Seizure Alert Dogs for Life

New ADA Guidelines in Effect

2011-11-18T11:00:00.002-05:00

On July 26, 2010, the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the issuance of the Revised ADA Regulations governing Titles II and III which include a revised ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities (collectively the “2010 Standards”). [2] These revised regulations impact all industries – including, sports and entertainment venues; places of lodging; restaurants and bars; retail establishments; and academic institutions – in a variety of ways encompassing policies, practices and procedures, and design/construction. Existing places of public accommodation, those undergoing or contemplating alterations, and those being designed or built, must closely consider the impact that the 2010 Standards may have on their business operations and facilities.

The Application of the 2010 Standards

Since its inception in 1990, the purpose of the ADA has been based on a civil rights premise to provide a comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities through clear, strong, consistent and enforceable standards.

The 2010 Standards apply to existing facilities, alterations, and new construction. The dates of several major events are triggered by the date when the 2010 Standards are published in the Federal Register. The 2010 Standards were ultimately published in the Federal Register on September 15, 2010 (the “Publication Date”).

Effective Date

The “effective date” of the 2010 Standards was March 15, 2011, six months after the Publication Date (the “Effective Date”). Eighteen months after the Publication Date, March 15, 2012, compliance with the 2010 Standards is required for new construction, alterations to existing facilities, and existing structures to the extent they must comply with their ongoing obligation for readily achievable barrier removal (the removal of inaccessible elements without much difficulty or expense).

Impact on Existing Facilities

An existing facility for purposes of the 2010 Standards is one that was already in existence on the September 15, 2010 Publication Date (“Existing Facilities”). Existing Facilities can avail themselves of an element-by-element safe harbor that is included in the 2010 Standards (the “Safe Harbor”). The Safe Harbor sets forth that specific elements in covered facilities that were built or altered in compliance with the initial 1991 Standards (the “1991 Standards”) (any time up to March 15, 2012, 18 months after the Publication Date) are not required to comply with the 2010 Standards until those elements are next altered. If an element does not comply with the 1991 Standards, the Safe Harbor is not available. Moreover, elements covered for the first time in the 2010 Standards (e.g., pools, spas, and playgrounds) are not eligible for the Safe Harbor.

Prior to March 15, 2012, Existing Facilities may choose to comply with either the 1991 Standards or the 2010 Standards. However, Existing Facilities may not “cherry-pick” between the two sets of Standards. Existing Facilities that are still non-compliant on March 15, 2012 are at risk and have no choice but to immediately modify any non-compliant elements pursuant to the 2010 Standards.

One other important note for Existing Facilities, to the extent any of the 2010 Standards reduce the technical requirements or the number of required accessible elements below the number required in the 1991 Standards, the technical requirements or the number of accessible elements in a facility may be reduced in accordance with the requirements of the 2010 Standards.

Impact on Alterations/New Construction

The obligations that must be met by facilities that are undergoing alterations or are being newly constructed depend upon the timing of specific triggering events set forth in the 2010 Standards.

The 1991 Standards still apply if the date when the last application for a building permit or permit extension is certified to be complete by a State, county, or local government – or, in those jurisdictions where the government does not certify completion of applications, if the date when the last application for a building permit or permit extension is received by the State, county, or local government – was before the September 15, 2010 Publication Date; or if no permit is required, the start of the physical construction or alterations (not including ceremonial groundbreaking or razing of structures prior to site preparation) occurred before the September 15, 2010 Publication Date; and
The facility has the ability to choose whether to comply with either the 1991 Standards or the 2010 Standards if one of the aforementioned triggering events occurs after the September 15, 2010 Publication Date but prior to March 15, 2012; and
The 2010 Standards must be followed if the triggering event occurs after March 15, 2012.

The Substance of the 2010 Standards

The 2010 Standards contain a vast array of new and revised rules. This Alert will first focus on several of the significant changes that will impact public accommodations across industries. The Alert will then highlight some of the most important changes that are more industry-specific.[3]

Significant Aspects of the 2010 Standards Affecting Multiple Industries

Employee-Only Work Areas & Circulation Paths: The current rules require an accessible path to approach, enter, and exit employee-only work areas. Pursuant to the 2010 Standards, public accommodations must not only ensure that employee-only work areas provide for an accessible path to approach, enter, and exit, but they must also provide a 36-inch wide accessible common use circulation path within employee work areas. (This requirement will not apply to Existing Facilities pursuant to the readily achievable barrier removal requirement.)

This requirement is subject to several exceptions; specifically, when employee work areas exist that are:

(or have portions that are) less than 300 square feet and are elevated seven inches or more above the ground or finished floor, where elevation is essential to the functioning of the space;
less than 1,000 square feet and are defined by permanently installed partitions, counters, casework, or furnishings (e.g., many kitchens in quick-service restaurants, the employee-side of service counters);
an integral component of equipment (e.g., some power plants); and
exterior and fully exposed to weather.

Machinery and equipment are permitted to reduce the clear width of common use circulation paths where the reduction is essential to the function of the work performed (e.g., machinery and equipment which must be placed in a certain way to work properly, for ergonomics, or for safety).

The 2010 Standards further explain that individual employee work stations (e.g., a grocery checkout counter) are designed for use by one person and do not contain common-use circulation paths and, therefore, are not required to provide an accessible common-use circulation path.

Service Animals: The definition of service animal set forth in the 1991 Standards has been significantly narrowed by the 2010 Standards to only include a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. Other animals, whether wild or domestic, are no longer considered service animals under the 2010 Standards. Trained miniature horses may be an exception to this rule in certain situations. An emotional support animal (any animal that provides emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship) is not to be considered a service animal. However, psychiatric service dogs are recognized; for example, a dog can be trained to “ground” a person with a psychiatric disorder.

Places of public accommodation may ask individuals seeking to be accompanied by a service animal: if the animal is required because of a disability and what the service animal has been trained to do. Places of public accommodation are prohibited from requiring proof of service animal certification or licensing. Places of public accommodation may remove a service animal if it is “out of control and the animal’s handler does not take effective action to control it” or the animal is not housebroken.

Mobility Devices: The 2010 Standards adopt a new two-tiered approach to mobility devices, drawing a distinction between wheelchairs (and other devices designed for use by individuals with mobility disabilities, e.g., canes, crutches, walkers) and “other power-driven mobility devices” (those not primarily designed for use by individuals with mobility disabilities, e.g., Segways). Wheelchairs (and other devices designed for use by people with mobility impairments) must be permitted in all areas open to pedestrian use. “Other power-driven mobility devices” must be permitted to be used unless the covered entity can demonstrate that such use would: (i) fundamentally alter its programs, services, or activities; (ii) create a direct threat to others; or (iii) conflict with legitimate safety requirements.

Places of public accommodation can request – and must accept – the presentation of a valid, state-issued disability placard or card, or state-issued proof of disability, as verification that an individual uses the other power-driven mobility device for his or her mobility disability. In the alternative, the place of public accommodation must accept a verbal representation, not contradicted by observable fact, as a credible assurance that the other power-driven mobility device is being used because of a mobility disability.

Industry-Specific Issues

The following section highlights aspects of the 2010 Standards that are of particular relevance to specific industries.[4] Sports and Entertainment Facilities and Other Places of Public Assembly

Scoping Requirements for Accessible Seating: The 2010 Standards significantly reduce the scoping requirements for accessible seating in large facilities, setting forth that: (i) facilities with 500-5000 seats must have six accessible seating locations (wheelchair location and companion seat) plus one additional accessible seating location for every additional 150 fixed seats above 500 in the general seating area; and (ii) facilities with 5001 or more fixed seats in the general seating area must have 36 accessible seating locations (wheelchair location and companion seat) plus one additional accessible seating location for every 200 fixed seats above 5000 in the general seating area. For larger facilities, this change amounts to almost a 50 percent reduction from the 1991 Standards’ "one percent plus one" requirement.

Accessible seating for luxury boxes, club boxes, and suites in arenas, stadium and grandstands are to be determined separately from the general seating areas. In other assembly areas (e.g., a performing arts facility with tiered boxes) such luxury seating areas will be accounted for as part of the scoping requirements for the general seating areas.

Dispersal of Accessible Seating Locations: Accessible seating locations must be dispersed horizontally (all around the field of play or performance area), vertically (at varying distances from the screen, performance area, playing field), throughout each balcony or mezzanine, and at all levels of the facility served by an accessible route (even if it is not the same route used by other guests to access the seating area). Moreover, the 2010 Standards explain that facilities are required to provide accessible seating locations in each “specialty seating area” that make available to patrons “distinct services or amenities” that generally are not available to other patrons. Where multiple clubs or restaurants are available that are identical in the services and amenities provided, not all such clubs are required to be made accessible.

Companion Seats: The 2010 Standards expressly allow for the use of movable companion seats which must be located at the same floor elevation as the wheelchair location.

Scoping Requirements for Designated Aisle Seats: The 2010 Standards require designated aisle seats be provided for five percent of the total number of aisle seats, instead of for one percent of all seats as required in the 1991 Standards. This should result in a notable reduction of the number of designated aisle seats required in most sports and entertainment facilities.

Release of accessible seating: The 2010 Standards allow venues to release unsold accessible seating for sale to individuals without a disability for their own use for a single event or series of events: (i) when all non-accessible tickets (excluding luxury boxes, club boxes, or suites) have been sold; (ii) when all non-accessible seats in a designated seating area have been sold and the tickets for the accessible seating area are being released in the same designated area; or (iii) when all non-accessible tickets in a designated price category have been sold and the tickets for the accessible seating are being released in the same price category.

Ticketing: Pursuant to the 2010 Standards, tickets for accessible seating locations must be available via the same methods as non-accessible seating (e.g., same hours, same stages of ticket sales offerings (e.g., lotteries, pre-sales, general sales, wait lists), same methods of distribution (e.g., box office, telephone, Internet), and same types and numbers). Venues must not only provide sufficient information to explain the locations, features, and amenities of accessible seating in sufficient detail for individuals with a disability to independently determine if an accessible seating location meets their needs, but must do so in the same manner that general seating information is provided to the public (e.g., telephones numbers, charts, maps, websites).

The 2010 Standards also require that tickets for accessible seating be made available “at all price levels for every event or series of events.” Further, if accessible seating is unavailable at a specific price point within a seating section, comparable or better available accessible seating must be offered at the same (or at a lesser) price as the originally requested tickets that were not available.

Prevention of Fraud: The 2010 Standards augment the ability of venues, in certain situations, to guard against the fraudulent purchase of tickets for accessible seating locations. For single-event tickets, the venue may inquire whether the individual purchasing the tickets for accessible seating has a mobility disability or a disability that requires the use of the accessible features that are provided in accessible seating (or whether someone else in the purchaser’s group has such a disability). For tickets to a series-of-events (e.g., season tickets) the venue may ask the individual purchasing the tickets for accessible seating to attest in writing that the accessible seating is for a person who has a mobility disability or a disability that requires the use of the accessible features that are provided in accessible seating.

Additionally, the 2010 Standards expressly recognize the legality of voluntary accessible ticketing clubs – whereby individuals with disabilities self-identify to obtain priority access to accessible seating. If a venue adopts such a program, a reasonable number of tickets to accessible seating must remain available for purchase at all prices and dispersed at all locations for individuals who are not members.

Accessible Routes to Tiered-Dining Areas in Sports Facilities: While the 2010 Standards ordinarily require that an accessible route be provided to all dining areas in new construction (including raised or sunken areas), there is an exception for tiered dining areas in sports facilities. Accessible routes must be provided to at least 25 percent of the tiered dining areas in sports facilities, provided that each tier provides the same services and an accessible route serves the accessible seating.

Hotels and Other Places of Lodging

Accessible Room Scoping: The 2010 Standards do not change the number of guest rooms that must be accessible to individuals with mobility disabilities or the number that must be accessible to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.[5] At least one guest room with mobility features must now also provide communication features. Pursuant to the 2010 Standards, not more than 10 percent of the guest rooms required to provide mobility features and also equipped with communication features can be used to satisfy the minimum number of guest rooms required to provide communication features.

Dispersal of Accessible Rooms: Applicable to new construction and altered facilities, the 2010 Standards require that guest rooms with mobility features and guest rooms with communication features, “shall be dispersed among the various classes of guest rooms, and shall provide choices of types of guest rooms, number of beds, and other amenities comparable to the choices provided to other guests. When the minimum number of guest rooms required is not sufficient to allow for complete dispersion, guest rooms shall be dispersed in the following priority: guest room type, number of beds, and amenities.”

Reservations of Accessible Rooms: The 2010 Standards require that guests be able to reserve accessible rooms using the same methods (e.g., telephone and Internet) and during the same hours as guests reserving non-accessible rooms. Identification of accessible features in hotels and guest rooms must be offered through the hotel reservations services with sufficient detail to reasonably permit individuals with disabilities to assess independently whether a given hotel or guest room meets their accessibility needs.

Hold and Release of Accessible Hotel Rooms: In order to provide guests with disabilities equal opportunity to benefit from the services offered by the public accommodations the 2010 Standards require covered entities to hold accessible rooms for use by individuals with disabilities until all other guest rooms of that type have been reserved and the accessible room requested is the only remaining room of that type.

Upon request, covered entities are also required to reserve specific accessible guest rooms or specific types of accessible guest rooms and ensure that the accessible guest rooms requested are blocked and removed from all reservation systems (to eliminate double-bookings). When a public accommodation does guarantee hotel or other room reservations, it must provide the same guarantee for accessible guest rooms as it makes for other rooms, except that it must apply that guarantee to the specific room reserved and blocked, even if in other situations, its guarantee policy only ensures that a room of a specific type will be available at the specific price.

Retail Establishments

Self-Service Shelving and Display Cases: The 2010 Standards provide that self-service shelving (which shall be read broadly to apply to all types of shelves, racks, hooks, and similar self-service merchandising fittings, including self-service display units) are required to be on an accessible route but are not required to be located within accessible reach ranges. (Display cases are expressly excluded from this requirement.) Such fixtures are permitted to be installed above or below the reach ranges possible for many individuals with disabilities so that space available for merchandising is used as efficiently as possible.

Dressing, Fitting, and Locker Rooms: Where dressing, fitting, and locker rooms are provided in clusters, the 2010 Standards require that five percent of such rooms (but at least one room in each cluster) must be accessible.

The 2010 Standards also alter, and potentially increase, the footprint for dressing, fitting, and locker rooms that are new construction or undergoing alterations. Specifically, the 2010 Standards require the provision of clear floor space at the end (short-axis) of a bench instead of in front of a bench (as set forth in the 1991 Standards).

Sales and Service Counters: Pursuant to the 2010 Standards, facilities have the option of choosing whether their sales and service counters should be accessible via a forward approach or a parallel approach, with the exact technical requirements for accessibility depending upon which option is selected. In either configuration, the accessible portion of the counter must extend the same depth as the sales or service counter top.

An exception to these requirements is provided for alterations to sales and service counters in existing facilities where providing a longer accessible counter would result in a reduction of the number of existing counters at work stations.

Queues and Waiting Lines: Queues and waiting lines serving counters or check-out aisles must be accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Restaurants and Bars

Scoping Requirements for Accessible Seating: Pursuant to the 2010 Standards, restaurants and bars must now provide accessible seating (with accessible knee and toe clearances), located along an accessible route, equal to five percent of the total number of general seating spaces and standing spaces at dining surfaces. This standard will often require a greater number of accessible tables than under the 1991 Standards (which based scoping on the number of dining tables at an establishment).

Sales and Service Counters: See the Retail Establishments section above.

Queues and Waiting Lines: The 2010 Standards’ requirement that queues and waiting lines serving counters or check-out aisles must be accessible to individuals with disabilities includes those utilized for food service.

Academic Institutions

Definition of “Housing at a Place of Education”: The 2010 Standards define “housing at a place of education” as “housing operated by or on behalf of an elementary, secondary, undergraduate, or postgraduate school, or other place of education, including dormitories, suites, apartments, or other places of residence.”

Standards Applied to “Housing At a Place of Education”: The 2010 Standards continue to require housing at a place of education to comply with transient lodging standards for accessibility but, at the same time, add several additional accessibility requirements drawn from the residential facilities standards relating to accessible turning spaces, work surfaces in kitchens, and the accessible route throughout the unit.

Examinations and Courses Relating to Applications, Licensing, Certification, or Credentialing for Secondary or Postsecondary Education, Professional, or Trade Purposes: The 2010 Standards require that testing entities offer such examinations and courses in a place and a manner accessible to persons with disabilities or offer alternative accessible arrangements.

Language was also added to reflect DOJ’s position that, when testing entities receive documentation provided by a qualified professional who has made an individualized assessment of an applicant that supports the need for a requested modification, accommodation, or aid, the testing entity should generally accept such documentation and provide the accommodation in a timely fashion.

Conclusion

There can be little doubt that the issuance of the 2010 Standards will have a significant impact on most, if not all, public accommodations. It is, therefore, important that places of public accommodation use the next few months to assess and fully comprehend how these rules will impact the structural elements and policies, practices, and procedures of their facilities.

While the element-by-element Safe Harbor contained in the 2010 Standards provides compliant facilities with some level of comfort, the adoption of an element-by-element standard also makes the downside of non-compliance considerably worse. Not only will non-compliant elements ultimately need to be corrected under the 2010 Standards, but if the non-compliance is brought to light as part of a government investigation or private litigation, the standard may open the door for large-scale inspections of the entirety of the facility in question.

Places of public accommodation must always remember that – at its core – the ADA remains a civil rights law.

Now, perhaps more so than ever before, disability rights are a “front burner” issue. In this climate, it is crucial that places of public accommodation take great care to properly navigate their accessibility obligations.

Full copies of the 2010 Standards can be found at: www.ada.gov

Up the Creek Without a Paddle

2011-11-13T13:13:00.000-05:00

At the risk of sounding like a naysayer, I confess I must share a significant No No with you.

Yes, I know...I am preaching to the choir. Does negativity come with advanced age? Don’t answer that.

So here is a Big Time No No:

Do not get a second dog if you have a service dog.

Maybe you believe that another dog will keep your current service dog company and therefore alleviate some of the problems your dog is experiencing, like lack of exercise or separation anxiety. If so, you would be:

a. Spitting into the wind

b. Up a creek without a paddle

c. Sadly mistaken

d. Off your meds

Answer: All of the above

That innocent new dog of yours is not a panacea or a cure or a saint. It will not teach your service dog to be better behaved. In fact, if your $20,000 service dog is not a leash puller and not a barker, I can practically guarantee that your new dog WILL be talkative AND will inspire his new best bud to speak up loudly and often too.

Your service dog is housebroken, your new dog will smell any evidence of any past indiscretions of any previous pets, and pee there, too. Voila! Two dogs doing their business inside your home.

Imagine taking two dogs that are both challenging on leash on a walk.

Or trying to manage that whole door-answering fiasco – with two exuberant dogs – when the pizza guy arrives.

I could go on.

Are You a Good Service Dog Handler?

2011-11-12T17:46:00.001-05:00

Note: Fido is a fictional dog

Fido is a sweet-faced purebred West German Show Line German Shepherd with rich red-colored markings and an irresistible wag that involves tail and torso.

Fido’s handler is totally smitten with his dog.

He accompanies them everywhere, sporting a color-coordinated collar, leash and back pack. Fido sleeps next to his handler's bed on his own blanket. The end of the family room , on the floor, nearest the door is his special spot to park, observe and await a seizure.

With his round, piercing eyes and soulful demeanor, in his handlers’ mind, Fido has deep, inner thoughts. His handler swear that he worries about his well-being, ponders the meaning of life, and is saddened by tragic events.

Hence, when they attempted to persuade Fido that a cushy dog bed might be a reasonable alternative to the floor, his moist sorrow-filled eyes convinced them that he was sorely mistaken. After all, he as much as said “Ah, sure, that’s okay. You go ahead and sit on the furniture. I don’t mind being on the floor. The sofa is for family members and I’m the service dog,“ followed by a heavy sigh.

After every seizure training routine, Fido heads to the jar in the kitchen where he knows the treats are kept. He stares at it, willing it to open. If eye contact with the cabinet doesn’t produce the desired result, a few short woofs usually compel his owners to cough up his rightful cookie. Once, his handler tried to ignore his entreaties but Fido was so adamant, refusing to move from the spot, that he gave in. After all, Fido might be traumatized if he was denied this ritual.

