Assistance Dog Storm : All posts

Pets: Fourth of July dog and pet safety to keep in mind this holiday

With the summer in full swing, its almost time for one of our great celebratory days here in the U.S.: Independence Day. It is a day to honor the works of our founding fathers and all the people who came after them to make our country what it is today.

The backyard barbecues and the firework shows are events that most of us look forward to for many weeks beforehand, but we must, as always, take a few seconds to remember safety for both ourselves and our pets.

More after the jump…

Pets: Dog swimming safety tips to use this summer

With the sudden onset of summer here in south east Michigan, we as pet owners need to be prepared for all the different activities warm weather brings with it.

One that everyone can enjoy, including our pets, is the use of the many lakes and pools we have access to here in our community. Using them is a great way to keep cool, but it also requires you to take a few things into account.

Since there will be so many of us heading on vacations in the coming months, I wanted to go over a few general water safety tips to help keep your dog healthy and happy this summer. While it’s a lot of fun to splash around with your pet, it also brings a number of danger you should be aware of to help keep everyone safe.

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Pets: Preparing your dog for long summer trips: Focus on safety and training

Like most dog owners know, our best friends love car rides. Because travel is part of life though, for our pets, I believe it is important for people to know about ways to get their dog used to travel and the safety equipment that is available to help protect their animals.

Ever since I first picked up Assistance Dog Storm in 2007, he has been a constant passenger in many different types of vehicles. He has ridden in everything from my own personal “Safety Van” to more exotic forms of transportation such as helicopters and paddles boats.

Every one of these different forms of transportation brought a new reaction from Storm and also all presented unique safety challenges.

For Storm and me, these trips always go smoothly because I — as you should — have put in a lot of time preparing my animal for travel. If you want to make sure you have a stress-free and enjoyable vacation with your animal, you need to lay some ground work first.

More after the jump…

pets: The importance of knowing and trusting your dog's veterinarian

Whether you relay on a service dog to help you in daily life or you have a beloved pet that is a irreplaceable part of your family, it is important to take the time to find the best veterinary care for your companion.

Just like marriage, animal ownership is in both sickness and in health, and when sickness comes, everyone should already have someone they can rely on to help his or her dog though it. I found a wonderful veterinarian for my assistance dog, Storm, and just this past week, I was reminded why I did so.

As many of you may know, I rely on my assistance dog, Storm, to help with my daily mobility. He is the foundation that keeps me moving and working. Recently, though, Storm was injured in an accident, and it has made thankful that we have so many wonderful animal care services in our community.

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Pets: Therapy dogs in the hospital help patients feel more at home

Every year, millions of American spend time in a hospital setting for minor or major medical reason. These situations for most of us are scary, traumatic and sometime lonely experience that we all wish to avoid as much as possible. We lose many of our everyday comforts such as a favorite blanket, pets and the ever day sights and sounds that we are use to.

Because these settings are so intimidating, therapy dogs can help keep the moods of all those staying and working in a hospital just a bit higher.

Therapy dogs are a special kind of service dog that is highly trained to be passive and interactive with people in all situations, no matter what surroundings they are presented with. The dogs can be poked and prodded and can take whatever rough play a kid can throw at them without reacting in a aggressive way.

Their training is regulated by Therapy Dogs International (T.D.I) so that every dog that is certified lives up to a very strict set of criteria. Lucky enough, my assistance dog, Storm, is one of these dogs, which allows us visit people when they need a friendly face the most.

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Mentoring today to help train the next generation of veterinary medicine providers

My assistance dog, Storm, and I truly enjoy working with local high schools students who have the desire to become involved with pet care as a profession. On March 4, we participated and judged at the 2011 Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Regional 3 Veterinary Assisting Scenarios held at Washtenaw Community College. This event is for students who want to one day go into the field of veterinary medicine.

This HOSA event involved more than 350 high school students from 10 different counties competing in more than 40 animal care related events. Each student's task is to demonstrate to the judges their mastery of specific occupational skills in a specified field of study. This event is a chance for them to showcase their abilities in hands-on scenarios.

This HOSA Regional event is coordinated by the LISD TECH Center in Adrian.

Those students with the highest ranking scores in each specific occupational area not only take home bragging rights, but are now are eligible to compete at the states HOSA event held later this spring.

The majority of these high school age veterinary assistance students have spent up to two years of their lives learning topics such as veterinary vocabulary, instrument identification, emergency room procedures and more.

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Pets: Officer Tony and K-9 Buky reach out to Ypsilanti students though education

Working in the community is always rewarding, primarily when I get the opportunity to do so with others who share my enthusiasm.

I'm privileged to be working with Tony Schembri and his K-9 partner Buky (pronounced BOO-KEY), to help build a bridge between the Ypsilanti Police Department and the students of the Ypsilanti School District though a number of in school events and programs. We created these programs to both promote education and also foster a more positive view of our law enforcement offices in the community to help deter crime before it has a chance to start though education.

The Ypsilanti community was first introduced to its new Police K-9 unit back in November of 2007. The unit is made of up Officer Tony Schembri — a 15 year veteran of the YPD - and his Belgian Shepherd, Buky. Buky has been highly trained in scent tracking, narcotics location, building searches, and helping protect Officer Tony in the line of duty. They are partners both on and off the job, with Buky living with Officer Tony’s family at their home when they are not on duty.

The two of them also spend time working with my Assistance Dog, Storm, and I to help bring a new level of interaction between the officers of our community and the students who live there. Most of the students see Officer Tony around the community doing his job, but we wanted to be able to connected with students on a more personal level. This is why I invite Officer Tony and Buky into our schools and set up a number of programs so that the students can get to know them.

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What can a service dog do? Pick up broken glass, among many other things

In the first part of this post about a trip I took Estabrook Elementary School in Ypsilanti, Michigan with Storm, I talked a bit about the creation of the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. Its a topic that I am very passionate about, and I shared a few of the ways it has changed my life and the lives of others. I asked the students at Estabrook, for whom I was holding the program, to brainstorm a few idea on how the ADA complemented the dreams The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood for during the Civil Rights Movement for "equal treatment for all." More after the jump…

Teaching the future generation about the Americans with Disabilities Act

Having worked in the Ypsilanti School District for over 30 years, late January is always special to me because we celebrate the birthday of one of our countries great leaders of civil rights, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I delight in helping educate young people about the sacrifices and the gains that resulted from this titan of a figure. Civil rights goes beyond racial issues and extend into areas that I have a lot of personal experience in, disabilities. More after the jump…