Billy Ray and Tonka Begin Their Life Together

As stated previously here and here we are starting with a new service dog puppy. We met Tonka at 8 weeks old and the plan was for the breeder to give him basic obedience training and keep him until he was about six months old.

After conversation with our veterinarian, it was decided that it would be safer for the puppy to take it at six months old because Billy Ray can play rough with his dog and an older puppy could deal with that better. Additionally, training his first two dogs to adapt to him, both of whom were 6 months when we started, had worked well.

Tonka seemed the perfect choice at 8 weeks old when we met him. However, you know what they say about the best laid plans. The breeder was very ill and unable to work with Tonka so he came to us at six months old somewhat unsocialized and afraid of everything and everyone. He had apparently been growing rapidly and was very thin as well.

Dr. Pickering had me interview trainers to help socialize him and put him on a great puppy growth formula food (he gained 16 lbs. in three weeks). The trainer I selected Diann Hecht of Happy Tails has been coming to the house weekly for the last four weeks. Diann says that he is without a doubt one of the most difficult puppies she has worked with in her 15 years of experience but we are making steady progress.

He was resistent to being inside with the family and his crate (to sleep in) and hid outside every chance he got. He would take treats from our hands but not get close enough to be petted or caught in the beginning. In order for his return visit to Dr. Pickering he had to have medication to partially sedate him and we still had great difficulty getting him there. He refused to walk on the leash - just flopping on the ground and digging in. The medication to calm him and the vacinnations apparently worked together to relax him the day of that visit. We put him on the couch on his return from Dr. Pickering and were finally able to snap some picks and allow Billy Ray to enjoy him more than he had been able to since arriving on August 8. Here are a couple of pictures (if you are reading this on Amazon or aren't able to get the pictures go to :

He is still fighting the leash but we are working on it. However, he will now fetch for Billy Ray and for me and continues to take treats.

Today I am happy even though he chewed up my lawn swing because it is a sign he is overcoming some of his fear. He was afraid if it moved even in the wind or if we were sitting on it. However, I looked out this morning and he was sitting on it. There is no way he could have gotten into it without it moving so he must have overcome his fear of that. There first time I saw it I grabbed for the camera but he was down. I calmly told him "no chew" so as not to add to his fear. Later he was back and here is what I saw because I had the camera in hand this time:

Who knows how successful Tonka will be as a service dog but Billy Ray already loves him and we still have Penny Lane for the present time. Billy Ray has been experiencing increasing difficulty with his pancreatitis and Tonka already brightens his days so maybe that is enough for today. We will keep working on it and keep you posted.

I will update you on Billy Ray soon. He had an MRI today and I will know more soon. His "Dr. Brice" has returned to the clinic from his leave of absence so Billy Ray is returning to him next week. They are truly buddies and I think that will make Billy Ray more comfortable dealing with his health situation.

Until next time,

Peggy Lou Morgan

for a complete list of my sites see www.peggyloumorgan.com

Billy Ray Meets Tonka (future service dog)

We stopped on to meet Tonka on the way to a Mother's Day weekend trip. I couldn't wait to share some pictures with all of you.

The sun was bright and it made it hard for Larry to see the pictures he was shooting. He shot over 50 shots. There were smiles and expressions that he couldn't catch with even that many tries. Billy Ray was elated.

More to come when Tonka gets old enough to come home to Billy Ray.

Until next time,

Peggy Lou Morgan

http://www.peggyloumorgan.com/ for a complete list of my websites and blogs

Big Shoes (Paws) to Fill - New Service Dog

It is not clear to me what the various feeds pick up. I know that my Amazon blog is not picking up the video but I'm not sure about these pictures. If you can't see the pictures just click on the link to the blog it's from and it will take you to where you can see the pictures.

This is Tonka (yellow lab, named because he is the biggest and most fun of the litter), who is 9 weeks old. He is going to become Billy Ray's service dog when he is about six months old. We are going to visit him this weekend.

This time we are going to do things a little different because of Billy Ray's health and my schedule. The breeder (whose name and contact information I will reveal when she is ready for that) is going to do more of the basic training before I start working with Billy Ray and Tonka at about six months old. As I have been taking notes and talking to the breeder about what is important in terms of training, I have been thinking about what Billy Ray (and all of us) has gained from his dogs and what we have learned.

Dogs have been important to Billy Ray. His first experience with a dog was in foster care before we adopted him at 15 months old. He was a little much for my older poodle on placement so the veterinarian selected five month old Katie for him.

Together Katie and Billy Ray, then about 4 years old, went through basic dog obedience training and he learned how to handle her pretty well. He had her from the time she was 5 months old until about 14 years old. She was a pet not a service dog but she made a real difference in his life.

