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Hello to all from a Parkinson's dog owner! The dog is an incredible help and I can vouch for the various items listed below AND MORE ! My dog and I just flew to a VA Hospital for an appointment and back again the same day ..... otherwise unassisted ! It really works. In addition to what is in the first post, my dog is learning to assist with opening doors, getting my CG to help me, retrieving items that I designate with a laser pointer, assist in taking my jacket off, etc. etc. A really important part is the help I recieve going down stairs - he will brace until he feels the down pressure go off his harness and then move down to the next step. The list goes on, but he started doing the stair thing by himself as he was able to sense the "freezing" on his own. And yes, he will even pull a wheelchair if I will let him (I don't as he under 2 yrs, old)! I did things a little differently in that I raised and trained my own dog ! Help is readily available to teach a disabled person to train their own dog if they should so desire ( even if using assistive devices). I would be happy to coorespond with any one who wants information on how to make it all work and all of the details. Rob and George (Retired Vet & Large Laid Back Lab Service Dog) ----- Original Message ----- From: <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2001 3:44 PM Subject: Parkinson's dog program > Someone wrote requesting info about Parkinson Dogs. One of the men in our > Central NY Parkinson's Support Group has one, and it has been wonderful for > him. The following is part of an article I wrote about this program back in > April, 1999, for our newsletter, "No Parkin' Zone." > The Parkinson's Walker Dog Program is run through Independence Dogs Inc. in > Chadds Ford, PA, and currently (as of 4/99) is the only Service Dog School > with the capacity for training Parkinson's Walker Dogs. This program is only > in its second year (1999). > The Program found the following facts via their pilot study: > 1. The incidence of falling in PD patirents can be lowered by 80%. > 2. The dog can break freezes. > 3. Use of a dog will facilitate the restoration of a near normal walking > gait. > 4. Use of a dog will enable the Parkinsonian to maintain his/her balance > much more effectively than canes or walkers. > 5. A Parkinson's Walker Dog wil also retrieve all objects dropped by > his/her human partner. > `6. A dog will assist the Parkinsonian to regain a standing position, > negating the need for human assistance if he/she should fall. > The recipient of a Parkinson's dog must be willing to spend 3 weeks, free > of charge at the school in Chadds Ford, PA, to bond with the dog and learn to > work with him > or her as a safely funtioning team. There is no charge for the dog, though > recipients are asked to make a $200 contribution which will be applied to the > cost of the dog's specially designed custom made walker harness. It is also > required that the Parkinsonian recipient be accompanied by a caregiver for > the entire 3 weeks. It currently (1999) takes 6 monhts to 2 years to receive > a service dag after sending in an application. > For more info contact: > Independence Dogs, Inc. > 146 State Line Rd. > Chadds Ford, PA 19317 > (610)358-2723 > Remember these details are 2 years out of date and things may have changed. > The one thing that hasn't changed, however, is the terrific help this dog has > been to our member. They rarely miss a meeting. > Hope this helps someone out there. > > Marge Moylan > 57/41/39 > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn