Tails in the News

Michigan-based organization trains much needed service dogs

Jane MacFarlane was born without the ability to hear. When she was in her twenties, she suffered a stroke that left her with additional impairments, making everyday activities a challenge. With help from her service dog Ukon, who she adopted from Wayland, Michigan-based Paws with a Cause in 2004, McFarlane is able to lead a relatively independent and active life.
“Ukon works as a combo dog,” MacFarlane explains. “He works as a hearing dog and a walk brace dog. [As a] hearing dog, [he] alerts me to sounds such as doorbells [and] fire alarm buzzers. [As a walk brace dog]  he helps me get up from the chair, helps me with my balance, going up and down the stairs, helps me with my laundry.”
Paws with a Cause is national organization that has placed service dogs in 38 states. The group trains three types of dogs: service, hearing, and seizure response. It can also train combination dogs that work in more than one area. Each dog’s training starts when he is a puppy and takes a minimum of six months of individualized training at Paws HQ before he is placed with his guardian, says Sue Brooks, Southeastern Michigan development representative for Paws with a Cause. With more than 200 volunteers training future service dogs, Paws is able to provide a much-needed service to its clients.
As part of their training, Paws makes sure the dogs have a wide breadth of experiences. Since each dog is trained for an individual client, the client’s needs are taken into consideration during the animal’s stay at Paws. After the dog is placed, a trainer will visit his new home to make sure he knows how to provide all the services his guardian may need.
Brooks says MacFarlane’s dog Ukon is a typical assistance dog in some ways, but that his combination of skills make him special. During a previous stay with a foster family,  for example, Ukon was trained to fly a kite, which makes him a bit of a service dog celebrity.
Both MacFarlane and Brooks say that if they could teach the public one thing about service dogs, it would be that they shouldn’t be petted. “If everyone is petting the dog,” says Brooks, “[he] can’t focus. Dogs want to be social animals, but when they are in training, they learn that they can’t always be social.”
Despite the challenges of working with a service dog, MacFarlane could not be happier with Ukon. She is such a proponent of the work that Paws does, that she and Ukon regularly volunteer with the organization doing presentations and demonstrations to show the public what service dogs can do.
“Organizations like Paws will help people gain their freedom back, independence back, level of security and most of all, [help them get] off welfare and [get] back to work,” says MacFarlane.

GreyHeart Greyhound Rescue launches youth chapter

 
GreyHeart Greyhound Rescue and Adoption of Michigan has granted affiliate status to a student group at Chippewa Valley High School in Clinton Township, making it the nation’s first affiliated anti-racing youth chapter. The group, MI Bound Hounds, will pursue fundraising for the sponsorship of one or more rescued Greyhounds. It will also assist GreyHeart members at public functions aimed at educating the public about Greyhound rescue and adoption, and learn about the care and handling of retired racers.
“To date, 22 students have joined the group,” says Al Schneider, a GreyHeart volunteer working with MI Bound Hounds. “We give them facts, introduce them to rescued racers, and give them room to determine their own direction. All these kids are smart, motivated, compassionate, and committed to making this a better world.” The youth chapter has already elected its own officers, committed to group goals, studied the costs associated with rescue, and assisted at meet and greets and official GreyHeart fundraisers.  
 Greyhound racing is legal in 15 states (not Michigan) with Florida supporting the largest Greyhound racing industry in the country. The dogs are prized for their ability to run—and run fast. The Humane Society estimates 7,500 to 20,000 Greyhounds are euthanized each year simply because they don’t run fast enough.
GreyHeart Greyhound Rescue and Adoption of Michigan is devoted to the rescue and adoption of retired racers and educating the public regarding the suffering and consequences of racing.  Since 1999, GreyHeart has placed over 450 Greyhounds into responsible, loving homes.
 

State Representative sponsors doggie dining bill

Representative Tonya Schuitmaker is the sponsor of a new bill in the Michigan legislature that would allow people to dine with their canine companions on outdoor restaurant terraces. The current law prohibits people from bringing dogs into restaurants unless they are service dogs.
Schuitmaker was inspired to introduce the legislation after Kevin Hyman, owner of Kevin’s A Tavern on the River in Paw Paw, Michigan, was told by the health department that he couldn’t let his German Shepherd, Brandywine, stay on the patio. With pets becoming such an integral part of people’s lives, many want to have their four-legged friend alongside them while they dine out.
“Following the success in other state’s and large cities like Chicago and New York, Michigan needs to provide food service establishments the same opportunities,” says Schuitmaker. “This is just another economic tool that creates more walk-able Michigan communities.”
More than 100 House members have co-sponsored the bill; a vote date hasn’t currently been set.