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This photo shows crisis dog Tikva, a Keeshond, with responders at Ground Zero.
Service dogs for first responders

Service dogs for first responders

In light of Wednesday’s post, here’s a video about service dogs for first responders.  Thank goodness, leadership in some areas has begun to cut through the “tough-guy” culture in many agencies. It’s high time we recognize the huge impact of stress on first responders. When more than twice as many police officers die by suicide than in the line of duty, something is seriously wrong! Anyone who’s followed this blog for a while knows I’ve posted about service dogs many times before. I’ve featured dogs who help calm child…

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Service

Service

Please accept my apologies. This was scheduled to go live Wednesday, 12/5/18. It failed to publish for reasons I don’t understand. Like many people around the world, I was touched by this photo of President George H. W. Bush’s service dog Sully by his casket this weekend. The late President George H.W. Bush’s service dog Sully helped him with “a list that’s two pages long” of tasks, after his wife Barbara passed away earlier this year. Photo by Evan Sisley. I’ve written about service…

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So, I wrote this book . . . the saga continues.

So, I wrote this book . . . the saga continues.

Anyone who’s been reading this blog periodically may have stumbled onto a mention or three about the science fiction novel I’ve been working on. To be fair, it’s a science fiction universe I’ve been creating, the physical setting and milieu for a whole series of novels. Any blog posts I’ve written about future trends, such as last year’s series on automation, the DIY Space Station series, first responders, and/or police K-9s, MWDs, or service animals, all have been directly inspired by research aimed at making my fictional world seem more real. The book’s still not…

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Yet more evidence that dogs are wonderful

Yet more evidence that dogs are wonderful

The other day I came upon what I think is a wonderful story from the Denver, Colorado area. I’ve shared stories about a variety of service dogs on this blog, but this is the first “facility dog” I’ve encountered.  This is one way that Pella helps comfort child witnesses, out of sight of the jury. This program in Colorado was born of the persistent vision and efforts of criminal investigator Amber Urban, who got the idea from the Courthouse Dogs program in…

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A dog who gives new hope (and sleep) to the whole family

A dog who gives new hope (and sleep) to the whole family

The Artdog Image of Interest  Dogs can be trained to do all kinds of things to help their deaf or hearing-impaired owners. Meet Klara and her Hearing Dog Jasper, who’s made a world of difference for the whole family. VIDEO: Many thanks to NDCS (National Deaf Children’s Services) of the UK, and to YouTube for this video.

A dog who has this veteran’s back

A dog who has this veteran’s back

The Artdog Image of Interest  Here’s another service dog video. This one tells the story of a Canadian Afghanistan War vet whose PTSD was ruining his life. Now his service dog Norman “has my back.” Man and dog demonstrate some of the ways that Norman helps. VIDEO: Many thanks to CBC News, and YouTube for this video.

A dog who gave a girl a more active life

A dog who gave a girl a more active life

The Artdog Image of interest Here’s another service dog video. This time it’s George, a Great Dane who’s making an amazing difference in the life of a little girl named Bella. VIDEO: Many thanks to The Doctors, and YouTube for this video.

A dog who made a difference

A dog who made a difference

The Artdog Image of Interest  This week’s image of interest is a video about a little boy with autism, and the dog who made all the difference in his world. I hope you’ll enjoy it. VIDEO: Many thanks to Talent Hounds and YouTube for this video.

Kids reading to dogs benefits the DOGS, too!

Kids reading to dogs benefits the DOGS, too!

A few weeks ago, I posted an article, Canine reading tutors, about the growing popularity of using therapy dogs to boost children’s literacy. Kids who read aloud to dogs never get corrected when they say a word wrong or spend time puzzling over it, and they never get hurried up if they read slowly. Instead, the dog lies next to them, warm and reassuring, and always seems to like being read to. It’s a great confidence-builder. But could it also benefit…

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A role model for being alive

A role model for being alive

We sure could find worse models to emulate. The old cliche about “everything I need to know” doesn’t hold water–there are many things our dogs can’t teach us (how to balance a checkbook or write a blog post, for example). But the basic attitude of a dog toward life, and toward humans, is another story altogether. Would that we ALL treated each other as gently and with as much compassion as well-socialized dogs treat us. IMAGE: Many thanks to Mactoons for this…

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