[nagdu] Dog Therapy and Paws that Heal
lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com
lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com
Wed Feb 11 23:16:26 UTC 2009
Hi Haben,
Thanks. We have alot of Eritrians here in San Diego. I heard that the
Eritreans and the Ethiopians don't like each other - is this true? I hope
not - I don't like people having age-old grudges against each other - you
know - it limits your friendships with people. (grin!)
Were you able to read the Paws That Heal attachments I sent you? I know
that screen readers and PDF files don't always agree with each other. Tell
me what you think.
Tomorrow, we're interviewing a local woman and her guide dog for the Paws
program. I want to make sure we have another good person in it before I
have to leave in July.
I don't know if I missed something - do you have a dog? If so, what kind is
it and what's its name? I do know that we have people on the list who are
between dogs, exploring the possibilities for a first dog. My dog Landon is
a Golden/Lab mix and he's red. He's from the Seeing Eye in New Jersey.
Take care,
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: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 5:13 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Dog Therapy and Paws that Heal
> Thanks for the articles, Linda!
>
> I identify as female, born in California with family from Eritrea, East
> Africa. Haben is actually a gender neutral name in Eritrea, so it's a
> legitimate question all around. I like the ambiguity, especially when
> filling out applications for various things.
>
> best,
> Haben
>
> lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com wrote:
>> 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.
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>>>
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