As Katie was aging, I began to look at a replacement. I looked into the idea of a service dog but couldn't find appropriate trainers. Somehow I found Dana PawsAbilities in northern Washington state. Her organization is primarily obedience training not a service dog trainer but she took time on the phone to give me tips for making it work. I remember the first thing she advised me to figure out was what jobs the dog would be expected to do for Billy Ray. I don't know why Dana didn't get impatient with me given it wouldn't benefit her business but she was always helpful.

Thanks to Dana's help and Carolyn Jones, 4-H leader and friend, who found us what was to become the perfect service dog for Billy Ray, we had several good years with Sheba. We took Sheba almost everywhere with Billy Ray. His support staff took her with him to his school program and other activities. The picture below is my favorite - he is shredding papers at Silver Falls School District Office and she is right there comforting him.

Unfortunately, Sheba, while perfect for Billy Ray had one flaw, she loved to chase cars along our fence when they drove onto the neighbors property. She injured her leg. We treated it for a long time and it was felt that surgery wouldn't help. Eventually she couldn't work with Billy Ray but remained a pet until there was nothing else that could be done to keep her comfortable and we put her down.

Enter Penny Lane who was in foster care with Heartland Weim Rescue and we heard about her through our friends Cliff and Shela Nielsen . Through a chain of events and the fact we had a friend's son coming home from college in Olathe, KS and could transport her Penny Lane came to be Billy Ray's next service dog. She was the dog no one wanted and was at risk of being put down because she had problems with her ears and was partially deaf. I had provided similar care to Katie when she had problems with her ears so was not frightened away from Penny Lane. However, what I didn't realize was that Katie was well trained before her ears became and issue and we needed to provide more extensive training to Penny Lane because she was a service dog whereas Katie had been a pet. Training for Penny Lane has not been very successful and she has become much more of a pet than a service dog.

However, Penny Lane has contributed to Billy Ray and to me in ways I could have never trained her to do. We got her about a year before Billy Ray had the health crisis and ventilator episode shared previously. When he began go through breathing changes which have never been thoroughly diagnosed but he appears to literally stop breathing and Penny Lane somehow senses it and comes to get me. I can sleep because I trust her to monitor it. I wrote about it here .

Below is a picture that shows the relationship between the two. He doesn't really want her to sleep on the bed because she lays on the covers and he can turn over as well. However, this one morning he was dressed and went back to bed and crawled up beside him on his other pillow. He covered her up and fortunately this was one of those Kodak momemts I didn't miss.

As a rescue dog her exact age was a guess. It was suggested that she might be 2 years old but our vets have suggested she was probably 4-5 years old when we got her nearly 5 years ago. She has had multiple health issues the entire time but she has been manageable. Her weight has been a constant struggle and it was just believed that Billy Ray gave her too many bites (which he does) but it was finally discovered that she has a thyroid problem and we have been treating that. However, recent tests performed show that she has liver issues as well. She is being treated for both and is on a special diet for the liver issues. Her vet advised that we would probably be able to maintain her another year but two years was stretching it.

Thus, it seemed time to consider a new service dog. There are now service dog agencies that we could work with but because it is used a specific way for Billy Ray and I want to work with it myself, we are going through a breeder we know. I hope to share on pictures and video blogging when we get started training.

Until next time,

Peggy Lou Morgan

for a complete list of my blogs and sites see http://www.peggyloumorgan.com/

Penny Lane's Purpose (Service Dog)

Penny Lane came to us from Heartland Weimaraner Rescue. It would have been easy for them to pass over her because she had major infections in her ears which required four surgeries and left her substantially deaf. In effect she is a special needs dog.

According to the foster parent for Heartland, Fred Linn, most folks who called about her were not interested because of her hearing loss. Then a friend of ours saw her on a Weimaraner group. It mentioned her friendliness and potential as a therapy dog. We received the forwarded email from our friend on the same our then service dog was deteriorating rapidly and could no longer make it up our stairs.

Penny Lane (named for the Beattles song by her foster parent) came to us in June 2004. She was a bit aloof at first – not unfriendly but bonding took some time. Now she grunts like a cat purrs when we pet or scratch her and is quite loving.

I could go on and on about problems with that dog (smile) and how difficult training is. What is important is that she is exactly what we need for this time in Billy Ray’s life. The most important things she does are not something I could not have trained her to do.