On walks, Fido prefers a certain route that takes him the long way around the neighborhood, past his favorite vertical objects that would obviously not be there if Fido didn’t water them daily. If his Handler tried to take him in a different direction, he sits in the road with his back to them. Sit-down strikes are not very effective with Fido’s handler, who is not embarrassed and will make the service dog obey every command.

Are YOU a well-trained handler?

Rachael Baum contributed to this article.

Am I Ready for a Service Dog?

2011-11-12T14:00:00.000-05:00

(Pic:) -Niko is a seizure dog currently in training at Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.

You are considering a service dog to help you with your disabilities. You or a loved one may have epilepsy or another disability. Having a service dog will require a commitment by both parents to provide more than food or shelter.

If you enter into our program it will be the most rewarding experience for the recipient of one of the most highly trained service dogs available...anywhere.

The recipient will have days and nights of in home training and more training in the community. The recipient and parents will be expected to follow our instructions regarding the service dogs transition into the home. The first 6 months is a major transition for the service dog, for the recipient, parents and any other family members. We need to be sure that that the family is prepared for the personal investment and hard work required to have a successful relationship with the service dog.

A Seizure Alert Dogs for Life service dog is a highly trained service animal that needs love, attention, and plenty of exercise! The service dog is still a dog. We have developed a manual for the family to read that is available on our web site before placement our service dog arrives at your home.

We require that all families follow our requirements, suggestions, training and guidelines before we make the permanent placement of the service dog. Making the transition of the service dog into your home requires a team effort. Everyone in the home must enjoy dogs and understand that they must accept the service dog as part of the person with the disability.

More often than not; family members seeking a service dog for a loved one are seeking immediate miracles. The perception of highly trained service dog is different than other dogs. The dogs are supposed to be a machine, never sick, never bark or have an off day. This perception is not true.

Highly trained service dogs from Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. are still dogs have basic needs that must be met to be well balanced and to perform at our standards.

Our service dogs must have a friendly environment to live in, a lot of exercise, discipline and love to perform there duties at most quality of standards.

Be honest with yourself before considering a service dog. Consider your families lifestyle and what your needs are and whether you can meet the demanding needs of a service dog. There are no wrong answers! Give us a call or send us an e-mail. Our contact info is on the right hand side of this site.

Meet Niko!

2011-11-10T11:15:00.000-05:00

(Pic)- Niko

Niko is a 4 year old purebred West German Showline German Shepherd bred from world champion bloodlines currently in training at Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.

Niko is being trained to dial a cell phone for emergency assistance, pull a wheel chair, open doors, run next to a bike, water rescue, seizure alert/response, VNS swiping, mobility assistance and much more!

If you are interested in a seizure alert/response dog Don't wait. Call or e-mail today!

(315) 262-2052

Our Innovation begins with Creative Ideas

Getting a Seizure Alert/Response Dog from us.

Seizure Alert Dogs: A Breed of Their Own

History of the Seizure Alert/Response Dog

2011-09-03T10:39:00.001-04:00

(Pic:) -Hannah James Henault with her Seizure Alert/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 Alert/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 Alert/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 Alert/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 alert and 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

Seizure Alert Dogs for Life Invented the VNS Collar and Training Techniques

2011-08-30T16:57:00.001-04:00

(Pic) -The Seizure Alert Dogs for Life Team in Silverwoods Lake, CA with "Rocky" and "Kerri." Both Kerri and Rocky are both VNS seizure dogs!

PATENT PENDING

Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. invented the VNS collar, service dog cell phone trigger and training techniques in 2008 and began innovating the techniques in our schutzhund training methods immediately. We began working with engineers, Neurologists and Neurosurgeons across the US with our clients on a trial basis. Learn about the VNS Collar and what we do HERE!

Our VNS collar has been viewed by millions of people on the TODAY Show

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Learn about the VNS Collar and what we do HERE!

Our VNS collar has been viewed on CNN

To learn more about the VNS collar please read the Washington Post article What Happened to the Boy who wanted to take his se...

Our VNS collar and service dog cell phone trigger has been proven to work by both parents and doctors. We are proud that we have a patent pending for our VNS collar, service dog cell phone trigger and our seizure dog training methods!

Good Manners Spoken Here

2011-08-05T08:49:00.003-04:00

(Pic:) Rebecca with "Rocky" during a water rescue training exercise at Silverwoods Lake, California. Rocky is the personal service dog of the CEO of Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.

Human beings mean well.

After all, we are the warm-hearted adopters of our canine friends. We take these shedding, drooling, food-inhaling, poop-producing, vet-bill-inducing creatures into our homes, expecting nothing in return except love.

And oh, yeah, good manners.

So we try and elicit acceptable behavior from our dogs, employing a variety of methods, some creative, some desperate, nearly all fruitless. Here are some examples:

Yelling “NO! NO! NO!” or possibly “BAILEY! BAILEY! BAILEY!”

Dog response: “Hey! Quit barking! You’re extremely loud and incredibly close.”

Putting the dog in “Time-Out” – usually in its crate

Dog response: “Okay, I’m confused. Is my crate a good place to go, or a bad one?”

Grabbing the dog’s collar

Dog response: “Obviously, only you are capable of controlling me. However, as soon as you let go, I’m outa here!”

Reasoning with the dog, explaining why the behavior is not appreciated

Dog response: “Huh? No comprende. I see your lips moving, though.”

Ignoring the dog, hoping the behavior will magically disappear

Dog response: “I’ll just keep doing this until I run out of steam. It’s fun and releases some of my boundless energy. Plus, no one objects. Cool!”

Imagine what an interesting conversation we can have – and what good manners we can negotiate – with our dogs if we understand and communicate in each others’ language.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

Chanel #5

2011-05-25T09:33:00.004-04:00

(Pic:) -Idol is currently in Schutzhund BH training to become a VNS seizure dog and he is also being trained to pull a wheel chair! He is being trained by Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.

Note: This article is fiction

I mention Fido because one of his endearing quirks was the way he would survey an expanse of grass - the cooler and greener the better – and then plunge face first into it. He would plow furrows through a field with her snout, inhaling the fragrance deeply, and then roll onto his back for a satisfying scratch.

Nose dives, drop-and-rolls, and face plants are common doggy activities.

Like the perfume hawker/stalkers in the Macy’s cosmetic department, sometimes a particular scent assaults your pup unexpectedly.

You can almost hear the dog say “Whoa!@! What the ____? Now THERE’S a wicked awesome aroma! Let me dab some of that fragrance behind the ears, and while I’m at it, even dog owners find this behavior upsetting when the odor derives from a questionable source. Examples of this include dead squirrel, rancid garbage, skunk residue, or everyone’s favorite: goose poop.

Your dog coats himself with bouquet of fish carcass for any number of reasons. It could be his subtle way of attracting attention, to mask his own unique scent, as a calling card, or a sort of ticket stub memento from a recent adventure he attended.

It may be Eau de Swamp and Muget du Manure to you, but its polo or Chanel #5 to him.

For training purposes, prevention and preparation for the inevitable are your best bets:

Keep him on a leash and on the sidewalk under your watchful eye;
Closely supervise him in the dog park and be prepared to redirect him when him begins to fixate on a particular spot of the ground;
Vigilantly clear your yard of unsavory items;
Invest in a dog shampoo you can count on (beware of ones that only vaguely camouflage odor);
Have your dog groomer on speed dial

Rachel Baum contributed to this article

Anything Vertical

2011-05-22T09:41:00.003-04:00

If you have a guy dog, you know exactly what I mean.

Going for a walk is actually going for a whiz. And another. And another. Ad nauseum. Anything vertical – and even some things that are not – are fair targets. I’ve taken many dogs for a walk, so have had time to record and catalog the clinical definitions (i.e. mine) for the volume and extent of each urinary event:

The Initial Pee – Your dog walks nicely by your side until he spots THE TREE or post or hydrant that he always pees on. He spends a long, satisfying interlude at his favorite spot. You can practically hear the sigh of relief as he all but empties his bladder.

The Follow Up Pee – Those few extra drops that he didn’t expend on THE TREE are tossed lightly onto the second best tree or hydrant.

The Frantic Pee – Once again, he is by your side for a leisurely stroll until…he catches a whiff of compelling scent up ahead and wrenches your rotator cuff to get to it. His leg seems to stretch especially high as he hastily parts with two or three drops here.

The Chemical Analysis Pee – Back on the walk, he struts up to a innocuous spot – usually your neighbor’s yard debris neatly piled near the sidewalk – and spends what seems to be a lifetime sniffing it. After he has determined that a 7-year-old female spayed Weimeraner with a limp eliminated there, he delicately sprinkles it with a drop of his own signature aroma.

The Air Pee – It is beyond obvious that he has nothing left in his bladder but he insists upon lifting his leg anyway, all the while looking innocently at you as if to say “I know I don’t have to pee, but nature compels me to do this, so bug off.”

The GPS Pee - He finds a spot to do his business. Wait. No. Not that spot. This spot. No, wrong again. Over here. Just a sec. Here is better. Nope, not quite. Sniff, turn, look, sniff, turn, look, sniff….you get the picture.

The Second Thought Pee - As you walk past an impeccably manicured and landscaped yard, your dog makes a sudden U-turn, taking your arm and screaming sciatic nerve with him, and rushes to lift his leg on the shiniest hosta.

The Last Ditch Pee – You are about to reach the comfort of your own yard. You know the dog is as empty as most reality TV shows. Yet he stops at the mailbox for one last leg lift, even as you mumble “Enough already!” and practically drag him – with leg still raised – home.

What does this have to do with training?

Let’s see. If your dog is stopping and sniffing and peeing everywhere and on everything, then HE is walking YOU.

Determine the one or two spots where he usually pees, take him there to eliminate, and the rest of the walk is on your terms.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

What Happened to the Boy who wanted to take his service dog to school?

2011-05-05T09:35:00.003-04:00

(Pic:) -Andrew Stevens, 12, with his seizure response dog Alaya. Alaya was trained by Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.

Fort Belvoir, VA -When asked about his 5-year-old German shepherd last December, Andrew Stevens put it simply: “She’s a good dog.”

Even so, such words did little to quell Fairfax County school officials’ concerns when it came to letting the 12-year-old boy bring his service dog to Fort Belvoir Elementary.

Andrew has Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy that results in as many as 20 seizures a day. Because of this, he wears a padded helmet to prevent injury and was home-schooled. Yet, the addition of a service dog to the family in November opened the door to new possibilities.

When Alaya detects a seizure coming on, the dog wipes a magnet on her collar over a vagal nerve stimulator implanted in Andrew’s chest. The device subdues oncoming seizures by sending electric signals to the brain. The VNS collar and training techniques were invented by Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.

However, when Andrew’s parents — Angelo and Nancy Stevens — approached the school about their son’s enrollment, they were met with unanticipated opposition. Fairfax school officials said teachers would be able to perform the same functions as Alaya. Officials also doubted whether Andrew would be able to control the dog.

The Stevenses were furious. “When I fight a battle — if I know I’m right — I’m going to fight it until I’m dead,” Angelo says today.

After the family’s story first appeared in The Washington Post in December, they made national headlines and appeared on the “Today” show and CNN. Under such scrutiny, Fairfax officials later agreed to let Andrew and Alaya attend school on a trial basis.

After three successful weeks, school officials allowed Andrew to continue going to school on his own with Alaya starting Jan. 31. The day that the family had fought so hard for turned out to be a typical one.

“It was just any other day to him,” Angelo says. “He was excited to be at school. He got to make a lot of friends.”

Andrew’s seizures are now down to one to five daily, says Angelo, as the dog is often able to intervene before they occur.

And after the Stevenses’ lobbying, Virginia’s Department of Education revised its policy in March to state that all statewide public schools must accept service dogs, provided that the student is capable of controlling his or her animal. In addition to his job as an Army sergeant, Angelo devotes 40 hours a week to The Andrew Gordon Stevens Foundation, a nonprofit the Stevens family began to raise money for service dogs for other military families nationally.

“We changed one state,” Angelo says. “We’ve got 49 more to go. People need to understand.”

Our Online Store!

2011-04-24T21:45:00.001-04:00

Click Here! Our Online Store

Official Seizure Alert Dogs for Life gear!

Get T-Shirts, Hoodies, Water Bottles, Coffee mugs, and more!

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Learning to Play with a Seizure Dog

2011-04-21T08:36:00.006-04:00

(Pic:) - Seizure Alert Dogs for Life travel team trainer, Josh, with service dog Reba and his pet dog Max in the back yard of his home in Lake Placid, NY.

Note: This article is fiction.

German Shepherd Markie Mark lives to run.

In a perfect world, Markie Mark would have been adopted by last year’s winner of the Boston Marathon.

But no. Markie Mark is one girl’s seizure dog.

There is a mom (she works every day), a dad (he coach's everyday after work) and two other brothers.

Everyone including Markie Mark comes home from work or school exhausted. No one has the time to take Markie Mark for a walk. So out into the backyard he goes.

The children and their friends happen to like being in the backyard, too. They play there. Sometimes they run around.

When they run, Markie Mark runs.

After them.

Service dog trainers will often tell me that their dogs have a “high prey drive” because their dogs chase anything that moves.

Prey drive, according to Dr. Nicholas Dodman, is the motivation to chase and catch small creatures.

To some degree, all dogs have a level of prey drive because their ancestors needed to hunt in order to survive. Dogs that have been bred for herding, like Markie Mark, our German Shepherd, have a high prey drive.

Markie Mark has been known to consider tennis balls, frisbee, and a groundhog as potential prey, or at least, worthy of a good chase. Dogs that are born with a high prey drive are biologically driven to do this.

It is the responsibility of service dog handlers to take precautions with their driven dog.

In Markie Mark's case, his trainers did the following:

1. Put up a fence - not an invisible fence but an honest-to-goodness seamless wood eight foot stockade fence around the entire backyard.

2. Supervise Markie Mark with the neighborhood children in the yard.

3. Teach the children – and their friends – to stand still and not look at Markie Mark if he chases them. That means no screaming, no running, no flailing arms or legs. Always tell Markie Mark "Nein."

4. Only the parents and her handler are allowed to walk Markie Mark on leash, under absolute control at all times.

5. Use clear and consistent Schutzhund obedience training for Markie Mark.

6. Channel that compelling chase instinct into fetch or seizure response drilling!

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

Part 3: Puppies aren't service dogs

2011-04-01T09:48:00.004-04:00

We have been seeing a lot of very young puppies, as young as 10 weeks of age, sold as seizure dogs, mainly Labrador Retrievers. A puppy is too young to be evaluated for temperament, skills and work drive and placed as a service dog until the dog is a minimum of 18 months old. The puppy is being raised by the new family without the skills of professional trainers. The new family is expected to house break, obedience train and begin seizure response training on their own. The puppies sold to these families are not properly trained service dogs as explained in this Houston newspaper article.

Lab puppies are adorable – cuddly, goofy, and playful. They are also more dog than some new owners bargained for.

Here is a typical hour in a Lab puppy’s life:

5:00 AM Wake up. Scan room for signs of movement. Wait 1/4 second for someone – anyone – to open the crate. Whine. Whine louder.

5:10 AM Get shushed by owner. Whine again, interspersed with pitiful yelps. More shushing. Sigh and go back to sleep.

5:30 AM Awake again, aware of full bladder. Alert the media! Full throttle howling accompanied by frantic scratching at crate door.

5:35 AM Finally! Acknowledgment by owner of sincere toileting needs. Bound out of crate. Leap at owner’s legs. Discover bare toes, lick tentatively, then sink needle sharp teeth into. Paw deliriously at delicate skin of owner’s legs. Grab bathrobe hem and tug. Race out the door, pause briefly to pee, race back in for more gleeful tussling.

5:45 AM Mad dash around living room and kitchen. Take another lap around. And another. Accelerate smoothly into final winning lap. Collapse against water bowl, tipping it over. Paddle through the water. Notice young human playmate in the kitchen. Greet her with full moist body slam. Nip all exposed soft flesh. Respond to ensuing shrieks with more nipping.

5:50 AM Careen against laundry basket, pilfer a sock, and brandish prize. Entice humans to chase with sassy barking. Evade capture by cleverly dodging and weaving.

5:55 AM Attempt to skid behind sofa backfires. Get scooped up by seriously unhappy owner. Unceremoniously deposited back into crate. Whine softly. Fall asleep immediately.

About Seizure response dogs:

Am I Ready for a Service Dog?
Are You a Good Service Dog Handler?
Don't Blame the Service dog!
Please Don't Pet Me...I am Working!
What is the Cost of a Seizure Dog?
Our Quality German Shepherds Means Everything
History of the Seizure Alert/Response Dog
Getting a Seizure Alert/Response Dog from us.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

Now Available: Seizure Alert/Response Dogs in Training

2011-03-29T09:48:00.009-04:00

(Pic:)- SOLD!Niko is currently 4 years old and he is currently in Schutzhund BH and seizure response training. He is being trained to be a VNS seizure dog and is almost ready to begin to go to work! .

All dogs shown are purebred West German Show Line German Shepherds currently in training as Seizure Alert/Response Dogs within our program. All service dogs in training displayed are aged 18 months to 4 years old. (Note:) All dogs under a year old are beginning Schutzhund BH training and will not be available as service dogs until they are a minimum age of 18 months and have successfully completed our program.

Don't wait. Call or e-mail today!

(315) 262-2052

Getting a Seizure Alert/Response Dog from us.

Seizure Alert Dogs: A Breed of Their Own

News video of a Seizure Alert/Response dog we trained

Dog can save life of man who has seizures -- KDVR

Stay...

2011-03-11T11:27:00.008-05:00

Despite plenty of exercise and long school days with her handler, highly trained seizure dog Sasha spends her days following Melanie... Closely. Very, very closely.

Sasha will stay in one place for hours with her.

Its always amusing to see the seizure dog’s dilemma when the handler is watching TV, and the handler gets up for a visit to the kitchen. The seizure dog lays there, alert, considering the options. “Its so comfy here, but…what if she drops on the floor in there? Decisions, decisions. I can still see, hear and smell her. I'll just watch her and run to her if she falls...yeah, that's what I will do."

1. Ask your dog to SIT.

2. Show your dog the palm of your hand, like a stop sign, and say the word STAY once. DO NOT REPEAT THE WORD! Count to three.

3. Use a word like FREE or OKAY or AT EASE so your dog knows the excruciating STAY part is blessedly over.

4. Praise your brilliant dog with a high voice. Watch his ears perk up as he basks in the glow of his accomplishment.

5. Repeat the above, but take one step backward after you say STAY. Did that go well? If so, attempt #6.

6. Repeat, taking two steps backward.

If your dog gets up before you are ready, don’t get mad. You just went too fast for your dog.

Go back to the beginning, refresh everyone’s memory, and help your dog – and you – be successful.

Do this again tomorrow, and the next day, too.

Do this in different rooms of the house.

Now, every time you dare to take a bathroom break from American Idol, you can also preserve the integrity of your dog’s feet. Display your stop sign hand, invoke the magic word STAY, and enjoy a moment alone.

Walk This Way!

2011-03-02T09:26:00.005-05:00

(Pic:)- "Jonny" is currently living his life as a pet with a trainer. He has a hypothyroid medical issue and he is living his life in a loving home.

You remember "Jonny" from The Dog that Didn't Understand.

Note: This article is fiction.

There is a mathematical equation for a walk with Jonny:

Jonny + Leash + Trainer = Catastrophe

Jonny's trainer knows that his dog needs exercise, but thought that there has to be a better way to walk Jonny – a 3 year old German Shepherd – than to be pulled and jerked around by him. Plus, as we saw from Jonny's story, he has managed to obtain freedom - an exhilarating yet dangerous possibility for a young, naive dog – through the strength of will (his) and the loss of balance (his).

And so we meet Jonny again, standing dismally in the kitchen, while his trainer attempts to ensnare his legs, snout, and trembling body into various contraptions, all designed to assist his owner, and him, to walk without said trainer landing on his butt.

He could not decide among the array of confusing devices that he saw at Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. so he brought home three of them to try first-hand.

Since this is Jonny’s story, I’ll let him give you his take on each device:

THE HALTI

“Okay, what sadist thought this one up? The straps cut into my tender face and make me want to roll on the ground and paw the thing off! Which I did! Quite easily, in fact. She kept adjusting it and trying again, and it DID feel a little better, but then I figured out how to back out of it. Sweet relief!

