[nagdu] Dog Therapy and Paws that Heal
lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com
lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com
Tue Feb 10 20:55:12 UTC 2009
Hi Haben,
Attached are a couple of articles and a flyer aboout the Paws That Heal
program. One article and the flyer are in PDF files and the other article is
in a work doc.
I can't tell from your name if you are a male or female - I just like to
know what I'm talking to! (grin). What nationality is your name? I'm half
Polish. It took me an age to find out that Marion Gwizdala is a man!
Enjoy the articles.
Regards,
Linda and Landon
PS: Your home e-mail didn't work so this is on the list.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Haben Girma" <habnkid at aol.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, February 09, 2009 7:03 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Dog Therapy and Paws that Heal
> Linda, I am absolutely intrigued! That is such a lovely program! I really
> hope I can find something like that in the Portland, Oregon area. I am a
> college student currently taking an anthropology class that requires
> students to go out and do fieldwork. I am considering doing something with
> Guide Dogs for the Blind in Boring, Oregon. Right now I'm going to search
> the Internet for a dog therapy program in Portland. Thanks for sharing
> LInda!
>
> Haben
>
> lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com wrote:
>> Hi Haben,
>> There is no web page for Paws That Heal. We are a 3 year old program
>> that is run out of the Health & Wellness Department for the Naval Medical
>> Center of San Diego. The program manager is their Diabetes Instructor.
>> She is visually impaired with a guide dog and she started the program
>> after an encounter in the elevator with a Wounded Warrior in her
>> building. The servicemember had a profound stutter and it took him five
>> minutes to stutter out, "May I pet your dog?" My friend - the
>> instructor - allowed him to pet her dog and the stutter went away just
>> like that! He then shared his war experiences with her - the
>> servicemember was wounded in Iraq.
>>
>> Anyway, the Diabetes instructor happens to have been a friend of mine for
>> years. She also knows several of the other guide dog users in the San
>> Diego area who already had a program with the local blind center where we
>> bring our dogs to an outdoor, fenced in dog park to allow the guide dogs
>> play time together. We had exclusive use of one of the fenced in areas
>> for two hours once a month. The friend of mine worked with us and her
>> chain of command at the hospital and permission was granted to bring
>> several wounded servicemembers to the park to play with our dogs - and
>> Paws That Heal was born. We also have a portion of the program where we
>> go to the locked mental health ward to work with the servicemembers with
>> PTSD and depression. More great stuff happened as well.
>>
>> I do have a flyer for the program but it is in a PDF file and turned
>> sideways - don't know if a screen reader can desipher it!
>>
>> The program manager has written to Marion Gwizdala and he in turn had her
>> contact Mike Hingson about the program. We are looking for some new teams
>> to work with us who live in the San Diego area. The Paws program happens
>> three times a month at the hospital so we need people who can get there,
>> can commit the time, and pass the interviewing process - both human and
>> dog.
>>
>> I forgot, where do you live?
>>
>> HTH
>>
>> Linda and Landon
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Haben Girma" <habnkid at aol.com>
>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2009 1:13 AM
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Welcome Haben
>>
>>
>>> Linda, those volunteer programs sound awesome! Would you send me the web
>>> address for Paws that Heal? I'd love to read more about it.
>>>
>>> thanks,
>>> Haben
>>>
>>> lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com wrote:
>>>> Welcome to the list, Haben.
>>>>
>>>> I'm Linda and I live in San Diego - soon to move to Vermont. Landon is
>>>> my 3 year old red Lab/Golden cross from The Seeing Eye. I got him in
>>>> the October 2007 class. I am 58 years young and have not had a paid job
>>>> in eons. I've done lots of volunteer jobs to get experience to put on a
>>>> resume! Right now, Landon and I work at two pet therapy programs. One
>>>> for the Humane Society where we visit various facilities for disabled
>>>> kids and adults. Landon is certified by the AKC's Canine Good
>>>> Citizenship Test. Landon is their program's first actual working
>>>> assistance dog they've had. Lots of guide dog and service dog pups,
>>>> but we are their first working team to be in the program. The other
>>>> one is a program called Paws That Heal that is at the Naval Medical
>>>> Center of SD. Both Landon and I had to pass a series of interviews for
>>>> this. We do a combo pet therapy, socialization, and reintegration work
>>>> with our Wounded Warriors from Iraq and Afghanistan. We work mainly
>>>> with the patients on the mental health ward.
>>>>
>>>> Haben, you'll enjoy this list - it's alot of fun.
>>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>>
>>>> Linda and Landon
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Haben Girma" <habnkid at aol.com>
>>>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Friday, February 06, 2009 9:27 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Welcome Haben
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Hi Mardi, thanks for the explanations. I love the names of your dogs.
>>>>> I actually don't have a dog, I'm in the application process for a
>>>>> Seeing Eye dog right now. So, I'm patiently waiting to learn my fate.
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>> Haben
>>>>>
>>>>> Mardi Hadfield wrote:
>>>>>> Hi every one, Welcome Haben. No, I don't live in Alaska. My
>>>>>> Huskies
>>>>>> are "south paws" We live in Tucson, Arizona. When I first needed a
>>>>>> guide
>>>>>> dog, I was told that the schools did not train for wheelchair
>>>>>> users.Since I
>>>>>> already had a service dog, who was a husky, I hired a trainer to help
>>>>>> me
>>>>>> train Lily to guide me. I had to retire her at age 8 as she had
>>>>>> health
>>>>>> issues and she died month later, leaving me with out a guide dog. I
>>>>>> tried
>>>>>> out a border collie and he did not work out as he had been abused
>>>>>> before I
>>>>>> got him and he could not handle being out in public. Then I got
>>>>>> another
>>>>>> husky, Nala,who was a fantastic guide. She will soon be 10 years old
>>>>>> and has
>>>>>> health issues now.She has guided me for 8 years and it has been hard
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> retire her as she does not want to retire. When she sees me getting
>>>>>> ready to
>>>>>> go out, she brings me her harness and get all excited. She started
>>>>>> picking
>>>>>> fights with Wanagi, the dog that I was training to take over for
>>>>>> Nala. She
>>>>>> is a lot happier now that she is working again part time. Wanagi came
>>>>>> up
>>>>>> lame with a hip problem, so she was career changed. I am keeping her
>>>>>> as a
>>>>>> pet. I have been looking for a dog to take over as my new guide for
>>>>>> over 10
>>>>>> months. I think I have finally found a dog.I would love to get a dog
>>>>>> from
>>>>>> Fidelco,but when I asked about it ,I was told that they don't train
>>>>>> for
>>>>>> wheelchair users.I would have to pay my way to and from South Eastern
>>>>>> Guide
>>>>>> Dogs, which I could not afford, and really can't be away that long.
>>>>>> Guide
>>>>>> Dogs for the Blind would take me ,but again, I can't be away from my
>>>>>> home
>>>>>> and business that long. So I guess I will just continue to train my
>>>>>> own
>>>>>> guides with the help of my trainer. Haben, do you have a guide dog?
>>>>>> If so ,
>>>>>> what breed is it? I love hearing from others and about their dogs.
>>>>>> Have a
>>>>>> great day, Mardi and Nala,semi-retired, and Shaman , possible
>>>>>> trainee.
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> nagdu mailing list
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>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>>
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>>
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>
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