chair and even happier for the carrot treat that followed.

Tremendous thanks,
Julia and Ethel

24 second video:

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  • 1 month later...

Many voices can change the world! Ethel and I met this morning with the hospital commander here at Fort Leonard Wood and I got an apology for the emergency room not allowing Ethel to be with me in the treatment room and an entire policy change!!! Because someone slapped a service dog badge on their pet and that pet attacked a nurse, they were outlawing any service dog in the er. But after talking, the commander agreed service dogs, not emotional support dogs, are necessary pieces of medical equipment for their person and denying the person their dog is unlawful. So thank you for all the support!! We did it!!

From Julia

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I love her line I bolded.

 

From Julia and Ethel:

 

I wanted to update you on the resolution I reached with the local Fort Leonard Wood active duty Army Hospital. Two weeks ago I was admitted to the emergency room and after being evaluated and drugged, Dusty was told that Ethel could not stay with me in the treatment room. I was going to have to transfer from bed to chair to bed and I needed Ethel to support me transferring, especially as drugged as I was. But they were adamant- no dogs in the treatment area. Dusty showed them her ADA card, he argued for a patient advocate and I just kind of drowsily cried on Ethel's neck. But finally, both Dusty and Ethel were asked to leave.

When I sobered up later on, I was furious. Once I was admitted to an inpatient floor, Ethel was allowed to be with me and she and I spent the week sleeping on the hospital bed. She helped me transfer and we took walks. But still the policy remained that no dogs are allowed in the ER treatment rooms.

These treatment rooms are not sterile and they are not small. But someone had slapped a "service dog badge" on their emotional support pet and that dog had attacked a nurse when the owner coded. And thus the policy stuck.

I asked the SDP family to support me in reporting the grievance and changing the policy. Active duty Army hospitals are not VA hospitals and the regulations and policies fall under the hospital commander, who has the authority to make changes. The SDP family was brilliant. Multiple reports were filed on my behalf and the overwhelming SDP voice got the attention of the command team. I was asked to come in for a meeting with the commander Monday.

A wonderful man and physician, he immediately apologized for the misunderstanding. There is now a "no emotional support animal or therapy dog" policy in the ER with a byline that "all service dogs performing a physical service for their owner are welcome". He was so impressed with the demonstration Ethel and I did on transferring, he took down all of the SDP information to pass along to some of the permanently disabled soldiers that pass through here.

One voice makes a whisper, but the voices of a family turn to thunder. Future service dogs and their owners will be treated fairly by the educated ER staff. I wanted to thank the SDP community for helping me make this change. We did it!

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  • 1 month later...

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