Anyway, he said she will keep it as a back-up just in case the other options don’t work out.

Oh, joy.”

The Gentle Leader

“Again with the strap on my nose. This is where I go into silent protest mode. I’m just gonna stand here with my beleaguered head drooping to the floor until he takes the blessed thing off. This is pretty much like that Halti thing. Not sure I can tell the difference.

Wait. A piece of chicken? Are you serious? You mean I get chicken when I wear this? I might have to re-think my options. Okay, have it your way. I’ll eat the chicken and go outside with you. But just for a minute. Or two. So, the Dude and I are actually walking together. My head gets tugged in a weird way if I get too rowdy, which makes me relax a little. He seems to be pretty happy about me not yanking on his so I’ll wear it for now.

Hey, if you keep the chicken coming, I’ll wear a bustier!”

The Canny Collar

“Alright, I’m starting to get the gist of this laboratory experiment. Dude is the scientist and I’m the guinea pig. Or a lab rat. Where’s the chicken?

This one’s not so bad. I kind of like that there’s strap on my face AND a collar. Makes it seem a little more secure. In fact, I can tell it really will stay on. Plus, when I start walking, I can’t even feel it on me. I seem to be walking right next to my Dude, too. I could get used to this.

Walking with Love...

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

Keep Your Paws Outta My Food...

2011-03-02T09:03:00.005-05:00

(Pic:-) Kerri is a VNS seizure response dog and she now lives with her handler in California. She was trained by Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.

German Shepherd "Kerri" can levitate.

Note: This article is fictional.

With the surprisingly smooth grace of an Olympic gymnast, she can rise on her back legs in a stunningly swift movement. Turkey sandwich on the counter? Gone. English muffin on the sideboard? Vanished. Bowl of ice cream on the kitchen table? Clattered to the floor and inhaled in a single gulp.

Wait a second here.

Do we humans catapult, swan dive, or otherwise vault, into our dogs’ bowls? I don’t think so.

We might ask our canine companions for a polite sit before we set the dish down, but we leave them in peace to eat at their own pace, untroubled. We don’t surreptitiously watch them while they eat, waiting for them to answer the phone so we can sneak a mouthful of Black Gold Dog Food while they are thus otherwise engaged.

From the human’s – and the dog’s – perspective, the counter and the table are OUR dog dishes.

We respect the dog’s dish. The dog should respect ours.

So it is NOT okay for Kerri to perform acrobatic feats to reach our food.

And even though we know that dogs are opportunistic and we also know that dogs can learn boundaries, even when food is involved.

It’s time to pick a spot for your dog to camp while you prepare a meal, eat a meal, or clean up after a meal.

Don’t send your dog to his spot as if it were Alcatraz and your kitchen is the parole board. His spot is a nice place to be.

It might even have a treat-filled Kong associated with it.

Assign one family member to keep an eye on the dog, reinforcing a solid Stay.

It will take a few days of practice to get him accustomed to staying on his spot, especially when the aroma of medium rare ribeye wafts beneath his quivering nostrils.

Don’t give up, or give in. Every dog deserves his own dog dish, and so does every human.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

The Andrew Gordon Stevens Foundation

2011-02-02T12:11:00.005-05:00

(Pic:) - Angelo Stevens with his son Andrew and seizure alert/response dog Alaya. Angelo founded The Andrew Gordon Stevens Foundation to help finance seizure dogs for other military families and their children.

Fort Belvoir, VA - Angelo Stevens attempted to get a seizure dog for his son, Andrew and he was denied a service animal for years by other organizations that refused to train a seizure alert/response dog for his son Andrew. He was told that he would be placed on waiting lists for several years.

Angelo then contacted Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. located in the foothills of the Adirondack Park in New york State.

Andrew has a rare form of Epilepsy called Lennox Gastaut syndrome. Andrew needed the most highly trained seizure dog available trained for VNS swiping. Seizure Alert Dogs for Life pioneered the VNS collar and the training techniques for a German Shepherd to swipe a VNS magnet across a Vagus nerve Stimulator generator. A plan was made to have Alaya delivered to the Stevens' household by Thanksgiving, 2010.

Alaya has changed Andrew's life and his families for the better. Andrew's seizures have been reduced almost 70% with Alaya's ability to swipe the magnet to reduce or forestall his seizures. Andrew is now attending school alone with his service dog too.

The Andrew Gordon Stevens Foundation is a 501 (C) (3) and they are raising funds to help finance seizure dogs for Veterans, their children and active duty personnel and their dependents. If you would like to donate:

Please make checks payable to:
The Andrew Gordon Stevens Foundation.
Mail to:

The Andrew Gordon Stevens Foundation

5917 Chalkely Road

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060

A receipt will be sent to you for your thoughtful donation.

To learn more about this wonderful foundation please see the following link below.

The Andrew Gordon Stevens Foundation

Our Innovation begins with Creative Ideas

2011-01-30T11:52:00.017-05:00

(Pic)- "Ulta" is the first Vagus Nerve Stimulation and first Responsive Brain Stimulation trained seizure dog in the world! He was trained by Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.

(Pic:) - Andrew Stevens, 12, with his Vagal Nerve Stimulator trained seizure response dog Alaya. She is the third VNS trained seizure dog in the world. Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. invented the VNS magnet collar.

PATENT PENDING

Creativity is about coming up with ideas while innovation is about "bringing ideas to life." While individuals may display creativity, innovation occurs at Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. by bringing creative ideas to life.

Quality German Shepherds and Quality Schutzhund trainers, adds value by changing old organizational forms and practices. Organizations that do not innovate effectively may be destroyed by those who do. We are leaders in seizure response dog training... not just training but because we also invent new seizure dog methods and equipment for more independence gained for our clients.

(Pic) -Seizure Alert Dogs for Life Team at Silverwoods Lke, CA with VNS seizure alert/response dogs "Kerri" and "Rocky after a water rescue training exercise.

Innovation at Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. is achieved in many ways; through formal research and development for "breakthrough innovations" like the VNS collar and our seizure dog training program for the VNS collar, Water Rescue tether design and seizure dog training for Water Rescue, Cell Phone emergency assistance calling, GPS tracking, as well as through less formal on-the-job modifications of practice-such as through personal experience and by many other routes.

(Pic) - Rebecca Recalde during a training exercise with "Rocky" at Silverwoods Lake, CA being towed utilizing our tether system to shore. Seizure Alert Dogs for Lie, invented this technique.

Regardless, our innovations do not just happen-they are a team effort. Our most successful innovation occurs at the boundaries of where the problems and needs of our clients and the potential of our world class quality German Shepherds and trainers are linked together in a creative and collaborative process that challenges both.

For more info please call (315) 262-2052.

PATENT PENDING

Part 2: Puppies Aren't Service Dogs

2011-01-30T10:17:00.008-05:00

(Pic:) -Andrew Stevens, 12, with his highly trained seizure response dog Alaya. She was trained by Seizure Alert Dogs for life, Inc.

Like death and marriage, sharing your life with a puppy is experienced in stages. Notice I said “experienced” not “enjoyed” or “endured.”

Every person is different, of course, as is every puppy, and therefore each relationship is unique. So forgive me for making a few generalizations.

Here are the stages of puppy raising:

Stage 1. The Honeymoon

Stage 2. The Realization

Stage 3. The Negotiation

Stage 4. The Agreement

Stage 1: The Honeymoon

Your eyes meet. You found the service dog. It is advertised as being considerably cheaper than a professionally trained seizure dog. You entered into a contract to bring the "puppy" home. Yes, I did say puppy!

You pick out the plushest bed, the most nutritionally balanced food, the cutest collar, the matching leash, the ceramic dishes that cunningly say “Food” and “Water.” You happily walk the puppy, play with the puppy, snuggle with the puppy. You teach it to sit, shake hands, roll over, speak. You think “how cute is that?!” and “look at that face!” You take photos. You post them on Facebook. You sigh with pleasure.

Stage 2: The Realization

You step in something damp and vaguely squishy. You wake up to barking during the night. The puppy is not alerting to seizures but is waking your daughter. You can’t find your cell phone. You run out of kibble. You pay the veterinarian. You pay the groomer. You pay the carpet cleaner. You pay the pet supply store. You find pieces of the cell phone behind the couch. You pay the vet again. You pay for a new phone. You teach your dog to Stay, or maybe it was Wait? You teach your dog to Leave It, Drop It, Give It. You pry the remote control out of the dog’s mouth. You call the service dog organization that sold you the puppy. They blame everything on you and not the puppy. You begin to say that the puppy does not alert to your child's seizures it is like he doesn't even know what they are. You sigh in disgust.

Stage 3: The Negotiation

You consult an obedience trainer at Pet Smart. You implement some of her suggestions. You remove the carpeting. You gate the kitchen. You keep your new cell phone in your pocket, or on top of the refrigerator. You buy a crate. You use it sometimes. You take the dog for longer walks. Except when it rains. Or snows. Or there is a game on TV. You purchase different toys. You can’t find your cell phone. You consider a pet sitter, doggie day care, play dates. You buy an area rug but you reconsider and return it to the store. You sigh with resignation.

Stage 4: The Agreement

You follow your local Pet Smart trainer’s advice – all of it. You carefully dog-proof the house. You establish a regular housebreaking schedule. You hire a noon-time dog walker. You buy food-based puzzle toys and actually use them every day. You replace broken ceramic dishes with sturdy steel ones. You fence your yard. You train your dog for a few minutes every day. You register for your town’s dog park. You take a few more photos for your Facebook album. You ask a different organization Seizure Alert Dogs for Life to train a quality German Shepherd for your child and they said yes! You are relieved.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

Puppies Aren't Service Dogs

2011-01-30T09:55:00.004-05:00

Part 1

Note: Fido is a fictional dog.

Many seizure dog organizations are selling puppies to be raised by a family and to follow their instructions several states away. They are asking you the family to train your own puppy to be a seizure response dog. These organizations are using a new mixed breed dog called a Golden Doodle.

This is Fido's Story

Fido is a seven month old Golden Doodle who lives with a family that includes 3 young children. But I’ll let Fido tell you the rest…

“In the afternoon, when I wake up from my nap, that’s the time she takes my leash out of the closet. When I see that leash, I know what comes next, and boy, do I get EXCITED!

Its our job to rush down the driveway and make it to the corner of the street before the big noisy moving thing gets there.

I don’t understand why she walks so slow. Its so frustrating. She practically stands still. When all I want to do is fly over the road. Yeah, yeah, I know I’m choking. That always happens so it doesn’t bother me. If I put all my strength into my shoulders, I can usually get her to move faster. One time, she dropped the leash! Halleluyah! I didn’t even look back. I think I heard her saying “Fido!! Come here this instant!” but maybe not. It was probably just the wind rushing past my ears.

I made it to the corner in record time, licked every person there, to show them what a champ I am, and danced around until, shoot! someone stepped on my loose leash and I got

captured. Darn! So, I’ve tasted freedom. There’s no stopping me now!!

I don’t think she liked coming in last.

She took me to that store that smells like other dogs and food. I remember this place because once, I found a box there that had pee on it and she didn't see me add mine to it.

Still, it was fun to see all the dogs and look for things that fell on the slippery floor. I began sniffing everything in the store. I picked out a new toy, I opened a package of rawhide and I even barked at all of the new humans I saw. The funny looking human at the cash register said I can't ever come back.

I’ll tell you next time what I think of them.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

Finders Keepers

2011-01-30T09:36:00.003-05:00

Note: Fido is a fictional dog.

If it drops on the floor, Fido lays claim to it.

Fido is a Long-haired German Shepherd who’s life is an extended fishing expedition.

The floor of the house is his pond. Its no surprise that the most productive spot to set his line is under the kitchen table. He also stakes out the turf in the family room, next to any unsuspecting guest carrying a purse. Purses, as Fido is well aware, are rife with gum, mints, lipstick, and hand cream. And of course, there is the occasional cookie or protein bar bonanza.

Inevitably, a napkin falls off a lap, or a used tissue drops from the purse.

Fido seizes the day – and the object.

Don’t even attempt to nab the item on its descent, or to retrieve it once Fido’s Zamboni-like swath has sucked up the detritus.

Fido has a little problem called “resource guarding.”

This means that anything that hits the floor is a resource and Fido is going to guard it.

And guard it good.

This is more than a dog being opportunistic.

And unlike food aggression, a challenging problem but possible to reverse -resource guarding is a particularly tough behavioral issue since it is nearly impossible to prevent items from landing on the floor.

So the bigger issue is - why is Fido compelled to swipe and sprint?

His actions may actually be a symptom of a greater problem.

Fido may be feeling the need to seek attention, or the need to control his world.

Some dogs do this by ignoring their owners, running away when they are called, pottying in the house, or any of the myriad creative ways that dogs drive us crazy. Sometimes its because the dog experience past abuse or spent time as a stray. Under those circumstances, anything captured had to be protected lest it be taken away.

Whatever the reason, no one wants to get growled at or snapped at just to get a dirty tissue out of Fido’s mouth. Heaven forbid, what if he absconded with a bottle of Advil?!

Fido’s service dog trainer's did the following:

1. Taught him to DROP - by using two of the same toy (squeaky ball, in this case) they would throw one toy, wait for him to return to them, show him the second toy, and throw it when he dropped the first to chase the second. They said “Drop” only when he actually dropped the toy, then praised, and repeated.

2. Taught him to LEAVE IT – they practiced putting Fido on a leash and walking him past an item on the floor, with lots of praise (and treats) when he resisted the temptation to snag it.

3. If Fido did grab and run successfully, they could sometimes divert him from his prize by getting the squeaky ball out and appealing to his playful side.

4. Most important, they initiated positive interactions with Fido – exercise, walks, games and appropriate toys – rather than merely reacting to Fido’s unwanted attempts to get his trainer's attention.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

UPDATE: Andrew Stevens to be going to School with Seizure Dog Alone

2011-01-28T18:50:00.003-05:00

(Pic:) -Andrew Stevens with his seizure dog Alaya. The service dog was trained by Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.

Fort Belvoir, VA- Andrew Stevens has been at Ft. Belvoir Elementary School with his seizure dog Alaya under the guidance of his father and mother since the school gave in after the TODAY Show aired on January 4th.

After a telephone conference with Andrew's father school officials said that Andrew can control his highly trained seizure dog and that on February 2nd Andrew will be attending school without his parents guided by his seizure dog.

We at Seizure Alert Dogs for Life are extremely proud of Andrew and his service dog Alaya!

Hannah's Hope

2010-11-25T14:32:00.004-05:00

(Pic:) -Hannah James and her Seizure response dog "Mark." Mark was trained by Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.

Note: This was written by Hannah's mother.

Life was GREAT—going along just like it was supposed to. Happily married for 22 years, our oldest was getting married to a wonderful gal, the second son was doing great in his freshman year of college, and our baby girl, Hannah, was excelling in her freshman year at high school, ecstatic at being on the dance team and also spending four nights minimum at her dance studio on a competition team.

That spring, while shopping with Hannah, the oddest thing happened. While checking out, it was like her body just turned to “off” and she started going down, then just snapped right back up. I’d thought she was being silly, and asked her what the heck she was doing. “Oh, that’s just one of my spasms,” she replied. The teacher in me thought “ONE of her spasms?” How many of these is she having? Several weeks later, it happened again while she was getting her hair cut. This time it was different, though, because I was watching from behind and also got to see from the front in the mirror. The minute we went home I started researching her symptoms, and several weeks later when the neurologist told us she had myoclonic epilepsy, I wasn’t surprised. In my innocence, I honestly didn’t think it was going to be that big of a deal. Take a pill and everything will go back to normal. Wrong.

Hannah is one of those 25% of epileptics who doesn’t respond well to medications, and believe me we have tried the gamut of them. I am constantly amazed at how hard these meds are for a person to adjust to, how long they take to adjust to the full dose, and how long it takes to be weaned off the old meds. It is maddening, frustrating, and heartbreaking.

Probably the most frustrating aspect of Hannah’s epilepsy, believe it or not, has been school. Terrified to go (what teenage girl wants to seize in front of her peers?), teachers have not always been kind. In fact, we have had to fight many battles to protect Hannah. Her dance teacher at school told Hannah, in front of the team, “Hannah, there is always something wrong with you.” (Duh, like Hannah didn’t know that). A teacher told her that she looked drunk (and this was AFTER I’d emailed all of the teachers regarding the side effects of a new medicine); another teacher, when Hannah was absent, flipped the classroom lights on and off and said, “I couldn’t do this if Hannah was here.” And yet another teacher and her friend set up a bogus dog rescue society and tried to get Hannah’s service dog taken from her.

Are there great teachers at her high school though? Absolutely, and we couldn’t have made it this far without them, especially her counselors and vice principals. It’s important to surround yourself with people you can lean on. My husband, my best friends, my wonderful family (my daughter-in-law, who stays at home with their babies has been a god-send, racing to the high school whenever Hannah needs her) have been my lifeline. The folks at my work are ready to cover my classes at the drop of a hat when I need to leave unexpectedly. Hannah’s friends have become experts in how to deal with seizures, and they really could care less that she has epilepsy. That’s not who she is to them. When you’re dealing with a loved one with a chronic illness (epilepsy is NOT a disease!), it’s important to surround yourself with people who are ready and willing to hold you up.

Epilepsy has taken dance away from Hannah, it’s taken away her independence: she can no longer drive, we have removed all of the locks from her bedroom and the bathrooms, and when she goes out with her friends, I am constantly telling her to watch her carefully (and I know they will, I just have to say it). But amazingly, epilepsy has brought wonderful things into our lives, too. It’s proven how close-knit our family is, we’ve met amazing people across the country that we now consider family, and we went to DC and participated in the Epilepsy Foundation walk, to name a few.

Sometimes it’s hard to look at Hannah’s baby pictures, knowing that that horrible thing was laying wait in her brain, ready to spring on us and change everything that was right and good. I wish I’d known to appreciate every healthy day she’d had. But I look at her senior pictures and she’s the same person. A little wearier maybe from her daily battles, but still strong and beautiful. Epilepsy, you are NOT going to win.

The Dog that Didn't Understand

2010-10-03T21:46:00.005-04:00

(Pic:) - "Jonny" was a service dog in training that didn't make it through our program. Jonny is available as a pet.

Update: In October Jonny had several tests over a period of a week at a veterinarian hospital. It was found that Jonny has hypo-thyroid problems. Jonny did not display and hair loss or shaking associated with this condition. Once on the medication for a month he began to learn all basic obedience commands. He is only a pet and will never be bred or work as a service animal.

Where most dogs seem to eventually catch on to the concept of SIT, "Jonny" just didn’t get it. I suspect he has no eye/butt coordination. He looks at the treat in front of his nose, he watches it rise achingly slowly above his head, and his rear stays precisely where it is. Upping the ante – a piece of chicken breast, a bit of all-beef hotdog – no tidbit is enough to get him to park his tush.

Even when he is caught sitting on his own, and of course, we swoop in with effusive praise and treats, he cannot seem to connect the action with the word or hand signal.

“He’s not stupid, is he?” my trainer begged to know. “He’s just a little slow, right? Maybe we should get his hearing checked?”

Umm, no, I don’t think so.

Jonny is almost 3 years old and still, a gentle touch to his rump is needed to remind him that SIT has something to do with his hindquarters. COME is fine and STAY is, well, a work in progress.

Will Jonny ever comprehend even the most basic of commands?

Yes

Jonny can only benefit from his trainer’s calm, patient, persistent training, and besides, what Jonny lacks in savvy, he makes up for in love.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

German Shedders

2010-09-24T10:29:00.007-04:00

(Pic:)- "Kris" is a licensed service dog currently in Denver, Colorado. Kris was trained by Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.

I am thinking of a certain German Shepherd with a ME vs THEM mentality when his every-six-weeks visit to the groomer comes around. His attitude states firmly “Take your tub, shampoo, brushes and scissors, and especially, your blow dryer, and use them on that wimpy little Beagle. But in your wildest dreams don’t touch me with them.”

The owner of this particular German Shepherd has made the rounds of the North Country grooming community, hoping to find a salon willing to take off the muzzle and trim the dog’s toe nails without encountering teeth.

I can sympathize with the dog.

And the owner.

And the groomer.

The dog, because the salon smells like wet frightened dogs, there is the incessant noise of the blowers, the cash register and phones are ringing, and hey! don’t touch my butt! or there either!

The owner, because its humiliating to have what he believes is surely the ONLY dog that acts like a brat at the groomer.