She seems uninvolved at times but is constantly aware of what is going on. Here’s an example: The other night Larry was in the living room with Billy Ray who was occasionally falling asleep in the recliner and Penny Lane was asleep on the couch. I was in my office. When I came out Larry said "you better keep this dog" (not that I have ever considered getting rid of her). He explained that he observed Billy Ray (who has bronchial problems and pancreatitis in addition to all his other difficulties right now) who would be breathing fine and then miss a breath or two. He said each time he did that Penny Lane would raise her head from being sound to sleep and then when Billy Ray would take a big gasp breath she would return to sleep until he did that again.We don't know how she knows because it is a big room and seems too far apart for her to smell and her hearing has deteriorated even more than when we got her. We have seen her jump down off our bed in the night (clear in the other part of the house) and go check on him and come get me. She just knows that is all there is to it.

She is such a comfort to him as he experiences the physical issues right now. She will go sleep on the couch and take a break from him but comes back very often to check on him. When things are particularly hard for him she never leaves his side.

Truly this dog was meant to be available for just such a time as this. Thanks Heartland for rescuing the perfect dog for my son!!

Until next time,
Peggy Lou Morgan
Amazon Blog
www.parentingyourcomplexchild.com
www.lighthouseparents.com
Yahoo Group

Not Well But Sure Are Better

I have been doing the summary document (with data from the daily journal) that I do when we are going to see Billy Ray's psychiatrist. The document is prepared to inform the doctor of changes and/or progress. It seems that it is just as beneficial for me to prepare it because of the encouragement it brings to see that things are improving.

Wanted to drop you a quick note early this morning since we have a busy day of appointments and I won't get to do a full scale blog. The picture is just one I like of Penny Lane listening intently to her "boy".

Yesterday Billy Ray saw Brice Stanley, his PA-C for a medical appointment. Brice told me that Dan, the lab technician showed him a picture and said he would buy lunch if Brice knew who it was. The picture was printed from the recent post Billy Ray and his clothes obsession. It was the one of Billy Ray sitting on the front step in a little suit when he was three years old (twenty years ago). Brice recognized him. I loved that story.

Until tomorrow,
Peggy Lou Morgan
www.parentingyourcomplexchild.com
www.lighthouseparents.com

Billy Ray and Penny Lane, Service Dog

After several days (and sometimes weeks) of mania with Billy Ray's Bipolar we tend to sort of catch up. This picture was taken a few months ago but demonstrates what is happening in our house this morning. Billy Ray has woken up put his hat on, interacted with his service dog and then covered her up beside him.

Some will think this is corny but I count this dog as a blessing. We haven't been able to take the bark out of her so she hasn't been able to be out in public as much as his last service dog. However, Penny Lane is a wonder in terms of detecting his moods and comforting him. I can safely go back to sleep when she is with him and catch up on some of my own sleep. If he is having breathing issues or wakes up she has proved herself credible to watch him (she comes to get me consistently).

Hope you are having a good day in this busy Christmas season.

Until tomorrow,
Peggy Lou Morgan
www.parentingyourcomplexchild.com
www.lighthouseparents.com

Service Dogs for Autistic and Other Special Needs Children

Dogs have long been used to help people. Seeing eye dogs and mobility dogs to help with wheelchair bound persons are more well known than psychiatric dogs and services for Autistic persons. When prescribed by a a doctor a service dog can accompany a complex child everywhere he goes just as a seeing eye dog is used for a blind person.

Billy Ray is on his second service dog though he had a pet who was a big part of his care before we knew of the service dog concept. She assists him by keeping him calm and reducing agitation.

Billy Ray and his present dog, Penny Lane, are truly soulmates as you can see by the picture. This picture was snapped one morning when Billy Ray was getting dressed and Penny Lane was napping on his pillows. It must of looked inviting because he crawled in with her and they fell asleep together. I think it shows the bonding and love between the two.

Penny Lane enables us to go places we probably wouldn't with his dog. For example, he would become really agitated in long drives but having his dog relaxes him. They usually sleep toward in the backseat. She helps him to get to sleep even if it is in a strange bed.

When he is becoming agitated sometimes just bringing his dog to him and having him pet her will be all that is necessary reducing the need for medications to calm him.

In the night he had been bouncing and talking for hours. My nerves were getting frayed from the noise and lack of sleep. Eventually Penny Lane came and lay next to him with her head on his tummy. He gently stroked her for half hour or so. It was the most quiet we have had in hours. Thanks Penny Lane!!

You can read more about her on my website and there a chapter in Parenting Your Complex Child (AMACOM Books April 2006). You can also get more information on the Delta Society website and Arf Kids.

Service dogs are not for every special needs child and his or her family. When it works it is something very beautiful.

Until tomorrow,
Peggy Lou
www.parentingyourcomplexchild.com
www.lighthouseparents.com