(Pic:) -Hannah James Henault with her Seizure Response dog "Mark." Mark was ranked as one of the top 5 Hero Dogs by the national blog takepart.com in 2011! Mark was trained by Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.
The use of Assistance Animals in the United States actually began after World War I (1914-1918).
Dorothy Harrison Eustis, a wealthy American who was living in Switzerland saw blind German veterans being guided by trained German Shepherd Dogs during and after World War I. She was so impressed with what the dogs were able to do that she wrote an article for the Saturday Evening Post offering to work with one interested blind American at her kennels in Switzerland.
Out of hundreds of responses, she chose a 19-year-old boy named Morris Frank because of his intense desire for independence and his drive to help establish a guide dog training program in the United States.
The young man traveled to Switzerland to train with Eustis where he teamed up with a female German Shepherd named Buddy. After completing his training, he and Buddy came back to the U.S., where he publicized the advantages of working with a guide dog.
Despite resistance for developing a guide dog training program in the United States from several well-known organizations that worked with blind people, Frank and Eustis were able to raise public support to found The Seeing Eye guide dog organization in 1929. Over a period of time, they determined that the breeds that would work best for them were the West German Show Line German Shepherds. To make sure that they were able to have a large pool of suitable dogs with the exact requirements for the job of guiding, they pioneered a breeding program to have a constant supply of canines where they would have the pick of the litters.
While Seeing Eye/Guide dogs have been in the U.S. for over 75 years, the other types of Assistance Dog programs have only been in existence since the early 70s.
Bonita Bergin pioneered the Service Dog movement that deals with mobility issues.
She had observed donkeys and other animals in several underdeveloped areas assisting people with physical disabilities, and came up with the idea of dogs working with mobility impaired individuals.
She sought advice from guide dog training programs but unfortunately they weren't responsive and offered her little help. She persevered though, and was finally able to develop the first Service Dog training program in the U.S.
Increased awareness over the years of the value of Service Dogs helping mobility impaired people has caused the demand for trained Service Dogs to explode and many new training programs have been established to meet the need.
Due to the varied needs required of a Service Dog, a large number of different breeds can be seen assisting people with physical disabilities and unlike guide dogs, they can come from Humane Societies, Rescue Organizations, special breeding programs or even already be the disabled person's pet. At Seizure Alert Dogs for Life we only use purebred West German Show Line German Shepherds from reputable breeders.
While most people think the only Assistance Animals are Seeing Eye/Guide dogs, that is only a perception time has ingrained into the public. The vision assistance animals are only a small portion of the overall Assistance Animal population. Within the dog category, some examples of other types of Assistance Dogs are Seizure Alert dogs, Migraine Alert dogs, Autism dogs, Alzheimer's dogs, Post Traumatic Stress dogs, Hearing dogs, Cardio/Pulmonary/Vascular dogs, as well as Mobility dogs. Many of these dogs aid a partner that does not show an obvious disability to the average person. Seizure Response dogs are an excellent example since many of their partners appear totally *not*disabled for much of the time. But when their partner begins to have a seizure, these dogs are absolutely invaluable!
Below are brief descriptions of the more prevalent types of Service Animals that the public might see.
Assistance/Service Dogs are trained to perform physical tasks for people with mobility disabilities. Such tasks might include pulling wheelchairs, retrieving objects, opening doors and drawers and flipping switches for lights or automatic doors.
Hearing Dogs assist people who are deaf and hard of hearing by alerting them to a variety of household sounds: a knock on the door or a doorbell, a buzzing alarm clock, a ringing telephone, a baby's cry, a name being called or a smoke alarm going off. These dogs are trained to make physical contact, or at least get their partners' attention, and lead then to the source of the sound.
About 25 years ago an inmate at Washington State Prison by the name of Sue Miller was the first to identify seizure alerting behavior in dogs. In 1983 she volunteered to work for Prison Pet Partnerships, a rehabilitation program for women at the prison in Gig Harbor. She worked to help train a dog for a 14 year old girl that suffered from epilepsy.
"We thought we could train a dog to respond to her seizures" Miller said to the Sarasota -Herald tribune in 1994. " Sheba a trained German Shepherd rescue dog, proved to that not only could she respond, she could predict when a seizure was about to take place."
Miller, in a 1994 Associated Press story said, "She proved that not only could she respond, she could predict when a seizure would take place." The first time Sheba observed the girl having a seizure, "to our amazement, she went directly to her, stayed focused and was absolutely attentive.
"She would ignore commands from me, and force the girl to stop her activity, asking her, in a dog way, to sit down. The girl's job was to learn to listen to Sheba."
Miller went on to place over a dozen Seizure Alert/Response Dogs who suffer from epilepsy.
(Pic)- Andrew Stevens with his Vagus Nerve Stimulator trained Seizure Response service dog "Alaya." Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. CEO invented the VNS collar and training techniques and cell phone case to make emergency assistance calls. (patent pending.)In 2010 Seizure Alert/Response Dogs gained national media attention on the "Today Show" and on CNN and in the "Washington Post" in the article What Happened to the Boy who wanted to take his se... when 12 year old Andrew Stevens could not take his service dog Alaya to Fairfax County Public School.
The Vagus Nerve Stimulator collar invented by the CEO of Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Alaya's training and capabilities were the center of national discussion.
Andrew Stevens immediately was able to take Alaya to Fairfax County Public School with no issues.
In August 2011 The CEO of Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. filed for a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark office for a patent for the VNS collar, training methods and cell phone case for seizure response dogs.
Seizure Response Dogs are trained to assist people with epilepsy or other seizure disorders. They may either alert individuals to on-coming seizures, or react once seizures begin. This may either allow the individual to get to a safe place before a seizure begins, or provide the owner with direct physical contact until assistance arrives. Seizure Alert Dogs for Life has broken many barriers in providing quality working German Shepherds, training methods and pioneered new methods of seizure response offering safety, enjoyment and a quality of life for the new recipient.
An Amish harness shop owner once said "God made epilepsy, but God also made those German Shepherds." At Seizure Alert Dogs for Life we truly believe that.
About The VNS collar and cell phone case
Seizure Alert Dogs for Life Invented the VNS Colla...
Our Innovation begins with Creative Ideas
About Andrew Stevens:
CNN: Boy Can't Bring Service Dog to School
School Allows Epiletic Boy to have his Service Dog in Class
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