And the groomer, who is a small business owner as well as a skilled artisan, and who loves dogs and does her best to keep them clean and attractive. She shouldn’t have to chance a bloody altercation to get her work done.

But there it is.

So here are some thoughts on getting your German Shepherd needing a bath and a haircut on occasion, ready to bring to your friendly neighborhood groomer, who will certainly be glad you did:

Before the actual appointment, take your dog to the groomer for a brief visit. Let him meet the staff, have them give him a treat and a sniff around, on leash of course.

At home, during quiet times, help your dog get comfortable with being handled. Brush him on different areas of his body while he is relaxed, like when you are both watching TV. Touch around his eyes, ears, mouth, belly, feet and toes (nails, too).

Just as you don’t want your dog to associate the only car ride he gets with going to the vet or the groomer, take him on some practice drives to fun places, like the dog park or a play date.

Like everything in a dog’s life, a good run or a game of fetch beforehand makes any stressful experience easier to tolerate.

If you are anxious about the grooming visit, your dog will be, too. Try to stay relaxed, calm, and unconcerned.

Keep your dog on leash and in control since other dogs may be coming and going at the same time you are.

After the appointment, bring your dog somewhere fun to play to reward him, and you, for surviving the ordeal. Who knows, one day he may even look forward to his next visit to the salon.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

Keeping the Peace

2010-09-24T09:40:00.005-04:00

Note: Fido is a fictional service dog.

Fido lives on the third floor of an apartment building in downtown Dallas. Fido is a 2 year old West German Show Line German Shepherd that sorta kinda looks like Rin Tin Tin. Fido used to live with his trainers in a house with a yard, but he is going to his new handler that lives in an apartment.

Fido is not particularly fond of his new smaller quarters. The sounds of the neighbors through the walls make him jumpy and nervous. He barks when he hears anyone come up the stairs, if a door opens or shuts, and whenever a truck rumbles by. Fido’s new handler has a new job and is gone longer hours, taking Fido with him everywhere. Fido doesn't like the Big "D."

It’s a joy having a service dog, no matter where we call home. However, for those who live in multi-unit dwellings like Fido and his handler, barking and bad manners can disturb others. Already, the downstairs neighbor has complained about Fido’s whining and barking.

So in the interest of keeping your service dog, your neighbors, your landlord, and yourself happier and living in harmony, here are some suggestions for service dog handlers who share living space in apartments, condos, townhomes and the like:

First, dogproof your new residence for potential hazards (like no screens on the windows, exposed wires, etc) to ensure your service dog’s safety.

As soon as we arrive with your new service dog, introduce yourself, your trainers and your service dog to your immediate neighbors, including the ones above and below you. This lets your service dog become familiar with the people—and dogs—he may encounter every day. This also has the benefit of meeting potential caretakers for your dog in the event you have long hospital stays. It is appropriate to have the service dog removed from the hospital during extended stays...especially at night.

On the elevator or the stairs, have your service dog sit away from the action when there are other people inside or on the staircase.

Always position yourself between your dog and passersby in hallways and other public areas.

Take extra care when walking on staircases. Service dogs may fall between the stairs or through the railings, and tripping on your service dog is rare. Maintain training your service dog to walk slowly by your side when on stairs. Always use the service dog handle on the vest provided when on the stairs.

One-on-one training with your service dog will help both of you learn good manners and be better neighbors.

EXERCISE! EXERCISE! EXERCISE! A tired service dog is a happy service dog .

Treat-rewarding your service dog during obedience commands keeps your service dog's skills sharp. Switch out his obedience training to stairs, heeling, or seizure training maintenance so he has new and fun things to hold his interest.

Don’t let your dog become a nuisance barker. If he barks when you are at home, immediately contact our trainers. If he barks when you are away from home, consult with our trainers to learn how to stop the barking and keep the peace.

A well-behaved service dog is less likely to upset people and other pets in public places, will be more welcome at gatherings, and will enjoy a better relationship with everyone he meets. Plus, his good manners will reflect positively on you, his responsible handler.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

NATIONWIDE SEARCH FOR SEIZURE DOG

2010-09-14T14:43:00.002-04:00

FOUND IN VERSAILLES, MO

Seizure Dog Has Been Reunited with Her Owner!

Thanks to all who helped in the search!

Versailles, MO- A Nationwide search for a Dutch Shepherd named Gabby is underway. Gabby is valued at $20,000.

"Gabby" is a 1 1/2 year old Dutch Shepherd that is specially trained as a seizure alert/response dog for her handler Krisna Myers.

Gabby was delivered to a trainer named Steven Dornin in Versailles, MO for further obedience training.

Mr. Dornin alleged that Gabby escaped her crate at his Melody, Rd. mobil home and chewed through the interior wall. Mr. Dornin did not notify Krisna or her family for 5 days that Gabby was missing. Mr. Dornin did not notify law enforcement or the media that Gabby was missing. It is believed Mr. Dornin is currently in Des Moines, Iowa.

Mr. Dornin has not returned any calls or e-mails to Krisna's family.

It has been learned that Mr. Dornin claims to be a member of several dog training organizations. No contact information for these organizations can be found.

It is has further been learned that Mr. Dornin is planning to fly to the Philippines on October 1st.

According to the Morgan County Sheriff's Dept. there is no evidence of Gabby doing any damage to the mobil home from the exterior that is visible.

For further information please contact 405-517-1566.

Discrimination: Texas Teen Threatened with Arrest

2010-09-09T11:06:00.010-04:00

River Oaks, TX - a 17 year old Texas teen was denied access to Burger's Lake, a popular swimming hole in Ft. Worth. A complaint has been filed by Hannah James' parents with the United States Department of Justice and with the Tarrant County District Attorney's office.

The owner of the popular swimming hole, Curtis Mahan, was informed of the teens disability, the service dog's water rescue training and that her service dog attends a public school. He was shown the proper paperwork that is needed for service animal licensing. The owner of Burger's Lake said he didn't care and that he would deal with the law later.

(Pic:) - (R) Hannah with her service dog Mark in June of this year at Lake Ray Roberts in Texas. Mark is trained in water rescue.

The service dog is trained as a seizure alert/response dog and recently has been trained in water rescue.

The owner of Burger's Lake repeatedly said that no pets were allowed. He called the River Oaks police dept. and the officer identified as badge #165, along with the owner of Burger's Lake, said Hannah would be arrested if she entered the water with her service dog.

Other cities in Texas allow service dog's to access swimming area's if the person with a disability can demonstrate the need for the handler to have the service dog with them.

How to Ruin Your Service Dog

2010-09-08T10:45:00.014-04:00

Note: Fido is a fictional dog.

“I don’t understand” said Fido’s handler “The first two weeks were amazing. Fido never barked, was great on the leash, he never had one accident in the house...”

“But now, its like he’s a different dog! He doesn’t listen to a word I say, won’t come when I call him. He barks at every little thing. He’s been peeing on the furniture, and I can barely walk him, he pulls so much.”

“I don’t know what to do. I’m thinking about returning him to service dog organization I got him from but my kids are already attached to him.”

It is such a common occurrence that it deserves a name of its own. Let’s call it The Jaiger Syndrome.

Why Jaiger?

Jaiger was a Coonhound that I purchased from an Amish man many, many years ago, before my dog training days. I hold myself personally responsible for ruining him.

When I brought him home, he was quiet and loving, housebroken, a dream on the leash. The first two weeks were heavenly. He could run down a raccoon in minutes!

And because my heart melted for the abuse and neglect that I imagined he had endured, I felt supremely sorry for him, as nearly everyone who adopts a dog from a rescue does, and so I cared him, kept him with me in my truck constantly, fed him scraps from the table, let him sleep on the couch.

In truth, I knew nothing of his background but given how muscular he was and that he knew obedience commands, (I later learned was Pennsylvania Dutch) he was probably the well-cared for hunting dog of an elderly Amish person who could no longer look after him.

And what had been a sweet-natured, happy dog in a very short while became a veritable HOOCH! He barked incessantly, did his business on every rug in the house, and completely warranted the sign I had to post on my truck that said RUDE DOG!

I had coddled and spoiled and transformed a perfectly nice hunting hound into a mess of anxieties and fears. And with that came Jaiger’s aggressive responses to anything he felt he couldn’t control.

Jaiger is gone now. But now there is Fido – (The fictional dog above) – and so many other dogs that have overly sympathetic owners who have inadvertently created doggie monsters.

Now, this doesn’t happen to EVERY dog. There are plenty of great dogs out there that were treated like royalty and stayed just as lovable as the day he came home.

But I’ll bet everyone reading this has known, or owned, a dog with Jaiger Syndrome.

So I will explain what NOT to do:

Buy an enormous bag of inexpensive dog food from the grocery store.

Fill a bowl with the food and leave it out. Keep it full at all times.

Yell at the dog for begging at the table. Give it a piece of spaghetti from your plate to make it go away.

Bring the dog outside to go potty.

Forget that it needs to go outside more than once a day.

Yell at it when you discover a puddle in the house.

Pat your chest so the dog will jump on you because he is “happy to see me.”

Yell at the dog for jumping on your 67-year-old mother.

Give the dog an old shoe to play with.

Yell at the dog when it chews your new Nike.

Yell at the dog for barking.

Yell louder than the barking.

Pet the dog whenever he nudges you.

Yell at him to go away when you’re sick of petting him.

Walk the dog with him way in front of you so he can sniff wherever he wants.

Allow him to pee on every tree.

Get mad when he pulls you off your feet to greet another dog.

Stop taking him for walks.

Put the dog in another room when you have company so he won’t bother them.

Keep the dog outside on a chain all day so he won’t bother you.

Leave him at the animal shelter because he has behavior problems.

Never listen to the advice of the service dog trainer.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

Back to School

2010-09-02T11:52:00.007-04:00

(Pic:) - Hannah with her Seizure Alert/Response dog "Mark." Mark attends high school with Hannah in Texas.

Seizure Alert/Response dog "Mark" had a great summer.

All of Hannah's brothers have been at the home, running inside and out, playing in the backyard, jumping in the pool, picking up the occasional french fry on the ground. No worries. Mark’s on clean-up detail.

Hannah was with Mark all the time to let him out into the yard, take him for a walk, or play with him.

Hannah is concerned that when the kids are getting back to school, the change in routine would throw Mark off course. Last year, he was so distressed in being in a large crowded high school in Texas, that he shook for the few minutes.

To help ease Mark into the school year this time – and to preserve his integrity - here is what we put into plan to help Mark:

1. Mark is often the center of attention when the family was home all day. Starting this week, the family will pay increasingly less attention to him each day and allow Mark to be under Hannah's control.

2. Hannah is taking Mark into more crowded malls and stores.

3. Everyone is helping Mark get used to sudden noises by going out the door, and then coming right back in again. This will help Mark to be more relaxed when everyone is coming into the classroom.

4. Hannah will also begin to have Mark on his scheduled school bathroom times, and of course, begin withholding water in the morning.

5. Mark is almost 3 years old and hasn’t needed his crate for a long time, but he still likes to go under a school desk, especially when he needs a little down time. He feels secure and comfortable in his “den,” so Hannah will begin practicing with Mark by having him under the computer desk and kitchen table.

6. When the kids come into the school, they will believe Mark will be REALLY happy to see them. After being away from the school for a summer vacation the kids will have pent-up energy—and when Mark sees the kids, he might tremble for a short period of time. The kids know they have to ignore Mark, and to ask Hannah before they can pet him.

With a little bit of preparation and a lot of love, Mark will be ready for the school year, too.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

Marine Kicked out of Grocery Store with Seizure Dog

2010-08-28T13:15:00.002-04:00

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A Marine veteran who uses a service dog said on Friday that he was kicked out of a grocery store for bringing the animal with him.

Joe Lucas usually does his grocery shopping with his dog, Harley, always at his side, but when he stopped at a Sack 'N' Save earlier this week, he said he was yelled at and told to leave, 10TV's Andy Hirsch reported.

A Marine who served in Vietnam, Lucas said he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and seizures, conditions that Harley is trained to pick-up on before they happen.

"She happens to head-butt you, whine, paw, very annoying until you recognize, you've got a problem coming, go find a safe place to be," Lucas said.

While he carries paperwork identifying Harley as a service animal, Lucas said he has never had to show anyone at a grocery store the paperwork until this week.

Lucas said when he stopped at the store he was told that he could not bring Harley into the store.

"This woman comes over and she says 'You're going to have to get out of the store,' She said 'No animals allowed in a food establishment,'" Lucas said.

Lucas said he tried explain that federal law allows service animals such as Harley inside most businesses, but said the worker shouted at him to leave, and then called the police, Hirsch reported.

"I was belittled, ridiculed," Lucas said. "I wasn't angry, I was upset and I felt like I was being treated like a criminal."

Lucas said he wants to make sure something like this does not happen to him, or anyone else with a service dog.

He said he contacted the company's corporate office but has not gotten the response he wants.

"I said 'I don't want your money, I don't want coupons, I don't want any of your product," Lucas said. "All I want you to do is admit that you're wrong and apologize. And then I want you to put a sign on your door that says service dogs are welcome in this establishment."

Lucas said he hopes there is a silver lining to the story and more people understand how valuable service dogs, like Harley, can be.

The owners of Sack 'N' Save released a statement on Friday that said in part they "Would like to thank Mr. Lucas for his efforts to raise awareness about the challenges disabled veterans face when returning home from active combat.

Late on Friday, Lucas talked with executives from the store's corporate parent and they told him they would make changes.

Among them, company officials promised to develop a company-wide policy for service animals and they will institute an educational program for all employees.

The grocery chain said it will also post signs at all its stores welcoming service animals.

More Information:

Americans With Disabilities Act Service Animal Information

The Art of Schutzhund

2010-08-25T12:15:00.007-04:00

At Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. we use the highest quality West German Show Line German Shepherds. The selection of the dogs we use as seizure alert/response dogs is determined by their Sire's and Dam's schutzhund training, titling and placement in National, North American and World championships.

Schutzhund is a challenging 3 part sport (obedience, tracking and protection) which was originally designed as a breed test for the German Shepherd, and has grown in to a popular sport, as well as continuing to function as a breed test. A Schutzhund title is a pre-requisite for the German Shepherd Breed Survey or Koerung. As a sport, several countries hold regional and national competitions. In Germany, the big trial each year is the BSP or Bundes Sieger Prüfung. There is also a world competition (WUSV) each year held under FCI international rules.

Schutzhund, when it is properly trained, provides an arena where you can learn how your dog reacts to stressful situations. The dog also learns to control his drives and learns to obey his owner even when he is very excited. This results in a very well-behaved dog. The duration and breadth of training also helps create a very close bond between dog and handler.

Schutzhund Titles:

BH - basic obedience and temperament test
SchA - obedience and protection only
SchI - first level
SchII - second level
SchIII - top level
OB I,II,III - separate obedience titles
TR I,II,III - separate tracking titles
IPO 1,2,3 - international schutzhund degree (International Prüfungsordnung)
FH I,II - advanced tracking titles
WH - watch dog title
AD - endurance title (for breed-worthiness)

German Shepherd Show Ratings:

VA = "Excellent Select". In the German language, Vorzugliche Auslese. (auslese for short.)
Each year only about 12 VA titles are given for the female and the male categories in each country where a Sieger Event (National Show) is held. The German Shepherds with a VA rating are on top. The males that receive a VA rating have a proven track record for producing excellent progeny. Males must obtain a Schutzhund 3 title and females must obtain a Schutzhund I title to be eligible to participate to obtain a VA or V rating.

A "V" (Excellent) show rating is still an extremely high title. In the World Championship (Germany is considered the World Championships) each year the participation is around 2,000 total. There is approximately 23,000 German Shepherds born each year in Germany. 1% of all dogs born in Germany are eligible to qualify for the world championship.

The Chinese Sieger Show is the 2nd largest in the world with around 1,200 each year, then the numbers dwindle substantially from country to country.

The German Shepherds go through extensive pre-selection as well participating in club shows all around the United States and Canada before they even attempt to enter the Sieger show. They shepherds must be shown in front of as many top judges as possible to obtain the necessary exposure. The German show competition is competitive.

The SG rating stands for SEHR GUT, "Very Good". The rating is extremely high when extended to the young dogs classes for untitled dogs. These male German Shepherds have not earned a title of Schutzhund 3 to participate for a VA or V rating. An SG1 dog from Germany will sell for $50,000 just because his future is more than likely a VA rating. An SG rating is behind the V rating group.

The G rating stands for Good. This rating is behind SG.

The A rating stands for Ausreichend. Sufficient.

The M rating stands for Mangelhaft. Faulty.

The U rating stands for Ungenugend. Insufficient. Usually only a very small amount of dogs end up with a U rating.

The 0 rating stands for Failed Bite work or biting/attacking the judge instead of the decoy.

The EZ rating is either the owners choice to pull the dog before entering or during the show with a vet's excuse for an illness or injury contracted during the show.

The German 'A' stamp:

Hip quality rating. Three German ratings, A1, A2, A3, and A6 for a rating on a German Pedigree but done in a foreign country recognized by the SV.

A1: Normal NON deficient hips

A2: Fast Normal. Near normal hips.

A3: Noch Zugelassen. Still allowed for breeding, Fair hips.

A6: Dog's hips rated in a foreign country approved by the SV.

German Shepherd commands:

Platz = Down

Hier = Come

Fuss (Vhoezz) = Heel

Sitz = Sit

Bleib = Stay

Reviere= Retrieve

Packen = grab it (also used in attack)

Stand = Steh

Training for Medication Times

2010-08-23T09:15:00.005-04:00

(Pic:) -"Rocky" is a West German Show Line German Shepherd and he is a seizure alert/response dog.

Wie spät ist es ? That means “What time is it ?” in German.

Because Rocky is a German Shepherd with a confused body clock.

Like an exhausted new daddy who swears the baby has days and nights reversed, Rocky’s trainer is weary of the dog’s odd perception of time.

Rocky is four years old, yet he still gets up at least twice during the night for a potty party. Once he’s awake, he insists that his owner enjoy the wee hours with him by doing commands, and then snuggling up to the recliner for a bit of Craig Ferguson. Rocky is only supposed to go the bathroom when it is time for his owner to take his epilepsy medication.

He’s ready to greet the day at 6:o0 AM, and that goes for weekends, too.

Of course, unlike all dogs, he is not a professional napper, so HE has no trouble repeating the ordeal daily. His bleary-eyed trainer is currently employed and would prefer to stay that way, so not surprisingly he is in serious need of some uninterrupted sleep.

I began to do the following:

1. Feed Rocky an earlier dinner, say, at 5:30 PM rather than at 7:00 PM, so he can digest (and eliminate) during the evening hours instead of at midnight.

2. Take Rocky for the last potty break right before bedtime, at around 9:00 PM.

3. Implement a rigorous playtime or running session in the early evening to tire Rocky out.

4. Not respond immediately to Rocky’s demands to go out during the night. Make him wait 5 minutes the first night, 10 minutes the next, etc. to train his bladder – and patience – until he gives up and goes back to sleep.

5. Don’t even THINK about Play Time after bedtime. Rocky got used to having a playmate at night, and he can get UN-used to it, too. Keep everything quiet, dark, and low-key.

If you have a dog like Rocky, train him to accommodate YOUR schedule, not the other way around.

What is the Cost of a Seizure Dog?

2010-08-14T19:17:00.014-04:00

Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. believes that any person with Epilepsy should have the opportunity to have the love, companionship, and independence that is the result of seizure alert/response dog placement.
Don't wait. Call or e-mail today!
(315) 262-2052

We have eligibility requirements including a physician's statement and a cognitive ability to understand dog training theory. Our quality West German Show Line German Shepherds are trained specifically for the person with epilepsy needs.

The cost of our seizure alert/response dogs varies from $12,000 - $25,000 depending on the persons needs in the United States and Canada. Our overseas rates depends upon airfare, lodging and foreign currency exchange.

The CEO of Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. makes a determination regarding the need of the applicant via a telephone interview; the ability of Seizure Alert Dogs for Life to meet the applicant's needs, and interviews the applicant to determine what the dog would be trained to do. Based on this need, the contract is sent to the recipient or legal guardian. Upon receipt of the signed contract from the applicant the recipient is officially our client.

At the time of signing the contract, a physical interview will be conducted to visit the home at which the Service Dog will be living and interview all individuals living at the home. We will not train for any person that has a diagnosis of Autism.

