[nagdu] Dog Therapy and Paws that Heal

lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com lindagwizdak at peoplepc.com
Thu Feb 12 23:48:29 UTC 2009 

Hi Haben,
Looks like we have a new member of the Paws That Heal staff!! Both person 
and dog passed their three interviews and now there just paperwork to 
complete.  We're happy - the new team members will do great!

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: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 7:08 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Dog Therapy and Paws that Heal


> 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
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>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
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>>>>
>>>>
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