Lending a helping paw

Being a dog lover is one thing, but depending on one for day-to-day tasks takes that level of admiration to a whole new level.

This week is National Assistance Dog Week, in honor of working dogs nationwide.

Dog trainer Darlene Thomas has been affected in more ways than one by service dogs. Thomas is an interesting case, because she needed a service dog, so she trained one, and has since trained dogs for other people.

Many people do not realize that “service dog” does not necessarily mean a Seeing Eye dog, Thomas said. Thomas, who has been diagnosed with epilepsy, keeps her service dog Storm, to assist with her condition.

Storm, a large Doberman, is named for Thomas’s first trained dog, who could not tell the difference between situations that would causes seizures and thunderstorms.

Thomas began training Storm immediately after she brought him home at eight weeks old. After teaching him the basics, like house training, Thomas began training the dog for service. The first step to training a dog to be a service dog is socializing him to everything he could encounter.

“We had to get him used to everything from EMTs, mailmen, skateboards, motorcycles — you name it, we had to make sure he was not aggressive toward it,” Thomas said. “He had to maintain a certain personality during all of that, so when he was going to be a service dog, he would not be surprised by anything and do what he was taught to do.”

When Thomas and Storm go out together, Storm is on a leash hooked around Thomas’s waist. Thomas has difficulty with artificial florescent or flashing lights, and the dog is trained to notice those situations.

“When we get in a place that is a bad situation for me he puts his paw on me and starts whining and licking,” Thomas said. “If I am not paying attention or ignoring his alerts, he will pull me out of there.”

Most dogs can be taught what to do in emergency situations, but only 20 percent of dogs trained are able to be photosensitive to epilepsy, according to the Service Dogs of America. A dog trained for seizures is also trained to keep a person from hurting themselves by bracing up against them, Thomas said.

Another service dog in the area, a black lab mix named Spirit, is owned by Jennifer Turlington. Turlington has need for the dog for her 12-year-old son, Jonah, who is autistic.

Spirit walks with two leashes: one held by Turlington and one held by Jonah.

“Jonah knows that cars are dangerous, but when he gets into a parking lot, he will just walk in front of cars without looking,” Turlington said. “When we are walking with the dog, it is like Jonah is walking the dog too. When I stop or jerk, Spirit stops, and then so does Jonah.”

Turlington said that her son is prone to frustration, but when he starts to get upset, Spirit is trained to calm him down by wanting to play and averting his attention. The number of times he gets upset has decreased significantly since they got the dog, Turlington said.

A positive unexpected side effect, Turlington said, was that before, when new people would come up and say hello, Jonah usually would not talk. Now, when they approach and ask about the dog, Jonah is happy to talk to them about Spirit.

“I could not imagine our life without Spirit now,” Turlington said. “He sleeps in Jonah’s room, and watches over him, he does a great job of keeping him calm, and the two really have a special bond.”

Joel Gerber can be reached at 252-559-1076 or jgerber@freedomenc.com.

Breakout Box:

Different types of assistance dogs

Guide Dogs — Assist people with vision loss, leading these individuals around physical obstacles and to destinations such as seating, crossing streets, entering or exiting doorways, elevators and stairways.

Service Dogs — Assist people with walking, balance, dressing, transferring from place to place, retrieving and carrying items, opening doors and drawers, pushing buttons, pulling wheelchairs and aiding with household chores, such as putting in and removing clothes from the washer and dryer.

Hearing Alert Dogs — Alert people with a hearing loss to the occurrence of specific sounds such as doorbells, telephones, crying babies, sirens, another person, buzzing timers or sensors, knocks at the door or smoke, fire and clock alarms.

Seizure and Medical Alert/Seizure Response Dogs — Alert to medical conditions, such as heart attack, stroke, diabetes, epilepsy, panic attack, anxiety attack, post-traumatic stress and seizures.

Source: assistancedogweek.org