Many clients can't afford the purchase of our quality service dogs. Many choose to fundraise. All funds are held according to our contract and all payments must be made to our corporation. The Client is responsible to pay the total amount stated in the contract prior to delivery of the service animal.

Upon the time frame stated in the contract; the service dog and trainer will deliver the service dog to your home and will begin an intensive training regiment for the first 2-3 days with the recipient. The trainer will attend all functions with the family including work, school, sports, etc. The total training time can be as little as 5 days to as much as 2 weeks depending on the persons needs.

We do not guarantee that any dog will alert to any seizure at anytime.

For more info please see:
Seizure Alert Dogs for Life Invented the VNS Colla...

Our Innovation begins with Creative Ideas

Now Available:
Our Seizure Alert/Response Dogs currently in training.

Getting a Seizure Alert/Response Dog from us.

Seizure Alert Dogs: A Breed of Their Own

Dog Can Save Life of Man who has Seizures

A Girl and Her Seizure Dog's Love for Each Other

The Seizure Alert/Response Dog Arrives at your Home

Hard Wired Seizure Dog

2010-08-14T09:57:00.008-04:00

(Pic:) - Dexter is a purebred Beagle licensed in New York State as a service animal. He is a seizure alert/response dog.

Dexter is a 4 year old purebred Beagle with a penchant for furiously flinging dirt in wide arcing sprays as he tunnels through the backyard.

He also has a thirst for blood; well, for rabbit , anyway.

Not only does he attempt to get out of the kennel, but you would think that whatever communication system rabbits use would have forewarned Bunnies in the Adirondack mountains that a killing machine lives in this particular area of South Colton, NY.

But no, the rabbits seem to line up, for the privilege of testing Dexter’s sprint/capture/assassinate skills. Dexter is getting awfully good at this, but then, he’s had a lot of practice.

This is not a case of a dog presenting his owners with a fresh meat gift.

Dexter has a high prey drive, or the instinctive behavior of a carnivore to pursue and capture prey.

One could also argue that Dexter is merely doing what Beagles were bred to do. It’s not his fault that his owner trained him to do this particular job and seizure alert and response, but he is, after all, hard-wired to exterminate varmints.

(Pic) - Snow Shoe Hare. The Snow shoe "rabbit" turns white in the winter and it does not live in holes like the cottontail rabbit.

What can Dexter's owner do to save the lives of all of the future rabbits of Northern New York? Hey, don’t send them my way! I have my own Rabbit problems that grazed on my cucumbers this summer.

So here are some options for the owners:

Before releasing Dexter into his yard in full hunting mode, tire him out with a long run, swim or his favorite chasing game. A tired dog is a happy dog is a happier rabbit.

Giving Dexter something to do to keep him busy in the yard so he isn’t just waiting there for his next victim. Throwing a handful of his dog food on the ground might be an entertaining diversion.

Can Dexter be trained NOT to revert to his killer instincts?

Yes, but realistically, Dexter’s owner does enjoy hunting with Dexter with his family. In the end, If the rabbit visitors were humanely trapped and released elsewhere; Dexter will find them. But with Dexter doing what he enjoys on his play time while not working as a service animal I believe my cucumbers are safe.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

Cell Phones and Your Seizure Dog

2010-08-08T23:32:00.008-04:00

As we know, German Shepherds do not text, nor do they seem compelled to. But, since cell phones are the life saving device that we train our service dogs to use in the event of a seizure by the handler...many people make serious mistakes controlling their service dog.

However, this is NOT a post about training dogs not to chew on telecommunications devices.

This IS a post about cell phones and their misuse during dog handling. As if we needed further evidence of our addiction to our cell phones, here are some real-life examples of actual incidences where canines and callers came into contact and conflict:

Teenage girl, doing her mandated bi-daily service dog training the seizure dog, dutifully walks with us, head bowed, thumbs flying, texting the entire time;

Teenage male, practicing walking his seizure dog to heel, insists that the leash hast to be held in one hand because the other hand must be firmly attached to his cell phone;

Innumerable lessons interrupted countless times by ringtones, shrill noises, table-rattling vibrations, and other cell phone emanations. If the client’s phone rings, it must be answered, right then and there.

We humans are essentially doing the dog-equivalent of sniffing the grass, chasing squirrels, and munching on gravel – we have lost the ability to focus on one task at a time.

Of course, I am writing this while glancing at a new message that just came up on my Blackberry…

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

Our Quality German Shepherds Means Everything

2010-08-08T11:17:00.014-04:00

(Pic:) -"Rocky" Rocket vom Haus Juris is the son of VA1 Liedo vom Kuckukucksland. Rocky's father was a 6 time US champion, 2 time regional champion, 2005 WDA champion and 2005 North American Sieger Show Champion. His mother Ronda also won the North American Sieger Show!
Rocky is part of the Seizure Alert Dogs for life breeding program.

Rocky's Pedigree online

At Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. we focus on temperament, structure and bloodlines with our Seizure Alert/Response dogs. All of our service dogs are trained in a strict Schutzhund behavioral discipline. Our quality West German Showline German Shepherds have excellent drives for work and become the best service animals for persons with epilepsy in the world!

Schutzhund is a performance test that evaluates a German Shepherds character, intelligence, courage and athleticism. It demonstrates the dog's mental stability, endurance, structural efficiencies, scenting, work drives and courage.Schutzhund is the most devised art of training for the working dog.

We also import world class German Shepherds from Germany that have started Schutzhund training.

We believe that our German Shepherds must be able to work before the dog enters our Seizure Alert/Response program.There is no substitute for quality.

Learn how we can help you:

Getting a Seizure Alert/Response Dog from us.

Seizure Alert Dogs: A Breed of Their Own

News video of a Seizure Alert/Response dog we trained

Dog Can Save Life of Man who has Seizures

A Girl and Her Seizure Dog's Love for Each Other

The Seizure Alert/Response Dog Arrives at your Home

Now Available:
Our Seizure Alert/Response Dogs currently in training.

Don't wait. Call or e-mail today!

(315) 262-2052

Should Disabled Veteran be Banned from Store with Service Dog?

2010-08-05T10:15:00.003-04:00

SPRINGFIELD, MASS -According to NBC News Connecticut, Kim Mucha is a disabled veteran who served in the Air Force Military Police.

When it comes to what stores expect of their customers, there are just a few simple rules of retail: don’t steal, try not to mess the shelves up too much and oh, yeah, big one, don’t defecate in the aisles. For the most part, the average citizen follows those simple edicts.

But what if you’re a disabled veteran and your service dog relieves itself in the greeting card aisle? That’s the dilemma facing the Springfield, Mass.,-based Big Y supermarket chain in light of a dispute with Air Force veteran Kim Mucha.

According to The New Hampshire Register, Mucha was banned from the store in New Haven last month (and told she would be arrested for trespassing if she came back) after her service dog took a no. 2 in the store. That incident set off a battle in which Mucha claims the chain’s ban is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Big Y officials counter that she is trying to make the store look bad.

The ADA -- celebrating its 20th anniversary this year -- stipulates that service dogs are allowed into businesses under the law. Mucha, who relies on her service dog for balance and to get things on low shelves, claims she cleaned up the dog pile right away. A store official countered that Mucha’s dog was nowhere near her and soiled the floor several times, including in the deli where Big Y employees were making sandwiches.

Service dogs are typically identified by their vests, service animal license tag or paperwork and they can be banned only if their actions “fundamentally” alter how a business operates, according to the ADA. Mucha, who is contemplating legal action, said she was embarrassed because the store’s manager allegedly yelled at her and called over workers to clean up the mess who looked like they were wearing “hazmat suits."

Mucha told the New Haven Register, "They treated me and my dog like criminals."

Municipalities Can No Longer Ban Breeds that are Service Dogs

2010-08-05T09:48:00.004-04:00

(Pic:) -Seizure Alert/Response Dog "Kris" cools off in a creek in Colorado. Kris was trained by Seizure Alert Dogs for Life.

The U.S. Department of Justice has historically fought against profiling. Now, through its final rule on accessibility standards in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it has also come out against canine profiling.

The issue arose because some communities that have enacted laws that discriminate against certain breeds of dogs. Today, American Pit Bull Terriers are the targeted breed, even if they are assisting the disabled by working as service dogs. Just ask Sam Dworkis, who has multiple sclerosis. He has a wonderful pit-bull-type service dog named Poppy, who retrieves items for Sam and wears a special harness so he can help Sam remain stable while he walks. He's a great service dog.

But some cities such as Denver and Aurora, Colo. have been sued for interfering with service dogs and this topic has been the subject of two federal lawsuits. With the new Justice Department regulation, the issue is now decided: Cities cannot discriminate against service dogs simply because of their appearance.

"The Department of Justice developed a well-reasoned and sensible approach to preserving the rights of those with disabilities," said Ledy VanKavage, legislative analyst for Best Friends Animal Society, who is an expert on reckless owner/dangerous dog laws in the United States.

VanKavage pointed out that people often are unaware that pit bull terrier type dogs are not the only breed suffering from breed discriminatory ordinances and laws. Many cities also regulate or prohibit common service dogs like German Shepherds, which not only are common service dogs for people with disabilities, but they also serve cities in search and rescue and law enforcement.

The rule reads: “Others have restrictions that, while well-meaning, have the unintended effect of screening out the very breeds of dogs that have successfully served as service animals for decades without a history of the type of unprovoked aggression or attacks that would pose a direct threat, e.g., German Shepherds.”

“Other jurisdictions prohibit animals over a certain weight, thereby restricting breeds without invoking an express breed ban,” the rule states. For example, Fairfield, Iowa, prohibits any dog over 100 pounds.

Weighing unintended consequences to recognizing local breed restrictions, the Department of Justice further states:

“In addition, deference to breed restrictions contained in local laws would have the unacceptable consequence of restricting travel by an individual with a disability who uses a breed that is acceptable and poses no safety hazards in the individual´s home jurisdiction but is nonetheless banned by other jurisdictions.”

The rule does give local governments the authority to strictly regulate or prohibit certain dogs based on behavior, but may not regulate such dogs based solely on the way they look.

“State and local government entities have the ability to determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether a particular service animal can be excluded based on that particular animal´s actual behavior or history--not based on fears or generalizations about how an animal or breed might behave.”

The Department of Justice says the ability to exclude an animal whose “behavior or history evidences a direct threat” is sufficient to protect health and safety.

$1.5M Lawsuit Filed For Denying Seizure Dog at Courthouse

2010-08-04T11:04:00.006-04:00

RHEA COUNTY, MS- A Rhea County woman has filed a federal lawsuit after she said she was not allowed to bring her service dog into the Bradley County Courthouse.

Brenda Sears, who said she is disabled and suffers from a seizure disorder, is asking $500,000 compensatory damages and $1 million punitive damages.

She is suing Bradley County, Sheriff Tim Gobble and Sgt. J.F. "Jim" Brown.

In the suit filed by attorney Robin Flores of Chattanooga, Ms. Sears said she went to the Bradley County Courthouse on Aug. 11, 2009, as a witness for a friend's son.

She said her dog, O'Neal, was wearing a harness that identified him as a service animal.

The suit says Sgt. Brown refused to allow O'Neal inside the courthouse for over two hours.

It says he declined to allow Ms. Sears use of the toilet, "which was a mere 15 or 20 feet from the entrance unless plaintiff placed the dog in plaintiff's car in the summer heat."

The suit says she had to leave the courthouse and find a business that would allow her use of the bathroom.

It says disabled persons should be accommodated at public buildings.

More:

Bradley Sheriff Sued Over Service Dog Dispute

WTVC‎

A Girl and Her Seizure Dog's Love for Each Other

2010-08-03T10:01:00.003-04:00

(Pic:) Hannah and her Seizure Alert/Response dog Mark. Mark was trained by Seizure Alert Dogs for Life and delivered to Hannah in 2009.

Don't wait. Call or e-mail today!

(315) 262-2052

The following was written by Hannah:

I could never ask for a better dog than Mark...he may have a silly name, but he follows me like he's permanately attached to my side....he's better than any boyfriend, he lets me cuddle him, play with him, and when i'm sad he curls up beside me and lets me cry onto his neck....We dance together, run together, and wrestle together....people say to me "Hannah, I have NEVER seen a dog love someone as much as that dog there loves YOU", and you know what.....It's true, Mark is my best friend, he listens to all my problems and i tell him all my secrets, and he will never tell another soul...he protects me when i'm sick, he will growl and bark until that person leaves....We go on car rides together, go to stores together...When the term "mans best friend" comes to mind, all i can think about is Mark is more than my best friend, he's my protector, my guardian, the love of my life, my baby... If I had 1 day to live, I would spend it with Mark....because I know Mark would do the same, or even more for me.....People say he's beautiful, majestic, and his ears are adorable...But I see Mark more than just a beautiful creature, I see him as dog who loves me for being me....Mark doesnt care if i wear make-up or dont, make my hair straight, or just throw it up in a ponytail. Mark just cares if he's around me....He jumps on my bed and listens to me play my guitar and sing, even though i am not a good guitar player....But you know there's only one important factor in our equation....

....We love each other.....

Learn how we can help you:

Getting a Seizure Alert/Response Dog from us.

Seizure Alert Dogs: A Breed of Their Own

News video of a Seizure Alert/Response dog we trained

Too Hot for the Seizure Alert/Response dog!

2010-08-01T12:47:00.008-04:00

(Pic:)- Seizure alert/ response dogs "Duke" and "Kris" enjoy some gleeful play with a water sprinkler on a hot day.

Here we seizure alert/response dog handlers go, running out the door – to our jobs, to the beach, to the park, to the mall. And we have to take our service dogs everywhere.

But….it’s just too damn hot.

Now Available:
Our Seizure Alert/Response Dogs currently in training.

Even walks with the service dog are shortened. We glisten with sweat, our service dog pants, and by the time we get home, handler and service dog alike slump onto the cool floor, eyes closed in relief, chests heaving.

Car rides are out of the question, since stopping – even for a moment to run an errand – is fraught with danger.

What’s a service dog and handler to do?

Here are some ideas, with your service dog as the first ingredient:

(Pic:) - "Duke" enjoying cooling off in a kiddie pool.

Drag the kiddie pool outside. Place in a shady spot. Add water. For reluctant dogs, place front paws in the water. Dogs sweat through their foot pads, so this will be instantly refreshing.

Turn on the sprinkler. Stir in dog. Encourage gleeful, soggy play.

Always keep a large bowl of fresh water – with or without ice cubes – available for your dog at all time.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

The Seizure Alert/Response Dog Arrives at your Home

2010-08-01T11:44:00.008-04:00

(Pic:)- Hannah and her Seizure Alert/Response dog "Mark." Mark was trained by Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.. Mark was delivered to Hannah in 2009.

German Shepherd "Mark" had lived comfortably in his New York obedience trainers home since he was a puppy.

Now Available:
Our Seizure Alert/Response Dogs currently in training.

He has explored every corner of the house and sniffed every blade of grass in the yard. The smells are as familiar as his bowl of food. He has the kennel living and seizure alert/response training routine down pat. So why all of a sudden is he riding in an RV for days, and now it's hot outside and his trainer has tethered him to a teenage girl?

Hannah's family is preparing to have Mark move to his new home in Texas – Seizure Alert/Response dog Mark got a job in Texas and the Seizure Alert Dogs for Life crew is taking him there in time for Thanksgiving.

Mark, of course, has no idea why this is happening, so he is already having a harder time adjusting to this change.

Here are some things Mark would like his family to know BEFORE moving day:

He might need his basic obedience commands reinforced. That will help him be more focused and have an easier time settling in to his new surroundings;

Mark won’t mind being alone, as long as he has his favorite cell phone with him to keep him occupied while the trainer is packing;

He really does still need his run every day;

Mark would love spending moving day hanging around with his buddies Mabel and Dexter, so he won’t be underfoot;

At his new home, Mark would enjoy a walk inside and outside in the house, sort of a get-to-know-the-new-digs tour;

He’ll do just fine in a room with his trainer and new handler;

Mark will appreciate having his bowls in the kitchen and his bed in the same rooms as in the old house...now next to Hannah, in the bedroom, etc.);

It might take Mark 3 months or more to adjust to his new living arrangement. As he adapts to his new surroundings, he will begin to feel more comfortable and relaxed, especially if he sees that his human companions are calm;

Mark loves his routines. Sticking to his usual feeding times, walks, and playtimes will help him settle in faster;
His new handler plans to be home and at school with Mark for the first few days after the transition. If they gradually spend all day together in the house and at school, Mark will start to adjust to new handler in his new home;

Mark is reliable about doing his business outside, but the new house might have him a bit off kilter. His new handler is patient though, and know that accidents will happen. There are other pets in the house, Mark might smell them and want to "mark" his territory. They plan to keep an eye on him along with the trainer so there will be less chance for mistakes;

Not all dogs are as easy-going as Mark. Some dogs stop eating or get diarrhea if they are stressed. Other signs of stress are pacing, hiding, destroying things and separation anxiety;
Fearful behavior is common when a big change has occurred in a dog’s life. At first, Mark might be timid in his new surroundings. He might even become a Velcro dog and follow his trainer around all the time;
If Mark shows signs of nervousness, his handler and trainer know they should not overly reassure him. By giving him an unusual amount of attention when he is worried, Mark will think there must be something to worry about;

If the new home has antifreeze in the garage, chewable objects on the floor, or holes in the fence, Mark will find them if his handler and trainer don’t check for them first;

Mark’s handler already did some research and found a veterinarian for him in Texas. They plan to visit the clinic with Mark, and will bring a copy of his veterinary records with them.
Once Mark’s family is settled in, they will get him licensed as a service animal and update his identification tags. Since Mark has a tattoo, they will change their contact information with the registry;

Emergency personnel will know that Mark is in the house in the event an ambulance must be called for a seizure in the home;

Mark’s handler will try to be patient with him while he – adjusts to Texas.

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

Getting a Seizure Alert/Response Dog from us.

2009-10-14T12:40:00.032-04:00

(Pic:) Hannah with her service dog "Mark." He is a 3 year old "West German Show Line" purebred German Shepherd, born in Germany. He was delivered in the fall of 2009. He is a Seizure Alert/Response Dog.

"Mark" was rated by Take Part.com as one of the top 5 Hero Dogs of all time!

Puppies to the Rescue: TakePart's 5 Favorite Hero Dogs | TakePart - News, Culture, Videos and Photos

www.takepart.com

There are 75 million dogs owned in the United States, and while all of our lovable pooches have special qualities, there are only a few that can be crowned as hero dogs.

In the foothills of the Adirondack mountains in New York a small organization has been training the finest quality service dogs for people that suffer from epilepsy. The name of the organization is Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc.

The seizure alert/response dog program is the main focus of Seizure Alert Dogs for Life. The dogs are selected, trained, and placed as described in this article about our training.

Now Available:
Our Seizure Alert/Response Dogs currently in training.

Seizure alert/response dogs are service dogs with special abilities and talents. They are a breed of their own.

Seizure alert/response dogs are able to predict seizure activity anywhere from several minutes to an hour before the seizure occurs. This is a natural instinct, or ability, which some dogs are particularly inclined to act upon and it is SADL's job to select those dogs in our seizure alert dog program that demonstrate this characteristic. We do not guarantee that any service dog we train will alert to any seizure.

The actual ability to detect is not trained by our staff, but is instead positively reinforced when we see the dog exhibiting behaviors indicating their awareness of upcoming seizure activity. We are unsure how these dogs know that a seizure is approaching. Most likely, through its sense of smell, the dog is detecting the chemical and electrical changes within a person's body caused by seizure activity. Our seizure alert/response dog trainer has epilepsy.

The dogs are permitted to alert in a way most comfortable to them. Often, a dog will nudge/bump/paw its partner, or give a small whine. If the person is walking, the dog will interfere with the person's movement, blocking their path and causing them to stop. These dogs are very reliable and consistent in their work. Their alerts are close in time prior to each seizure that gives a sense of control and management to the handler.

We will train for children, teens and adults. We ask for family involvement in the training process.

The benefit to the recipient of our seizure alert dogs is that the handlers are able to manage their activity around the time of a seizure. If their dog typically alerts 20 minutes prior, this gives them time to get to a safe place, stop unsafe activities, or notify someone that the seizure is about to occur. This makes life safer, more predictable, and much more independent!

