November 02, 1999
Out of the deep freeze
He's the first Canadian to get a dog trained for people with
Parkinson's. Finally, people have stopped staring at him as if he's a
drunk or a nutbar: 'The dog gives me social credibility'
http://www.nationalpost.com/artslife.asp?f=991102/116649.html
Jeannie Marshall - National Post
A short walk down the street used to be a difficult and embarrassing
task for Ian Pearson. Ever since he was diagnosed with Parkinson's
disease 11 years ago, when he was 37, he has endured the stares of
passersby when he suddenly freezes in his tracks or loses control of his
limbs and flails around.
"When I'm out in public people sometimes look at me, and what I see on
their faces is that this guy is a nutbar or he's drunk," explains
Pearson.
But this past summer Pearson was one of 10 people (and the only
Canadian) to receive the first dogs specially trained to help
Parkinson's sufferers.
Parkinson's is a progressive disease of the nervous system that causes
tremors and muscular rigidity. People with the disease find their
movements slow and imprecise; often they lean dramatically to one side,
sometimes so severely that they fall over. The dogs have been trained to
react to and compensate for these symptoms.
"They're like a four-legged cane. If you're falling to the right, the
dog will pull to the left to stabilize you," explains Donna McCaffery of
Independence Dogs, a non-profit organization in Chadds Ford, Pa., that
trains dogs for people with disabilities of all sorts.
If the person falls, the dog will crouch in position and act as a
support so the person can get up again.
One of the most useful things the dogs can do is help to break the
"freeze." People with Parkinson's often freeze inexplicably "as though
their feet have become stuck in cement," says McCaffery.
Having a dog to help break the freeze has been tremendously liberating
to Pearson. "He knows a command called 'touch foot.' His paw will go
over on top of my foot and, if I'm stuck, this will unfreeze me, and I
will continue to walk," says Pearson.
Since the dogs have to act as a counterbalance, they are necessarily
large. An elderly or frail person will not likely be able to manage the
dog. Pearson is only 48 and quite strong, so his neurologist thought he
would be a good candidate for the program.
Pearson flew to the Independence Dogs facility to spend three weeks
bonding with a black Lab called Jax (who is now known as Pax because the
Pearson family dog was, coincidentally, called Jacks and now goes by
Jackson).
"The first week was primarily focused on bonding. That means you sleep
in the same room. If you go to the can, the dog is there with you. If
you shower, the dog is outside the shower. He's never out of your
sight," says Pearson.
And Pax hasn't been out of Pearson's sight since they came home to
Mississauga, Ont. He accompanies Pearson shopping, to the dentist, on
holiday with his family and to his son's hockey games.
"The dog gives me social credibility. People can see the dog is helping
me," says Pearson, meaning people on the street no longer think he is
drunk or unstable.
"It's changed the very nature of being outside, of shopping ... He's my
shadow now, I don't walk a foot without him being right behind me," he
says with pure affection for the dog.
The only drawback, as far as Pearson can see, is that Pax is such a
pleasant animal that it's hard not to turn him into a pet. Pearson's
14-year-old son would like nothing better than to take Pax for walks and
roll around and play with him, but the dog must take his commands only
from Pearson. This ensures the strength of their bond and means the dog
is always aware of Pearson's needs without being distracted by other
people.
"My boy just loves the dog and I really have to keep a lid on that
because he would steal that dog off me in a moment. He really is a
striking beast, he's just so good-looking," says Pearson.
Pax is not quite two years old and has many working years left. But
Pearson says he will certainly arrange to have another Parkinson's dog
when the time comes.
"That's something that I'll have to deal with in about 10 years' time
when he gets a little grey around the face. He won't be worked into the
ground. I'm actually looking forward to him being a pet."
Copyright © Southam Inc.
~~~~
Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
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