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RETIRING SERVICE DOG NEEDS HOME
26 May 2011 07:59 #1
by 2wlady
RETIRING SERVICE DOG NEEDS HOME was created by 2wlady
I received this from my girlfriend. I'm not sure how to post the entire thing and I couldn't find a URL for it on their website. If you want pictures, I can forward the email to you.
Lieutenant Timothy A. Sylvester, M.P.A.
Professional Standards Section
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
Golden, CO 80419
303-271-5443 (direct)
303-901-8448 (cell)
Can You Provide a New Home for Abbott??
We often get random requests and questions. But this letter really touched our heart. I am copying the letter below from a family who can no longer keep their Service Dog Abbott. He sounds like he would make a wonderful Therapy Dog and he is absolutely adorable (see his photo below). If anyone is interested in talking to Abbott's current owners, please contact me directly and I will pass on their information.
With Kindest Regards,
Linda Chassman, PhD., LMFT
Director
My name is Alan Mackey. I am a blind, veteran who lives in Lone Tree, CO. I have a guide dog Abbott. We have worked together for 8 wonderful years. He has gone with me all over -- streets, airports, schools, sporting events, church, gym/recreation center, "Sound of the Rockies" (male, acapella chorus) practice - pretty much every where I have gone for eight years. He is wonderful with my two sons who are 13 & 15 years old.
Unfortunately Abbott is reaching the end of his "guiding" life, but not his useful life. He is not aware enough of overhead obstacles and other safety issues to keep using him in the guide dog capacity. He has run me into some signs and other obstacles that he should have worked around. But he is still quite full of life.
He was trained by the "Seeing Eye" in Morristown, NJ, which is the oldest guide dog school in the USA. They placed their first guide dog in 1929, and over the years fought most of the legal battles to allow guide dogs into public venues. They established the initial precedent case law that has been used all over the country.
Abbott was bred by the Seeing Eye and & born at its breeding facility on July 13, 2001. His 12 month puppyhood training was done by a 16 year old kid (& his family) in New Jersey as part of a 4H project. Then Abbott returned to the Seeing Eye for his formal guide training. After successfully completing that he was placed with me in May of 2003. We have worked together ever since. The Seeing Eye asks their graduates to buy the dog and assume full responsibility for it. So as he is retired, I am able to keep Abbott as a pet. But....
Over the past eight years I have developed a severe allergy to dog dander and my allergist is suggesting that it would be detrimental to my health to keep a working dog (new dog from the Seeing Eye) and a pet (Abbott). But also it would be hard for Abbott to quit working completely. His temperament is such that he loves working and being with people. He is so mellow and good with people that I think he would make a good animal therapy dog.
So I am looking for a new situation for Abbott. I think it would involve finding a person who is involved in pet therapy to become Abbott's new family, obtaining his therapy dog designation (which should not be difficult given his previous training), and then having him work in that capacity. I would love for Abbott to work with disabled/elderly veterans, school age kids, or other people with disabilities. He would also do well in a hospital setting.
A little more information about Abbott: He is a golden retriever, yellow lab mix. He has the short coat of the lab and the soft coat of the retriever. The daily care I have given him involves feeding him twice a day, brushing him once a day, and taking him outside to do his "personal business" 4 times per day.
He eats approximately 1 ½ cups of Iams dog food once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. I brush him daily with two different brushes and one comb. He has been bathed a couple times a year, until my allergies flared up and it has been more often in the past year. He gets his teeth brushed about 4 days a week, which he loves.
He has never eaten table scraps and weighs about 75 pounds. He has walked extensively all his life. Most days he walks at least one mile and some times up to 3. He has developed arthritis in the past year and takes prescription Rimadyl for that. He also has hypo thyroid and takes Soloxine for that. He is slow about getting up off the floor and is a bit hard of hearing when I call him from several rooms away. He has two benign cysts that the veterinarian says are harmless, although they are visible under his coat.
He is good with children. My boys were 5 & 7 when Abbott came into our household and he plays well with them and other dogs. Three years ago we brought 2 kittens into the house and he sniffed them twice and has not really paid much attention to them since. They love to play with his tail, which he ignores, and after he has had enough of them pestering him, he gets up and walks to another room. Abbott loves to play fetch with tennis balls and he enjoys a good chew on the nylon bone every couple of days. He carries shoes & socks all over the house, if they are left out where he can get to them. But he has never chewed on a shoe. He carries them ever so gently (like he was retrieving a bird -- no clenching down). He sleeps on the floor of my bedroom and has not been allowed on any furniture. He loves to ride in our Honda Odyssey, although he does not like to jump up into higher vehicles.
I am scheduled to get my new guide dog in early September, 2011, so we would be looking to place Abbott in the new situation in late August. If you would be interested in becoming Abbott's new owner and using him in a therapy situation, please contact me:
Alan Mackey
Contact Us
Animal Assisted Therapy Programs of Colorado (AATPC)
1540 Race Street Denver Co 80206
720-266-4444 (phone & fax)
[url=http://www.aatpc.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://www.aatpc.com[/url]
Animal Assisted Therapy Programs of Colorado | 1540 Race Street | Denver | CO | 80206
--
[url=http://www.TanyaBuck.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://www.TanyaBuck.com[/url]
Lieutenant Timothy A. Sylvester, M.P.A.