Examples:

The seizure alert dog alerts, and its partner leaves the swimming
area which would be an unsafe environment in which to have a seizure.
A seizure alert dog alerts, and its handler is a carpenter, turns off his tools and goes to lay quietly on a mat.
A seizure alert dog alerts and calls 911 for medical personnel. They know that if they do not hear from the human partner within a certain amount of time they need to provide assistance.

Not all people who have seizures are good candidates for a seizure alert dog. A person must have a letter from their treating physician recommending a service dog and the individual must have the cognitive ability to learn dog training theory and to recognize and respond to an alert.

In addition to providing the alerts to an impending seizure, seizure alert dogs also provide balance and stability to their partners following the seizure, can retrieve the telephone to make an emergency assistance call, operate a medic line and assist with any other tasks needed.

All Seizure Alert/Response dogs that we train are licensed in New York State as service animals. We will assist you to have the service dog licensed in your state.

Seizure Alert Dogs for Life

Feel free to call us (315) 262-2052

Our Quality German Shepherds Means Everything

What is the Cost of a Seizure Dog?

Getting a Seizure Alert/Response Dog from us.

Seizure Alert Dogs: A Breed of Their Own

Chris Stones’ story: A life defined by epilepsy

2009-10-04T10:05:00.002-04:00

LAS VEGAS- Chris Stones accelerated his Mazda from a stoplight, faded to the right, bounced off a curb and sideswiped a car in the center lane, causing it to bump into another vehicle.

And he didn’t know it.

When his brain finally kicked in, he noticed that his car was swaying and the front fender was bent. He wondered if he had been the victim of a hit and run.

He pulled over at a gas station and called police.

As they arrived, so did a witness who had also called 911 and was now giving an account. That’s when it sunk in for Stones that he was solely responsible for what had happened.

He told the police he had no memory of what had happened on that September day in 2008. They treated him as if he was on drugs or alcohol — conducting a field sobriety test, yelling at him, shoving him against the car and slapping on handcuffs.

I have epilepsy, he explained in a panic. It causes seizures. What happened was beyond my control.

Stones called his father and stepmother, who came to the scene and vouched for his medical condition. He was given a ticket. He would lose his license for 90 days.

If Stones had been living in ancient times, his epilepsy would have been considered a prophetic power, or a curse. In the Middle Ages, he would have been persecuted and tortured as a witch, or priests would have been summoned to exorcise him of his demons.

Even in 20th century United States, people like Stones could be sterilized, banned from marrying or denied entry into restaurants, theaters and other public places.

And today, if Stones lived in other parts of the world, his seizures would be considered paranormal.

Unfortunately for Stones, epilepsy had become normal.

And after the accident, he’d had enough.

Hopeless, despondent and wracked with guilt over the accident, he reached for his wallet and pulled out a business card that had been given to him several months before for Dr. Samir Bangalore, neurologist, Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center.

He had no idea Bangalore was the only doctor in the state who could provide what had eluded him his entire life: hope.

Stones’ mother, Kay Spencer, remembers his first seizure. The family was living in Mobile, Ala., and Stones was 6 months old. One night, as he slept between his parents, his body began convulsing. When she picked him up, his tiny body gripped her with spasms so powerful it felt like a man giving her a bear hug.

Stones wasn’t diagnosed with epilepsy at the time but was put on anti-seizure drugs until he was 7, when doctors thought the seizures had stopped. Stones now believes he had more seizures, but they stopped short of convulsions. He suffered from blurred vision and headaches, and would stare mindlessly into space, but those symptoms were not dramatic.

The epilepsy diagnosis came when he was 14. The family was making tacos when Stones thrust his hand into a hot skillet of ground beef, grabbed a handful and shoved it into his mouth. He had a faraway look in his eyes and his skin took on a gray pallor. When he came to his senses seconds later, he saw that his hands were blistered and taco meat was on the counter, but he didn’t know what he had done.

His mom, dad and brother stared at him, dumbfounded.

“You had a seizure,” his mom said.

At the time the family was living in Montana and a neurologist there diagnosed Stones with epilepsy. Stones feared what others would think. His mom says Stones allowed epilepsy to define him, and he carefully structured his life to keep the condition secret. He avoided parties because alcohol — if only from a spiked drink — would cause a seizure. He went to bed early, watched his diet, avoided certain frenetic movies that could trigger a seizure. He kept the secret.

As Stones matured he came to grips with letting people know about his epilepsy, and today, at 27, he says he’s not ashamed of the condition.

But that doesn’t remove the problems associated with the seizures.

No one knew about Stones’ epilepsy when he started dealing cards and roulette at the Suncoast in 2005. Over the years he estimates he’s had dozens of seizures on the job. Often, he sensed them coming. He would feel numbness in his hands or blurred vision for a few seconds before they started and would pretend to stumble, timing a drop of the cards or roulette ball onto the ground with the strike of the seizure. That allowed him to go to the floor, out of sight, while his brain misfired, and resume the game seconds after it passed. His co-workers and pit bosses dismissed these rare incidents as mishaps.

In time, the seizures become too severe to hide — staring into space, twitching his arms, cards flying onto the floor, drooling, vomiting. They were especially common when he worked the swing shift, which made it difficult to sleep.

Once his condition was known, Stones said, Suncoast management, his co-workers and casino guests were exceptionally supportive. Company policy was not as accommodating: It dictated that he be carried off the floor in a wheelchair. The seizures were embarrassing and heightened his anxiety.

The car accident was the final straw. Something had to be done.

• • •

Seizures start with a spark of electrical activity in the brain that spreads out of control like an electrical storm. Why that happens isn’t fully understood, but it may be related to an injury or genetics. Many seizures are barely noticeable to an observer. Whole-body convulsions — “grand mal seizures” — are the most extreme variety and are less common. Stones has had only four of those in his lifetime.

Seizures come in three stages. Warning signs last seconds and might include tingling, racing thoughts or blurred vision. The seizure itself could be nothing more than spacing out, an out-of-body feeling, or movement of the jaw and fluttering eyelids. The aftermath might include memory loss, feelings of shame, embarrassment or nausea.

A person is diagnosed with epilepsy when he has had at least two seizures not caused by a known medical factor. Epilepsy afflicts about 3 million Americans, but it’s often misdiagnosed. Sunrise has monitored about 400 people — many of whom were on anti-seizure medicines for years — and found that only 20 were epileptics.

Non-epileptic seizures can be caused by a psychological problem known as “conversion disorder,” in which a person converts a particular stress to a physical manifestation — such as, for one patient at Sunrise, the emotional response to a song from “Phantom of the Opera.”

In other cases, epileptic seizures can be a reflexive reaction to a particular external stimulation. Flashing lights and hyperventilation are the most common triggers, but in one instance, a patient had full-body convulsions caused by showering. In a case cited in medical books, a patient’s reflexive seizures were activated by the music of Jamaican-born rapper Sean Paul.

Sunrise works to remove non-epileptics from medications that have harmful side effects and refer them to psychiatric care.

• • •

Stones had suffered from epilepsy his entire life, but the September 2008 crash was the first time a seizure had caused a car accident. It came at a time when he was particularly struggling with epilepsy. His patience had run out with local doctors. His anti-seizure medications had stopped working. The seizures were striking with abandon during his shifts at the Suncoast. Usually the anxiety of wondering when and where they would strike was worse than the symptoms themselves.

Leila Navidi

Chris Stones sets up his table with floor supervisor Ariel Leon, left, after returning to work as a dealer at the Suncoast Casino on Friday, September 4, 2009. Stones' craniectomy was apparently successful in removing the part of his brain that was causing seizures. Stones has not had a seizure since his final surgery over six weeks ago.

Stones’ previous neurologist had moved away — not that he missed him. Every appointment took five minutes. The doctor would test his eyes, his reflexes, have him walk in a line, and then write a new prescription.

What is the point of me coming here? Stones would wonder.

Two days after the crash, Stones stood in the parking lot of the Suncoast with his phone in his hand. Epilepsy ruled his life. It dictated his diet, social habits and sleep schedule. The medication made him fall asleep at work. He delayed dating because he didn’t want to bring the stress of the condition into his love life.

The cumulative hopelessness and anxiety of epilepsy put him into such a depression that his mother said she worried he would kill himself.

His stepmother had given him Bangalore’s card months earlier. A friend had passed it along to her. Maybe he could help, she had said.

Tears in his eyes, he dialed Bangalore’s number.

The neurologist, Stones would learn, is the star of a new epilepsy program at the Nevada Neurosciences Institute at Sunrise Hospital, which provides comprehensive care for epileptic adults, including surgery to remove the parts of a patient’s brain that spark seizures.

Bangalore, who graduated from medical school in 2002, was involved in about two dozen such brain surgeries during his epilepsy fellowship. The surgery has been performed for decades elsewhere, but, true to the underdeveloped nature of health care in Nevada, wasn’t available here until he came to Sunrise to start its program in 2007.

Bangalore wasn’t like the clinical and hurried doctors Stones had seen previously. Bangalore is relaxed and easygoing, with an engaging bedside manner, consistent with his personal life, in which he writes silly poems to his wife and lets loose at karaoke restaurants. He likes it when patients ask questions.

Bangalore also offered expertise that was new to Stones. Bangalore, an Indian who was born and raised in Chicago, was groomed to become a doctor. His mother was a librarian and his father was a researcher at the University of Chicago. After school, Bangalore was a “lab rat,” hanging out with his father at his research facility.

At the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy — Bangalore jokes that the high school should be called the “Ultimate Nerd Academy” — he competed on the math and debate teams. Ask him what sports he played and he mentions ping-pong.

But neurology requires more careful thought than the quick reactions required at a ping-pong table, and Bangalore is, if nothing else, patient. He and his wife spent 18 months renovating their new Las Vegas home before moving in.

After their first meeting, Bangalore believed Stones would be excellent candidate for surgery. Stones was maxed out on three anti-seizure medications, which sedated him and contributed to his depression, but did not stop the seizures.

Most epileptics can be seizure-free through the use of a single medication, Bangalore said. But about one in four epileptics will not be seizure free on any combination of drugs.

Before surgery could be considered, Bangalore needed to identify where the seizures are conceived in the brain and then ensure that a surgical option would not disable the patient.

For all the doctors Stones had seen, not one had mentioned that surgery could cure his epilepsy. Stones was on board. It didn’t matter how much it cost, how long it took or how much it hurt. The new hope lightened the weight of his depression. His mother remembers the hope in his voice when he called her to tell her about the appointment: “Mom, I met this doctor and I think he can help me!”

His company’s health insurance promised to cover the work, but Stones said he would pay it off in installments if it did not. If all went according to plan, the process would culminate with what Stones described to his mother as cutting open his skull and “scooping out” the diseased part of his brain that caused the seizures.

For Bangalore, the first order of business was to observe and record Stones’ seizures in a clinical setting to precisely map the electrical activity. He had to ensure the misfires didn’t stem from a portion of his brain that controlled other important abilities, such as memory or speech.

Bangalore would have to induce the seizures.

• • •

At Sunrise, four rooms are dedicated to epilepsy surveillance, where patients are withdrawn from their medication, deprived of sleep and otherwise prompted to have seizures. A month after the car accident, Stones spent a week at Sunrise withdrawn from his medication, reading, watching TV, staving off boredom, waiting for seizures to strike.

Leila Navidi

Amber Curl, a registered electroencephalographic and evoked potential technologist at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center, gets ready to fit 21 electrodes onto Chris Stones head Monday, October 13, 2008. The electrodes will monitor Stones' brain activity, and his seizures will be induced to more accurately find the part of his brain where the seizures come from.

When the seizures came — five of them, eventually — electrodes glued to the outside of his head captured the electrical activity in his brain and transmitted them to an electroencephalography (EEG) machine. Their physical manifestations were captured on video.

Typical of Stones’ seizures was the one that struck at about 11 p.m. Oct. 13. The EEG stylus went from wavy lines to scribbles on the part of the page that represented the frontal and temporal lobes — the area of his brain above and in front of his left ear.

At the same time Stones’ body was in similar disarray. At 6-foot-2 and about 240 pounds, he nearly fills the hospital bed, which has padded rails in case the seizures become violent. When the seizure strikes, he turns from the TV and looks around the room in confusion. His left wrist extends at arm’s length, and he appears to examine his left hand, perplexed. His head turns to the left, his shoulder flexes involuntarily and he vomits in his mouth. As the seizure concludes, Stones looks at both hands, bewildered, and resumes watching TV. The episode lasts about a minute.

Stones’ subsequent seizures at Sunrise included similar involuntary ticks. Sometimes his right arm extended; he clenched, unclenched and shook his right fist; flapped his hands, blinked his eyes. Twice he vomited.

As unsettling as the seizures appear to an outsider, Stones doesn’t recall a time he lived without them, so he’s nonplused about them. They don’t cause pain, and the confusion of the events is mitigated by the fact that they are regular occurrences.

The EEG and the videos taken during the monitoring process showed that the seizures were sparked in the left temporal lobe — the area around the temple involved in language and memory. The seizures are not severe in terms of symptoms, Bangalore said, “but it severely affects his life.” And there’s evidence, he said, that they could become increasingly difficult to treat. Stones’ brain was abnormal even when he was not having seizures. Frequent electrical discharges made it especially difficult for the epilepsy to be controlled by medication.

Leila Navidi

Chris Stones is fitted with 21 electrodes on his head at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center Monday, October 13, 2008. The electrodes will monitor Stones' brain activity for several days, and his seizures will be induced to more accurately find the part of his brain where the seizures come from.

Epilepsy can also be deadly. Some patients die in a little-understood manner reminiscent of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome called Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy. Others can get locked into a nonstop seizure that can be remedied in the hospital only with intravenous medicine.

Locating the epilepsy’s source was promising. Temporal lobe epilepsy is the most treatable by surgery because the problem area usually rests near the surface of the brain, making it easier for a surgeon to access.

Still, there is no guarantee that epilepsy surgery will work. And there could be the risk of brain damage.

• • •

On Dec. 2, after having returned to work, Stones is back at Sunrise, lying flat on an operating room table.

A catheter is laced through his right femoral artery, starting at his groin, guided up through his midsection and into his brain. Doctors are going to shoot a drug through the catheter that will anesthetize, one at a time, the left and right hemispheres of Stones’ brain. While the hemispheres are numbed, Bangalore will perform neurological tests to determine how his language and memory would be affected if he lost part of his left temporal lobe. It’s called the Wada test, named for Dr. Juhn Wada, the physician who first performed it.

Stones is right handed, so Bangalore said there’s a 95 percent chance the left side of his temporal lobe is partially responsible for his ability to speak. The temporal lobe also contributes to a person’s memory, but it was likely, and would be ideal, if both sides of his temporal lobe contributed to memory. That way if part of the left side were removed, the right side could compensate.

Bangalore has Stones raise his arms, hands outstretched, to show when the drugs take effect on his brain. The anesthetic is injected into the right side of his brain and the left arm falls to the table. The EEG flat-lines on the section representing the right hemisphere. Half of his brain is effectively dead.

The test begins.

“Where did you grow up?” Bangalore asks Stones.

“Albuquerque,” Stones replies, naming his birthplace.

The question isn’t important. What is vital is that Stones can understand it and speak with his right temporal lobe disabled. The ability to receive and produce language is apparently nestled in the still-awake left temporal lobe, as expected.

Bangalore pulls out a stack of flashcards and shows them to Stones: sunglasses, toothbrush, screwdriver and dice. Stones names them one at a time, successfully completing the language test.

Then Bangalore performs a memory test. With Stones’ right hemisphere still numb, the doctor shows him 10 objects — a pair of dice, car, baby doll, stuffed ball, cell phone and other common items. Bangalore waits about 10 minutes for the anesthesia to wear off, allowing the right brain to wake up. Then the doctor shows him the same 10 objects, but throws in others that Stones had not seen.

“Did you see the dice before?”

“Yes.”

Did you see this baby doll before?

“Yes.”

“Did you see this comb?”

“No.”

Stones passes the test.

As was expected, his abilities to remember things and to speak are not affected with the right brain disabled. That means they are housed in the temporal lobe region of the left brain — where the epilepsy is rooted.

The catheter that’s running through Stones’ body is backed up a bit and rerouted into a different artery that leads to the left hemisphere of his brain. The anesthetic is injected again, disabling the left brain, and the Wada test is repeated. Stones passes the memory portion. His memory function is indeed located on both sides of the temporal lobe.

With Stones’ left brain still disabled, Bangalore shows him objects and asks him to name them. Stones is unable to form the words. His eyes indicate that he recognizes the objects, but he struggles to open his mouth. He can’t make a sound.

It is confirmed that Stones’ ability to speak is rooted in the left hemisphere of his brain, where the seizures begin. Before the surgery can be performed, Bangalore will have to do more careful mapping of Stones’ brain to make sure his speech will not become disabled.

• • •

Two weeks after the Wada test, a Nevada Highway Patrol officer raps on Stones’ door. She wants to arrest him for a hit and run.

Stones doesn’t know what she is talking about. His car is in the driveway, undamaged. He can’t remember any accident.

But he has a sick feeling the patrolwoman is right. Stones had been given his license back and has been driving himself to work, cautiously and with much anxiety. The first accident had been a fluke, he assumed. Bangalore was monitoring his medications and the seizures were at bay.

But now his worst fear has come true.

The officer, incredulous that Stones claims he didn’t remember, fills in the details.

Two days earlier Stones was driving north on Interstate 15. He was following a taxicab, when he suddenly revved his speed to about 80 mph, running into the cab’s rear bumper. Videos taken by the cab showed Stones backing off, then revving his engine two more times, bumping the cab again and again before the taxi driver pulled out of his way, allowing him to pass. No damage was done to either car, but Stones didn’t slow down. He continued on his way as if nothing had happened.

Which is why the highway patrol officer is at his door.

Stones explains he is epileptic and begs for leniency. The officer settles for leaving a citation for following too closely, hit and run and failure to report an accident to police. Stones would have to answer in court.

Despondent, he swears not to drive again until his epilepsy can be cured. He calls Bangalore.

The drugs have worn off, Stones tells Bangalore. We’ve got to make this happen faster.

• • •

You don’t just watch a craniectomy. You smell it. It’s July 14 and Stones is unconscious on an operating room table at Sunrise Hospital. Wisps of smoke rise from his head as incisions are cauterized to slow the bleeding.

Leila Navidi

Epilepsy techs Amber Curl, from left, and Karolyn Witcher, with neurologist Dr. Samir Bangalore, watch as neurosurgeon Dr. Stuart Kaplan performs Chris Stones' first brain surgery at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center on Tuesday, July 14, 2009. Stones will be fitted with electrodes that attach directly to his brain, where his seizures can be more accurately pinpointed.

Stones’ head is tilted to the right and the whine of a saw fills the room. Bone dust shoots into the air. Neurosurgeon Stuart Kaplan is cutting free an oval of skull, the size of a large potato chip, above Stones’ left temple.

Kaplan removes the skull chip, exposing the brain. The cranial arteries visibly pulsate with each heartbeat beneath the dura mater, the brain’s fabric-like protective sheath.

Next, Bangalore supervises the placement of a panel of about 40 electrodes on the brain. Tucked into the hole in the skull, the electrodes are arranged in a grid on a soft rubber pad that covers the portion of the left temporal lobe that is the epicenter for Stones’ seizures.

The electrodes will allow Bangalore to precisely locate the seizure onset zone and language ability, by repeating the same tests he had performed about a year before in Sunrise’s monitoring room. That means Stones will be without the portion of his skull for a week.

A few days after the craniectomy, Stones is again taken off his medication and deprived of sleep to induce seizures. This time, the electrodes placed directly on the brain give the precise location of the its misfires. By July 20, the location of the genesis of the seizures is mapped. Now Bangalore needs to map the parts of the brain that contain anything related to language. Once he maps the location of both the seizures and language, he can overlay them and oversee the removal of any parts of the brain that cause seizures but do not affect language.

Leila Navidi

Dr. Samir Bangalore, left, a neurologist who specializes in epilepsy treatment at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center, performs a test to carefully map the language functions of Chris Stones' brain after his first surgery Monday, July 20, 2009. The test will help determine the exact location of the seizures, and make sure that no essential language or motor functions are stored in that part of the brain, so that the neurosurgeon can remove that part of the brain during a second surgery.

Stones says it’s odd missing part of his skull. When he coughs or sneezes, he says, it feels like his brain is going to fall out of his head.

