[nagdu] Dog Therapy and Paws that Heal

Haben Girma habnkid at aol.com
Thu Feb 12 03:08:20 UTC 2009 

Hi Linda,

The governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia do not get along at all, they've 
been at the verge of war for the last few years, with fighting breaking 
out at the border every now and then. The typical civilian does not hate 
the civilians of the other country. I have family on both sides of the 
border, and quite a lot of people have family on both sides. The 
cultures are very similar, almost identical, and some parts of each 
country share languages. Most Eritreans don't like Ethiopia, but they 
have Ethiopian friends.

Yes, I was able to read the attachments. I use ZoomText, so the pdfs 
weren't a problem. I hope the interview with the woman goes well.

I hope to have a dog by this summer, I'm in the application process with 
The Seeing Eye at the moment. I've heard lots of good things about that 
place.

best,
Haben

lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com wrote:
> 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.
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>> nagdu mailing list
>>>>>>>>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
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>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>>
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