Professional Standards Section
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
Golden, CO 80419
303-271-5443 (direct)
303-901-8448 (cell)
Can You Provide a New Home for Abbott??
We often get random requests and questions. But this letter really touched our heart. I am copying the letter below from a family who can no longer keep their Service Dog Abbott. He sounds like he would make a wonderful Therapy Dog and he is absolutely adorable (see his photo below). If anyone is interested in talking to Abbott's current owners, please contact me directly and I will pass on their information.
With Kindest Regards,
Linda Chassman, PhD., LMFT
Director
My name is Alan Mackey. I am a blind, veteran who lives in Lone Tree, CO. I have a guide dog Abbott. We have worked together for 8 wonderful years. He has gone with me all over -- streets, airports, schools, sporting events, church, gym/recreation center, "Sound of the Rockies" (male, acapella chorus) practice - pretty much every where I have gone for eight years. He is wonderful with my two sons who are 13 & 15 years old.
Unfortunately Abbott is reaching the end of his "guiding" life, but not his useful life. He is not aware enough of overhead obstacles and other safety issues to keep using him in the guide dog capacity. He has run me into some signs and other obstacles that he should have worked around. But he is still quite full of life.
He was trained by the "Seeing Eye" in Morristown, NJ, which is the oldest guide dog school in the USA. They placed their first guide dog in 1929, and over the years fought most of the legal battles to allow guide dogs into public venues. They established the initial precedent case law that has been used all over the country.
Abbott was bred by the Seeing Eye and & born at its breeding facility on July 13, 2001. His 12 month puppyhood training was done by a 16 year old kid (& his family) in New Jersey as part of a 4H project. Then Abbott returned to the Seeing Eye for his formal guide training. After successfully completing that he was placed with me in May of 2003. We have worked together ever since. The Seeing Eye asks their graduates to buy the dog and assume full responsibility for it. So as he is retired, I am able to keep Abbott as a pet. But....
Over the past eight years I have developed a severe allergy to dog dander and my allergist is suggesting that it would be detrimental to my health to keep a working dog (new dog from the Seeing Eye) and a pet (Abbott). But also it would be hard for Abbott to quit working completely. His temperament is such that he loves working and being with people. He is so mellow and good with people that I think he would make a good animal therapy dog.
So I am looking for a new situation for Abbott. I think it would involve finding a person who is involved in pet therapy to become Abbott's new family, obtaining his therapy dog designation (which should not be difficult given his previous training), and then having him work in that capacity. I would love for Abbott to work with disabled/elderly veterans, school age kids, or other people with disabilities. He would also do well in a hospital setting.
A little more information about Abbott: He is a golden retriever, yellow lab mix. He has the short coat of the lab and the soft coat of the retriever. The daily care I have given him involves feeding him twice a day, brushing him once a day, and taking him outside to do his "personal business" 4 times per day.
He eats approximately 1 ½ cups of Iams dog food once in the morning and once in the late afternoon. I brush him daily with two different brushes and one comb. He has been bathed a couple times a year, until my allergies flared up and it has been more often in the past year. He gets his teeth brushed about 4 days a week, which he loves.
He has never eaten table scraps and weighs about 75 pounds. He has walked extensively all his life. Most days he walks at least one mile and some times up to 3. He has developed arthritis in the past year and takes prescription Rimadyl for that. He also has hypo thyroid and takes Soloxine for that. He is slow about getting up off the floor and is a bit hard of hearing when I call him from several rooms away. He has two benign cysts that the veterinarian says are harmless, although they are visible under his coat.
He is good with children. My boys were 5 & 7 when Abbott came into our household and he plays well with them and other dogs. Three years ago we brought 2 kittens into the house and he sniffed them twice and has not really paid much attention to them since. They love to play with his tail, which he ignores, and after he has had enough of them pestering him, he gets up and walks to another room. Abbott loves to play fetch with tennis balls and he enjoys a good chew on the nylon bone every couple of days. He carries shoes & socks all over the house, if they are left out where he can get to them. But he has never chewed on a shoe. He carries them ever so gently (like he was retrieving a bird -- no clenching down). He sleeps on the floor of my bedroom and has not been allowed on any furniture. He loves to ride in our Honda Odyssey, although he does not like to jump up into higher vehicles.
I am scheduled to get my new guide dog in early September, 2011, so we would be looking to place Abbott in the new situation in late August. If you would be interested in becoming Abbott's new owner and using him in a therapy situation, please contact me:
Alan Mackey
Contact Us
Animal Assisted Therapy Programs of Colorado (AATPC)
1540 Race Street Denver Co 80206
720-266-4444 (phone & fax)
[url=http://www.aatpc.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://www.aatpc.com[/url]
Animal Assisted Therapy Programs of Colorado | 1540 Race Street | Denver | CO | 80206
--
[url=http://www.TanyaBuck.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]http://www.TanyaBuck.com[/url]
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