Stones sits in a hospital bed, wires from the electrodes protruding from his bandaged head. It’s time to map the language. A technician flips a switch that shoots a small dose of electricity to pairs of the electrodes in his brain, disabling for several seconds that part of the brain.

At the instant the brain is zapped, Bangalore shows him a picture of something he would easily recognize: a sailboat, a crocodile, a bear. Naming items is a complex task for the brain because it tests a person’s ability to understand what he is looking at and to say it — reception and expression. If Stones can still name the item in the picture, Bangalore knows it does not control language and can be removed. If zapping the problem area makes it impossible for Stones to speak, then the doctor knows that the portion of brain can’t be removed.

Stones goes mute when eight of the electrode pairs are zapped. Those portions of his brain must remain.

• • •

The next day Stones is back in the Sunrise operating room for his final surgery. He is unconscious. The chip of Stones’ skull, which had been stored in deep freeze by a company in California, is unpacked from dry ice and carried to the operating room table, where, at the end of the operation, it will be reattached with screws.

Bangalore is on hand to advise Kaplan, the neurosurgeon, throughout the procedure, and the doctors are surrounded by about a half dozen nurses and technicians.

Leila Navidi

The electrodes that were placed on his brain in the first surgery are seen coming out of Chris Stones' head as he is under anesthetic and being prepared for his second brain surgery, to remove the part of his brain that is causing seizures, at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center on Tuesday, July 21, 2009.

Bangalore’s brain mapping had determined that the seizure onset zone is on the bottom of Stones’ left temporal lobe. The section that will be removed is about 4 centimeters by 3 centimeters by 3 centimeters — about the size of a thumb — located halfway between the edge of Stones’ left eye and the front side of his ear, at the level of the top of his ear.

The section that will be removed is about 2 centimeters below the part of his brain that controls his ability to process language.

Kaplan uses a scanning probe to map and visualize the brain on a monitor, and at times looks through a microscope as he inches instruments deep into the side of Stones’ head. He is careful to stay almost an inch away from the parts of his brain that control language. The brain feels like soft cheese, so the seizure onset zone is no match for Kaplan’s instruments. He uses a tubular surgical wand to nip it into bits and suck it through a hose and into a biohazard waste container.

The procedure lasts about 45 minutes.

• • •

Today, the only sign that Stones has had brain surgery is a scar, mostly covered with hair, that’s shaped like a large question mark on the left side of his head. They call him “The Riddler” at work, after the Batman villain who has question marks on his costume.

Leila Navidi

Chris Stones shaves before returns to work, his question mark-shaped scar prominent six weeks after his brain surgery Friday, September 4, 2009. Stones will return to work as a dealer at the Suncoast for the first time after his craniectomy was apparently successful in removing the part of his brain that was causing seizures. Stones has not had a seizure since his final surgery over six weeks ago.

He’s had no more seizures. His insurance company has picked up the cost for all the tests, procedures and surgeries, which the hospital said will typically run between $25,000 and $45,000 depending on the patient. Studies show that upfront costs of epilepsy surgeries are offset by long-term savings. Stones’ monthly medications, for instance, cost about $1,500.

Stones is driving through Eastern Avenue’s stop-and-go traffic on his way to work. It’s been six weeks since he was discharged from Sunrise and he’s on his way to the Suncoast for an 11 a.m. shift.

Going through the operation has changed Stones’ outlook on life, he says as he merges onto the Las Vegas Beltway and accelerates to 60 mph. He never complained in the hospital because he didn’t want to worry his loved ones. But now he says the pain he felt during the 12-hours immediately after the portion of his skull was removed, and again when it was replaced, was the most intense he’s ever felt.

But the process resulted in a freedom he’s never before experienced. How can he worry about a bad day at work when Bangalore and the staff at Sunrise saved his life?

“I was always worried that I was going to hit a car or hit a tree or something else,” Stones said.

It’s too soon to declare Stones cured of epilepsy. Bangalore cautiously describes the seizures as “in remission,” but believes the surgery was successful. He said he’ll keep Stones on medication for up to a year because withdrawing it too quickly has risks. Once the medication’s sedating and mood-altering side effects are gone, it’s possible that Stones’ personality may blossom, he said.

Stones says the operation worked. He’s been seizure free and his friends tell him he’s different: more alert, talkative and engaged. His eyes and shoulders appear more relaxed — he’s no longer bracing for a seizure to strike. His supervisors at work have said he’s quicker at his job. Plus, he’s had many experiences that would have previously induced seizures. He didn’t get a good night of sleep after his first night back at work. The next day he came home from work and forgot to take his seizure medication before falling asleep on the couch.

Before the operation, he certainly would have had seizures if he forgot to take his medication. In the past he would have preempted the problem by calling in sick to work. Not anymore.

“I just laughed about it, got ready for work and left.”

Chris Stones is no longer defined by epilepsy

Epileptic Killed by Police Taser

2009-09-29T10:28:00.001-04:00

BRADENTON, FL — A Bradenton man died early Monday after a Bradenton police officer used a Taser on him, according to police.

Derrick L. Humbert, 38, fled on foot after officers tried to make a traffic stop at 12:18 a.m. in the 700 block of 27th Street East, according to a news release prepared by Deputy Chief J.J. Lewis.

The victim’s family members later questioned when and where Humbert died after they said they were given conflicting accounts by hospital personnel and police. They said Humbert suffered from epilepsy, a brain disorder.

An autopsy was being performed to determine an exact cause of death.

Police did not respond to requests for more details late Monday.

According to the police report, Humbert fled on foot, running through several residential yards. One of the pursuing officers used his Taser, allowing officers to place him in custody, the report stated.

A Taser is an electroshock weapon that is used to slow or immobilize a suspect. Afterward, police called emergency medical service workers to take Humbert to Manatee Memorial Hospital, “for medical clearance prior to being taken to the Manatee County jail,” the news release stated.

The news release said Humbert died at the hospital while being treated.

Learn about epilepsy and the rules of driving in Nevada

2009-09-29T10:16:00.000-04:00

The Renown Institute for Neurosciences will host Tom Jacobs, public relations officer for the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety, at the next Epilepsy Support Group from 6 to 7 p.m. Oct. 7. Support groups take place at the Renown Institute for Neurosciences medical offices at 10085 Double R Blvd., Suite 325.

acobs will be covering epilepsy and the rules of driving in accordance to the DMV.

His presentation to the group comes at the request of support group members who would like to learn the laws that surround epilepsy and driving in the state of Nevada.

"We are grateful Tom has agreed to attend this meeting and speak about safety behind the wheel," said Lisa Jonkey, RN, BSN and epilepsy support group facilitator. "Whether they themselves are suffering from seizures or they are the loved one of someone living with epilepsy, it's important this group better understand the laws around driving."

To find out more about the Epilepsy Support Group or to RSVP to the upcoming meeting, contact Lisa Jonkey at 775-982-7354.

First annual walk comforts those touched by epilepsy

2009-09-28T09:04:00.001-04:00

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — Andrea Backus of Wilton has spent the majority of her life — 18 years — coping with epileptic seizures, along with the depression and low grades that have resulted from them. She has been prescribed a regimen of medication and has followed a strict ketogenic diet of fatty foods intended to treat her condition.

Not anymore.

Backus has been seizure-free since undergoing brain surgery at Albany Medical Center in May 2008.

“After the surgery, there was no depression; a weight was lifted,” she said.

Backus, now a thriving liberal arts student at Adirondack Community College, opened up about her story while speed-walking through Spa State Park with her mother, Antoinetta Backus, during the first annual Saratoga Stroll for Epilepsy Sunday afternoon.

The fundraising event for the Epilepsy Foundation of Northeastern New York (EFNENY), an Albany-based nonprofit, brought together hundreds of advocates and their families, many of whom suffer from epilepsy and seizure disorders themselves.

Participants walked a brisk three-mile loop in teams or individually through the park and headed back to the Columbia Pavilion for a barbecue, music and raffle prizes.

“It’s a good experience to meet other people with the same condition,” Backus said. “I think there should be more information about it. It’s so underground.”

“The more you talk about it, the more you find people who have the condition themselves or know someone who has it,” Antoinetta Backus said. “It’s good for the patient and the family to know that there are other people out there going through it.”

Dennis and Linda Burch of Schuylerville walked with family members in support of their 9-year-old grandson, Ethan, who has epilepsy.

“It’s an exhilarating walk for a good cause,” Linda Burch said. “It’s very personal to me.”

Event chair Heather Straughter, of Saratoga, praised the support she received from the local community and the EFNENY when her son, Jake, now 3 years old, was diagnosed with epilepsy.

“It was amazing to me the way people just stood up and supported us,” she said. “The foundation helped us in ways we didn’t even know we needed help.”

EFNENY special events chair Sue Kaczynski and executive director Jeannine Garab said the fundraiser — which drew a record number of more than 500 participants — was intended to bring awareness of epilepsy to the region and help break the stigmas often associated with it.

Kaczynski said more than $30,000, double their initial fundraising goal, was raised before and during the walk. All proceeds from the event will go to EFNENY, which provides education, advocacy and counseling services to people affected by seizure disorders in 22 counties throughout the state.

A stroll at Saratoga park aids Epilepsy Foundation

2009-09-24T09:20:00.001-04:00

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY -- The Epilepsy Foundation of Northeastern New York will host a "Saratoga Stroll" Sunday at the Saratoga Spa State Park to raise money for the foundation and awareness of the seizure disorder.

About 400 people have already signed up to walk a 3-mile course, said Susan Kaczynski, special events coordinator for the Epilepsy Foundation.

Registration is $25 for adults; walkers 12 and younger may participate for free. Walkers can register on the day of the event.

Kaczynski said many of the group's fundraisers in the past have taken place in Albany and the foundation wants to establish a presence farther north. The Northeastern New York chapter of the national organization covers 22 counties, including Saratoga, Fulton and St. Lawrence, which is on the Canadian border.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, epilepsy affects about 2.5 million Americans.

The Epilepsy Foundation was established in 1981 to give support to people who suffer from a seizure disorder and provide services, education, advocacy and research. Kaczynski said the group visits elementary schools and businesses to help children and adults understand epilepsy.

"When someone is having a seizure, do not put anything in the person's mouth. It used to be people thought you would choke on your tongue, but you can't swallow your tongue. It's important to make the person comfortable and let the seizure run its course," Kaczynski said.

The most common type of seizure is called a complex-partial seizure, which means a person is unaware of his or her surroundings and stares blankly ahead.

In addition to the stroll Sunday, the foundation will provide entertainment for children -- a bounce house, face painters and trolley rides, as well as a barbecue lunch scheduled for after the walk.

Oct. 5, the foundation will hold its sixth annual golf tournament at the Wolferts Roost Country Club in Albany. The entry fee is $225 per golfer, $900 per foursome.

If you go

What: ''Saratoga Stroll'' fundraiser for Epilepsy Foundation of Northeastern NY

Where: Columbia Pavilion, Saratoga Spa State Park

When: Check in/registration at 11 a.m.; the walk begins at noon

Info: There is a $6 entry fee to the park. Registration is required to participate in the stroll. Go to http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/local/efneny/events.cfm for more information. If you are unable to attend but would like to make a donation, go to http://www.firstgiving.com/26240.

Family adjusts as Columbia service dog saga continues

2009-09-23T08:57:00.001-04:00

CHICAGO, ILL- He was lying listlessly on the couch, eyes closed, breathing slowly. With the start of school just a day away, he was not feeling well. He even had a dry nose.

He is Corbin, a 1-year-old, 65-pound Flanders Cattle Dog, or Bouvier.

Melissa Kalbfleisch, 30, Columbia, appeared a bit edgy because the dog plays a major role in her son's life.

Corbin is a service dog for 5-year-old Carter Kalbfleisch. He has also been the focal point of much media attention and a lawsuit that Melissa Kalbfleisch and her husband, Chris, 30, have filed against the Columbia Unit School District.

They want Corbin in the classroom with their son, even as school officials question whether the animal is needed.

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The court battle will continue, but Carter had his first day of school Wednesday at the Illinois Center for Autism in Fairview Heights with Corbin at his side.

The Kalbfleisches are happy their son is going to school, but they still want him in the Columbia district. His sister, Allison, 7, is a student at Parkview Elementary in the Columbia district, and his brother, Carson, 3, is in the pre-kindergarten program at the Columbia Middle School.

"As far as the law goes, (district officials) have the right to change where he goes to school if the same services are provided and they pay for it," Chris Kalbfleisch said.

"The school is going to fight it all the way and so are we," Melissa Kalbfleisch said. "We will continue the entire way because the dog is such a benefit for us, the family, and Carter."

She said they have spent $30,000 on lawyers in fighting the school system. That comes on top of the $10,000 they spent to buy Corbin.

The attorney representing the Columbia school district, Christi Flaherty, said the district was meeting Carter's educational needs since he has been attending classes two years without Corbin at his side.

"If the district is meeting the child's educational needs without the dog, it's not obligated to have the dog there, and it would not pay for this," Flaherty said. "The law requires you must educate a child in their home district unless there are circumstances that restrict that."

Flaherty said one such circumstance is a child with lung disease, who could be affected if the dog came to the school in Columbia. That's one reason the Columbia school district filed a counter complaint in early September asking for a declaratory judgement.

"It means we're not asking for a ruling against the Kalbfleisches as individuals," Flaherty said, "but asking the court to look at the law and how it will be interpreted in the future. It will give other school districts kind of a road map to go on if this comes up again."

Flaherty said proposed changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act would change some provisions, including a more narrow definition of service dog and to define benefit as an educational benefit.

Carter's mother, Melissa, said having Corbin present makes it easier to work with her child. She said it is no different than a blind person having a dog.

"It's almost the same," she said. "A blind person can't see. Carter doesn't see things the way we see things. For example, he has no concept of danger - he doesn't recognize it."

She also doesn't understand why the local district would not allow Corbin to be with Carter in the school. The dog's presence, she said, calms her son.

"He has temper tantrums and is not able to focus (without the dog)," she said.

"It's something unexplainable," Melissa said. "It's between the two of them. He's comforted. I don't know what it is. He's able to redirect himself and get focused again."

She understands why other people may be opposed to having the dog in class.

"They say if every kid brings a dog, it would be a zoo. But if they (dogs) truly help their medical condition, bring 50 dogs to school. If it doesn't benefit the child, keep the dogs out."

It's also important to keep the bond between child and dog, she said.

"If you keep them apart six to eight hours, it would hurt their bond," she said.

Carter's new school, the Illinois Center for Autism, is welcoming the boy and his dog with open arms, Melissa said.

The center has plans in place to work with Corbin.

"An aide at school will take him to a designated area to relieve himself," she said.

Even with Carter going to school, the legal battle continues.

"Where we're at now, the Court of Appeals' preliminary injunction is in effect," Flaherty said, "which means we're bound to obey the court order until the Court of Appeals either overturns it or the Circuit Court has a trial on complying with the permanent injunction."

A permanent injunction would mean Carter would get to take Corbin with him to the Columbia school.

Melissa Kalbfleisch said the school district is paying $160 per day to educate Carter at the center and has agreed to pay 55 cents a mile for one round trip per day from the family's home in Columbia to the school in Fairview Heights.

"One round trip, not two," she pointed out.

Background: Melissa and Chris Kalbfleisch are suing Columbia Unit School District No. 4 to allow their son to attend school with his dog, arguing that the animal fills the role of a service dog for Carter, who is autistic.

Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Doyle issued a preliminary order in August requiring the district to allow the dog in the classroom when school began Sept. 14. The school district asked that the order be suppressed, but the 5th District Appellate Court in Mount Vernon denied that request.

The school district then asked the Kalbfleisches to consider placing their son in the Illinois Center for Autism in Fairview Heights. While their son attends the center, the parents are continuing their legal battle against the school district.

What is a service dog?

The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability.

Source: www.ada.gov

What is autism?

Autism is a brain disorder that often makes it hard to communicate with and relate to others.

There is no "typical" person with autism. People can have many different kinds of behaviors, from mild to severe.

Symptoms of autism include:

? A delay in learning to talk, or not talking at all. A child may seem to be deaf, even though hearing tests are normal.

? Repeated and overused types of behavior, interests, and play. Examples include repeated body rocking, unusual attachments to objects, and getting very upset when routines change.

Guilty of Murder

2009-09-23T08:45:00.004-04:00

MANHATTAN, NY- An off-his-meds, epileptic garbage hauler was convicted of murder yesterday for losing control of his 44,000-pound truck and killing two British tourists on a Midtown sidewalk after he had a seizure.

A Manhattan jury agreed that Auvryn Scarlett, 53, of New Jersey, murdered Jacqueline Timmins, 30, and Andrew Hardie, 48, through his actions.

They had come to New York to celebrate Valentine's Day. They are survived by six children.

"It's one of those things that never should have happened," said one juror.

New York binman murdered British couple Mirror.co.uk

Truck murder New York Post

Dustman guilty of Britons' murders The Press Association

Yeovil Express - The Herald

Epilepsy Conference Educates Patients and Caregivers

2009-09-22T11:59:00.000-04:00

MORGANTOWN, WV -- The Epilepsy Foundation held a conference at West Virginia University Saturday to educate patients and caregivers.

Workshops were held for people dealing with seizure disorders.

This is the first time the educational conference has come to the area.

Saturday's motivational speaker, Mike Simmel, has epilepsy and was a professional basketball player with the Harlem Wizards.

"Having epilepsy didn't slow me down and I try to tell kids that no matter what it is you can't let your epilepsy slow you down, you can't let epilepsy slow down any parts of your life," says Mike Simmel.

The conference was hosted by WVU's Center for Excellence in Disabilities and the Western and Central Pennsylvania Epilepsy Foundation.

Study Links Epilepsy to Brain Protein

2009-09-22T11:56:00.002-04:00

New research has uncovered possible causes of epilepsy related to signals in the brain that go haywire.

It suggests that when a certain protein is missing in the brains of mice, the animals have epileptic seizures. The protein appears to be important to the brain's ability to calm and fine-tune itself.

The researchers, who report their findings in the Sept. 18 issue of Cell, found that neural connections in the brain were excitable in the mice even though connections appeared normal.

When the protein was restored, the brains of the mice began acting normally again.

The specific protein referred to is one encoded by plasticity related gene-1 (PRG-1) and is found only in the brain, according to the researchers. Its calming effect depends on how the protein interacts with lipids that provide a signaling function in the brain.

Epilepsy occurs when signals in the brain become disrupted. People with the condition can suffer from a long list of symptoms, including seizures, strange behavior and emotions, and loss of consciousness.

There's no cure for the disorder, but it can be controlled by medicine and surgery in an estimated 80 percent of cases. In recent years, people with epilepsy have turned to a device that stimulates the body's vagus nerve.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more on epilepsy.

Study Links Epilepsy to Brain Protein

2009-09-22T11:56:00.000-04:00

New research has uncovered possible causes of epilepsy related to signals in the brain that go haywire.

It suggests that when a certain protein is missing in the brains of mice, the animals have epileptic seizures. The protein appears to be important to the brain's ability to calm and fine-tune itself.

The researchers, who report their findings in the Sept. 18 issue of Cell, found that neural connections in the brain were excitable in the mice even though connections appeared normal.

When the protein was restored, the brains of the mice began acting normally again.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more on epilepsy.

Anti-epileptic drugs during pregnancy risky

2009-09-22T11:53:00.000-04:00

NEW YORK - New research suggests that it is largely the drugs used to treat epilepsy and not the condition itself that increase the risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes.

"Epilepsy is the most common maternal neurologic disorder requiring medical treatment during pregnancy," Dr. Gyri Veiby, of Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway, and colleagues write. "Risks associated with medical treatment during pregnancy must be weighed against the risk for fetal or maternal complications due to epileptic seizures."

Using data from the population-based Medical Birth Registry of Norway, the researchers examined pregnancy and birth outcome in an unselected population of women with both treated and untreated epilepsy. The study included all births recorded from December 1, 1998, through 2005. The team compared 2861 deliveries by women with epilepsy to 369,267 non-epilepsy deliveries.

Of the 2861 epileptic women, 1900 (66%) did not use antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy. Overall, 961 pregnancies in the epilepsy group were exposed to antiepileptic drugs, mostly as monotherapy. Antiepileptic drugs used included carbamazepine, lamotrigine, valproate, oxcarbazepine, clonazepam, topiramate, phenytoin, phenobarbital, levetiracetam, gabapentin, and vigabatrin.

Infants who were exposed to antiepileptic drugs were more often preterm (p = 0.01), and more often had birth weight <2500 p =" 0.03)">

Epilepsy group children were more often transferred to a pediatric ward during the neonatal period. This was especially true in antiepileptic drug-exposed infants. Small-for-gestational-age infants occurred more frequently in infants who were exposed to antiepileptic drugs (p = 0.05) and unexposed infants (p = 0.02) than in controls.

There was no significant difference in the frequency of major congenital malformations between the epilepsy group and the control group (2.8% versus 2.5%, respectively). Significantly higher rates of major congenital malformations and any congenital malformations were found in infants exposed to either valproate or polytherapy.

"Cardiovascular malformations were significantly more common in antiepileptic drug-exposed infants versus controls, and especially for valproate exposure," Dr. Veiby and colleagues explain. "In the untreated epilepsy group there was a higher occurrence of genital malformations."

Neonatal spina bifida was not significantly increased in the epilepsy group compared to the control group. Down syndrome was significantly more common in untreated epilepsy pregnancies compared to controls. Both spina bifida and Down syndrome were major indications for elective pregnancy termination among epileptic women. A higher rate of cesarean section was observed in the epilepsy group, regardless of antiepileptic drug-exposure (p <>

"Adverse pregnancy and birth outcome in women with epilepsy is mainly confined to antiepileptic drug-exposed pregnancies," the authors conclude, "although some risks are associated also with untreated epilepsy."

School says it won't give girl her shot in medical emergency

2009-09-17T19:18:00.001-04:00

LEHI, UT -- A couple in the Alpine School District is trying to find help after being told their daughter, who is prone to seizures, won't be given a shot prescribed by a doctor if there's a medical emergency at school.

Richard Prestwich of Lehi says his daughter has cerebral palsy and started suffering seizures last year. The doctor has given the family Diastat shots and instructed them to give one to their daughter within the first five minutes of any seizure to help prevent complications that could include kidney failure, going into a coma and even brain damage.

The problem arose when their daughter went back to school this year and they were told their child would not be able to be given the shot at school during a seizure because it required a nurse to give the shot and the school nurses are spread thin between all the schools in the district.

Prestwich says he's scared to send his daughter to class knowing she might not get the medicine she needs.

There is a risk of complications to giving out the Diastat shot, which Prestwich says he's fully aware of. But, he says, "The benefits outweigh the risks big time."

However, he's worried that risk is causing school nurses to instruct the schools to choose not to give out the shots.

Alpine School District Spokesperson Rhonda Bromley says they always have the safety of the child as their top priority. She says they have a team consisting of a school nurse, teachers, the parents of the child and others that evaluate the medical needs of each child to decide the best method for handling situations such as the Prestwich's. However, in this case the team hasn't been seeing eye to eye on what is the best option for care.

"And if the recommendations that the nurse gives are different than the recommendations that the parents have, then that dialogue needs to continue with the team," said Bromley. "That is happening in this case."

The Utah County Health Department oversees the school nurses in the Alpine School District. The school nursing department's bureau director Margie Golden says school nurses are bound by various rules in what they can and cannot do when it comes to the treatment of students.

Golden says she couldn't comment specifically on this case, but says when disputes arise, the parents should continue to speak with their school nurse to try and work out a solution. She says perhaps there needs to be more fact finding on the girl's medical condition with the Prestwich family.

What is… Diastat? Diastat is the brand name used in the United States and Canada for the seizure medicine with the generic name diazepam. It is in the form of a gel and is injected into the patient to stop a cluster of repeated seizures. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997 as the first at-home alternative to treat clusters of seizures.

Destiny Maker Helping Children with Epilepsy

2009-09-17T16:21:00.006-04:00

(Pic:)- Glenn Fenster of Destiny Maker

AVENTURA, Fl.- The story of Glenn Fenster, and his son Nyle will warm your heart. Glen’s fifteen year-old-son, Nyle, lives with Epilepsy everyday. In 2006 Nyle’s father completed a bike ride from Seattle to Miami (47 days) 4036 miles to raise awareness and cash for the eradication of Epilepsy. In 2007 Glenn biked (65 days) 6200 miles from Alaska to Miami. He missed being with Nyle Father’s day 2008 as he biked from Denver to Miami the long way (Denver, Phoenix, LA, SF, Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, NY, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami) 8100 miles.

Glenn said, “My goal in 2009 is to have raised $250,000. I want to send children like my son to Epilepsy supported summer camps through out America and Canada. I want to break down the walls of stigma associated with Epilepsy. I do this to show everyone that no matter what disability of the mind or body, anything can be accomplished. That my son is like you and I. Epilepsy is what he has, NOT who he is.”

If you want to learn more about Glenn Fenster’s Destiny Maker go to www.destinymaker.org

Autistic Boy And Service Dog Will Attend Another School

2009-09-16T09:08:00.001-04:00

Columbia School District Will Still Not Allow Service Dog In School

CHICAGO, Ill- The school's staff here has never dealt with a service dog. After meeting Carter and seeing the impact of his Corbin, they can't say 'no'.

Just in the span of his month-long court battle, the difference in Carter has been astounding.

When we first brought you his story last month, he was distant, silent. His mother called it a triumph just to get him to the swingset without a tantrum. She marveled at simply being able to take him out of the house. The changes were so slight it was hard for anyone but his parents to see them.

Now Carter's downright charming; progress coming daily since he got Corbin. Carter smiled, laughed, and sang throughout his entire visit.

"It was worth the wait, it was worth the money, it is worth the fight. We have a changed life here at the Kalbfleisch home," his mom said.

Carter and Corbin will go to school together, but 30 miles from home, while his case is tied up in appeals.

The Columbia School District has to pay part of the transportation cost and continue using taxpayer money to fight the case, even though state law and a court order says they have to allow the dog at school. District officials will not comment on the case.

In court, an attorney for the district first argued the courts had no jurisdiction over the case. When that failed, she cited concerns from the family of another student who's allergic to dogs.

The staff at Carter's new school is thrilled to have them, especially after Carter's meeting with his new teacher.

"He greeted her with a huge smile and climbed right up her and gave her hug; knew immediately who she was, and it was just wonderful for all of us to see," said principal, Sandra Rodenberg.

She knew of no research to explain the impact of animals on people with autism, but said that impact was consistent. The other students seemed to warm up to Corbin during a 'get acquainted' visit. "It never really created much of a disturbance at all. A few of the kids stopped and smiled, and said 'hi doggie' and went on about their business."

"He's a changed boy," his mother beamed. "Before, we didn't get to see that in him. He wasn't this happy, kind, boy that he's become."

She said Carter seemed to know Corbin was his, unconditionally. Right away he sensed the dog responded to him without frustration or heartache over his autism; which could be hard for people. As a result, the real "Carter" started coming out.

Her husand, Chris, said the legal fees and costs associated with Corbin and training was approaching $50,000.

He and his wife vowed to keep fighting until Carter and Corbin can go to school where they said they were supposed to be going: where they live.

Probing Health Benefits From Eating Omega 3s

2009-09-16T09:00:00.001-04:00

Many a carton of milk or yogurt now brags of its fortification with omega 3s, a trend that has made the dietary additive seem like just the latest marketing gimmick for health-minded consumers.

But omega 3s, a family of unsaturated fatty acids, have been shown to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. And now, the compounds are being studied by scientists around the world as potential treatments for a wide range of other serious conditions, ranging from Alzheimer's disease to epilepsy and rheumatoid arthritis. Further research also is being done on omega 3s' role in preventing heart disease to determine the full range of potential benefits.

Omega 3s are found naturally in fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, and in some botanical sources such as flaxseed and kiwi fruit. A variety of firms also sell omega 3s as dietary supplements. Scientists say the benefit to the body should be the same whether they are consumed through food or capsules.

Many scientists believe omega 3s provide health benefits in part by reducing inflammation, which can contribute to heart disease, arthritis and other ailments. But researchers are still attempting to understand how exactly omega 3s interact with the body. And studies for a number of medical conditions aren't far enough along to know whether the fatty acids could be beneficial.

One research team in the U.K. recently experimented on human cells in artificial blood vessels to try to understand what role omega 3s play in inflammation. The researchers used a glass tube to mimic a blood vessel. Normally, inflammation occurs when white blood cells migrate from the blood, through the blood-vessel wall and into surrounding tissue. The researchers coated their glass tube with endothelial cells, which normally line the interior walls of blood vessels. Then they added omega 3s to the endothelial cells.

Later, when the researchers pumped white blood cells into the tube, they saw under a microscope that the cells couldn't get across the endothelial barrier—the omega 3s were blocking them, according to a paper published in online journal PLoS Biology last month. When they performed the same experiment without the added omega 3s, the white blood cells easily penetrated the endothelial barrier.

More Research Needed

More research is needed to determine if the omega-3 blockade similarly occurs in actual blood vessels. But Ed Rainger, a cellular immunologist at the University of Birmingham Medical School, who led the research, says the experiment shed light on how inflammation works in the body and how tweaking the diet might affect it. He added that the discovery could eventually help scientists develop new medicines that block inflammation, which could be useful in treating diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.

Inflammation plays a role in many areas of heart disease, which is probably at least partly why clinical trials have shown that omega 3s can reduce rates of heart attacks and strokes and slow the buildup of harmful plaque in the arteries, says Stephen Nicholls, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Omega 3s appear to have benefits beyond reducing inflammation. They also lower levels of potentially harmful blood fats called triglycerides, which are unrelated to inflammation but can increase risk for heart disease, Dr. Nicholls adds. A prescription-strength pill called Lovaza, made from omega 3-containing fish oil, is approved for sale in the U.S. for reducing triglycerides.

Many scientists also believe that omega 3s might help stabilize cells and prevent them from generating erratic electrical signals in the heart and brain, which can cause irregular heartbeats, seizures and other problems.

Christopher DeGiorgio, professor of neurology at University of California, Los Angeles, has been testing this theory in epilepsy, with mixed success. In past studies, omega 3s haven't helped much to reduce seizures, he says. In a new study of 30 epileptics, he hopes to show that omega 3s reduce rates of sudden death. Sudden death—when an epileptic dies suddenly with no clear cause—accounts for about 20% of all deaths among epileptics, and irregular heartbeat can contribute to it, Dr. DeGiorgio says. He wants to test whether omega 3s help stabilize the heart and thus reduce cases of sudden death.

Some experiments on animals have suggested that omega-3 consumption can reduce brain levels of the amyloid proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease. These findings have helped drive researchers to study omega 3s in Alzheimer's patients, too.

One study involving 400 Alzheimer's patients, presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Vienna this summer, showed mixed results. A daily dose of two grams of DHA, one type of omega 3 fatty acid, for 18 months did not help patients perform better than those taking a placebo on standard tests used to assess the disease.

But in an interesting twist, patients taking DHA who didn't have a gene variant called ApoE4 did experience a slower rate of decline on one test of mental function compared with patients taking a placebo. Joseph Quinn, associate professor of neurology at Oregon Health & Science University and the leader of the study, cautions against making too much of this finding for now. But he says it's "encouraging and intriguing" that at least some patients seemed to benefit from omega 3s and says he hopes to conduct new studies to "look at that genotype more carefully." At least one-third of people with Alzheimer's disease lack this gene variant, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Dietary supplements usually contain about 200 milligrams of omega 3s per capsule, while a fatty salmon steak can contain up to one gram, according to Maria Makrides, an expert on omega 3s at Women's and Children's Health Research Institute in Australia.

Dietary Advice

The American Heart Association recommends that people without coronary heart disease eat a variety of fish at least twice a week, and include other foods such as flaxseed and walnuts in the diet. It says people with documented heart disease should eat about one gram of omega 3s a day. The AHA says that while omega 3s are generally safe, some side effects can include a fishy aftertaste, gastrointestinal disturbances and nausea. It says that while most omega-3 supplements are "essentially" free of mercury, the toxic metal sometimes found in fish, some poorly made supplements can contain "appreciable amounts."

Ohio University burn victim happy to go on

2009-09-16T08:56:00.001-04:00

COLUMBUS, OH- While he lay in a burn unit with surgeons recreating his nose and grafting skin onto his face, Christopher Mance decided he had no right to feel sorry for himself.

The Ohio University senior from suburban Boston had an epileptic seizure while camping alone in a Vinton County forest as part of a class wilderness survival outing on May 28, 2006.

He dropped face-first into his campfire, suffering burns that destroyed most of his nose and parts of his ears and scarred his face, scalp, arms and hands.

The outdoor-studies major and member of the Bobcats' men's swimming team thought his life essentially was over, just days before he was to receive his degree.

But today he is on the verge of receiving proceeds from a $500,000 check from OU to settle a negligence lawsuit. And he has a job he loves, made possible in part by a lesson learned from children.

All around him during his stay at the Boston Shriners Hospital were smiling children. Many were from Third World countries, away from their families, unable to speak English and more horribly burned than he.

"Everywhere you looked, it was like, 'How can I be down when all these kids are happy and have it so much worse?' "

Mance resolved to do what he could do -- disfigured face and all -- and not hide from the glances of revulsion in a society that values physical attractiveness.

"When there really is no other choice, it makes your choice that much easier," he said.

After believing that his disfigurement would keep him from ever working, the 24-year-old Mance today coaches a club swim team in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Mance originally sought $3.2 million in damages, saying that the university in Athens was negligent when it required him to camp by himself and keep a fire burning despite knowing he was at risk as an epileptic.

Medical testimony in the lawsuit indicated that a lack of sleep and food led to Mance's seizure. Rob Miller, a Columbus lawyer who represents Mance, said the lawsuit was settled for less because his client, surprisingly, is able to work.

"Chris is a pretty amazing and courageous kid," Miller said. Mance also is pleased that OU made changes to ensure class camping safety.

The university now has supervisors stay near solo campers and check on them periodically, a spokeswoman said. OU admits neither liability nor wrongdoing as part of the settlement, she said.

Mance continues to undergo restorative surgeries but no longer receives free care from the Shriners hospital and faces continuing expenses, Miller said.

The proposed settlement still must be approved by Court of Claims Judge J. Craig Wright.

Driver had death grip on wheel during seizure

2009-09-16T08:52:00.002-04:00

MANHATTAN, NY- A seizure-prone truck driver who ran over a pair of British tourists in midtown kept his hands locked on the steering wheel when he started convulsing, preventing his helper from diverting the rig, the assistant testified Tuesday.

George Bonilla, in dramatic testimony at Manhattan Criminal Court, described the frantic moments before Auvryn Scarlett's recycling truck jumped a W. 35th St. sidewalk and left a trail of carnage.

"I turned my head to see why he was pulling over, and I saw him going into shock," said Bonilla, 26, who was riding inside the cab during the February 2008 accident. "He was shaking. His eyes were going to the back of his head.

"I tried to grab the steering wheel to avoid it from getting on the sidewalk," he added. "I couldn't. His arms were locked."

Bonilla said he then caught the slightest glimpse of Jacklyn Timmons and Andrew Hardie going down.

"I saw two heads and then they were gone," Bonilla said.

Timmons and Hardie, both 47, were killed. A third pedestrian, Abayomi Henderson, 25, was seriously injured.

Henderson testified that he had just stepped past the couple, walking arm in arm, when tragedy struck.

"I heard a loud noise and woke up on the ground," he said. "As I was trying to get up, that's when I saw the lady's body. That's when I realized we actually got hit."

Scarlett, who was charged with murder, later told Detective Ronald Ryan from his hospital bed he hadn't taken his anti-seizure medication in two weeks, the officer said.

After feeling the onset of a headache, "the next thing I remember is waking up in the ambulance," Scarlett allegedly told Ryan.

Prosecutors say Scarlett hid his condition for nearly a decade from his employer, Action Carting.

Truck driver was 'shaking' before crash

2009-09-16T08:44:00.001-04:00

MANHATTAN, NY- The epileptic driver who suffered a seizure and lost control of his garbage truck, killing two tourists, was "shaking" moments before the crash, a witness said today.

George Bonilla, 26, who was in the truck alongside Auvryn Scarlewtt, 52, said his partner went "into shock" while he was behind the wheel.

"I didn't know what was going on. ... He was shaking," Bonilla said from the witness stand in Manhattan Supreme Court. "His eyes were going to the back of his head."

Scarlett is accused of killing Jacqueline Timmins and Andrew Hardie, both 47, when he lost copntrol of his truck on West 35th Street near Sixth Avenue on Feb. 14, 2008.

The British couple was in New York on vacation to celebrate Valentine's Day.

The DA believes the deaths were murder.

Service Dogs in the Classroom?

2009-09-15T09:59:00.001-04:00

Service dogs are being employed in some schools as classroom aides, working with students who have disabilities. While this sounds like a great way to save taxpayer dollars on salaries and benefits spent to pay more traditional two legged classroom aides, there has been some controversy recently about the use of service dogs in the school with children who are autistic.
Sight impaired individuals have been working with guide dogs for years. Some respected organizations such as Seeing Eye don’t place a dog with a person unless the person is at least 16 years old. With all such organizations, one of the basic requirements for eligibility is that the applicant be able to take care of the dog.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), any child with a disability, where it can be established that use of a service dog will provide needed assistance to that person, should be able to have the dog in school.
School officials are obviously concerned about the prospect of having animals in the schools and there are issues beyond complying with ADA that they must consider.
Some children are allergic to dogs. School discipline is a big concern. The issue of who is responsible for the dog when it is on school property and the matter of insurance liability is a concern.
Cases are presently being argued through the court system, involving the in-school use of service dogs by younger autistic children, in one instance a pre-Kindergarten student in the Midwest.
While the courts have shown a tendency to side with the students, schools are still reluctant. One argument they offer is that if the school is able to provide sufficient services to satisfy legal the requirement of providing a thorough and efficient education, then is a dog necessary. In fact, one school board has argued that the dog’s presence would be more for “companionship” than “service”.
Concerned parents disagree and cite the dramatic improvement in their children’s behavior when they are assisted in their daily routines by their service dogs.
What do you think?

Prosecutor: Driver stopped taking meds before crash

2009-09-15T09:49:00.001-04:00

MANHATTAN, NY- An epileptic driver stopped taking his medicine two weeks before he suffered a seizure and lost control of his 22-ton garbage truck, killing two British tourists, a prosecutor said today.

Auvryn Scarlett, 52, continued driving even though he deliberately stopped taking his epilepsy medication, Assistant District Attorney Chris Ryan said in Manhattan Criminal Court, where Scarlett’s murder trial got underway.

"He was aware of the risks and deliberately and consciously avoided them. He’s devoid of any moral sense of concern," Ryan said.

The accident, he added, was "a tragedy and a murder."

Scarlett is accused of killing Jacqueline Timmins and Andrew Hardie, both 47, when he lost control of his truck on West 35th Street near Sixth Avenue on Valentine’s Day in 2008. The British lovebirds were on a Valentine’s Day getaway to the Big Apple.

Manslaughter charges against Scarlett were upped to murder after prosecutors learned not only had the waste hauler stopped taking his medicine, he had also kept his condition secret from his employers for years.

In opening statements, Ryan said that when he first started working for his first employer, Waste Management, in 1998, he presented a medical certificate saying he did not suffer from epilepsy even though he had the illness.

The prosecutor said Scarlett got the certificate by going to a doctor who was not his regular physician.

"It’s a flaw in the system that there’s no test for epilepsy," Ryan said. "The doctor must be told."

In May 2007, however, Scarlett suffered a seizure and went out on disability for four months.

During that time, he got a job with a smaller firm, Action Carting of Newark, giving them the same certificate he had given to Waste Management.

In October and November of 2007, he suffered seizures but still continued driving, Ryan said.

That led to tragedy on Valentine’s Day, when Scarlett suffered a seizure and lost control of the 44,000-pound truck, he said.

After the accident, Scarlett remained in the truck, "disoriented and drooling," he said.

Taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital, the driver told doctors he had stopped taking his anti-seizure medication two weeks earlier, Ryan said.

No explanation was given for why he had done so.

In his opening statements, Scarlett’s attorney Michael Biniakewitz said the defense didn’t dispute that the accident caused the deaths of the tourists.

But he said that his client "didn’t go out thinking that today’s the day I kill someone and today’s the day I could kill someone."

Biniakewitz also said that Scarlett was hired as a helper, not a driver. He did explain why Scarlett was driving on the death night.

If convicted, the waste hauler could spend the rest of the life behind bars.