Pro Bono

Two of my clients came in for a lesson with their dog when they began to share a concern they have for a friend of theirs. They’d wanted to help her, but they didn’t know how. Their friend has a dog that she wants to be her service dog. She has been taking the dog out in public with her but frequently gets refused entry to businesses because of the dog. She doesn’t have any money, lives out of a bus and loves her dog dearly. They wanted to know if I could help her, so of course I said I would see what I could do. I told my clients to have her call in and schedule an initial appointment and that there would be no charge.

So yesterday she came in for the first time. There she stood: a grown woman … going on 40 years, her hair in pigtails and her figure excessive, somewhat overweight. Missing front teeth, but with a pleasant smile and a warm handshake she says, “Hello, I’m Tami and this is Athena.” Now I look down at Athena, this very polite little black pit-bully mix breed, that’s wearing a too–big-for-her, rusted, slip chain collar. She’s also wearing a too-wide, too- thick blue buckle collar, and all of that is attached to an equally ugly tattered thick blue leash. Athena does not look like a service dog! Her behavior’s good, but the two of them just look like a poverty-stricken person and pet.

We went over to the obedience training building to begin our lesson and she immediately begins pulling out her doctor’s letters saying that she does indeed have a doctor’s prescription that she have a dog with her for psychological reasons. As she’s shoving these letters over to me, she starts to share that she’s worried that her dog may not act well enough to be welcomed as a service dog. Tami is convinced that the reason she is having such a tough time getting Athena into places is because of Athena’s behavior. Businesses are constantly questioning her when she tries to take Athena in and asking her for more proof that she is a service dog. I explained to Tami that it’s because she doesn’t look like a service dog. “May I?” The first thing I did was start taking off the gross equipment she had on her. The thick collar, the tattered leash and the rusted slip chain collar all needed to come off. At least I could help Athena with a makeover. I brought her a new, pretty and delicate neck collar, along with a black head collar and a black nylon leash. I explained to Tami the benefits of the head collar in both control and looks, and immediately … Tami started to get what I was saying. Businesses won’t question you so if your dog looks like a service dog.

There was a question about Athena’s behavior around other dogs. So I brought in my dog Luke to see how she behaved. Athena was very polite when Luke entered the room. Her reaction was little other than oh it’s a dog. It was even clearer to me that Athena’s behavior was never the problem!

Athena’s a nice dog and well trained for the job at hand. She’s eight years old, settled, mature and adult-like. She has the wisdom that comes with age in mature dogs. Athena is an ideal support system, and means as much as life itself to Tami.

The end of the story is that I had the privilege of helping Tami get the service dog vest and the rest of the documents she needed to complete Athena’s appearance makeover.

How rewarding was that!

Zooka the Cat

Once in awhile a Veterinarian will call me when they feel stumped with a client. Such was the case when Dr. Kim called me regarding a cat she had been treating named Zooka.
“It’s the strangest thing, and I’m just not sure what to tell these people” she said. “It’s a mystery! I’ve been treating this cat named Zooka since October. The owners brought him in because he was losing hair on certain parts of his body. There are large patches on his body where he’s missing hair but the owners say they seldom see him licking. I have run all sorts of tests, a blood panel, skin tests etc., and can’t seem to find anything wrong with the cat physically.” “Recently I started him on some anti-anxiety medication but I thought I would check in with you to see if you had ever heard of anything like this?”
I had not and it was a mystery to me as well. From a behavioral perspective, it was hard to understand how a cat would be missing that much hair without the owners witnessing him licking excessively. The best way for me to help would be to talk to the owners and see if I could uncover anything by asking some questions. We agreed to do a three-way phone call consultation and got that scheduled.
Friday night at 5:30 rolled around, the time we had agreed to have a phone consultation, and my phone rang. It was Dr. Kim and she actually had the cat and the clients at her clinic. The speaker phone set up didn’t seem to be working well and since her clinic was fairly close to my office I offered to just drive over there. Actually, I really wanted to see this cat anyway, as oftentimes there are things you can pick up by being with somebody that you’re not going to get over the phone.
I arrived at the clinic and was taken back to one of the exam rooms where the owners were sitting with their cat. Zooka, who had been transported to the clinic in his crate, was choosing to just stay in there.
After some initial introductions it was time to get down to business. I wanted to see Zooka and get down to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. It was Friday night after all. I had had a long day and was happy to volunteer my services, but like any hard working person was also eager to get home.
So they pulled Zooka out of the cage and the mystery begins to unfold. Zooka had a typical short-haired coat and was certainly missing a lot of hair in certain areas. My first question was answered immediately. The first question was: Is Zooka doing this to himself or was it a skin condition? The answer was clear. The only places where hair was missing were places which Bazooka could reach. The areas of his body that Zooka could not reach looked just fine. Actually, not really fine, because even the areas where he did have a full coat, his coat seemed to be dull and faded. It was also interesting to note that the areas where he was missing hair, the skin looked soft, pink and healthy. This is not typical of a lot of licking because that much licking would have irritated the skin. No, by looking at it, it became even clearer that this cat was pulling out his hair, and swallowing it. Otherwise the owners would have found tufts of hair lying around. So the cat is pulling out his hair. Now, where do I go from here?
As I looked at this cat I got this knowing that the cat was actually eating the hair and that this may have a root in an eating disorder, which could be contributed to a dietary deficiency. It just hit me. The universe spoke to me though my little voice within. I was so glad that I was able to actually see this cat. There are always things I just “Get” when I’m with someone that I may not “Get” otherwise.
So I asked the owners what they were feeding Zooka. The husband looked at me with a “what does that matter?” kind of look on his face. Their answer was that they just feed one particular type of dry food. My first thing on their list of To Do’s was
#1 Variety in diet. Tuna or Salmon every day. I also recommended having cat grass available.
Dr. Kim thought the tuna idea was a good one. After all if there is a nutritional value in hair, it would be amino acids and substances that would be found in fish.
So, then I explain my spiel on the need for variety in diet. I told Dr. Kim that this could be an eating disorder. I compared it to dogs that eat rocks. Every dog I have ever known who was consuming rocks was at least initially … on a strictly dry dog food diet. To illustrate the story better to everyone I asked the wife to tell me what one of her favorite foods was. She said, “Cheese enchiladas.” I said, “Great, guess what you get for dinner tonight? Cheese enchiladas. Now guess what you get for breakfast tomorrow.” She spoke up and said “scrambled eggs” and I said, “No, you get cheese enchiladas. Now guess what you get for lunch tomorrow,” and everyone quickly started to get my point. Cravings for a variety in diet can contribute to eating disorders in pets whereby they begin consuming things most pets would not normally consume.
Dr Kim piped in, saying that I’m terrible with my dogs, meaning I give them all sorts of variety and share whatever food I’m eating with my pets. I cut her short and explained why that’s not terrible at all. We need to reject what the dog food industry has tried to convince America of, which is to feed only dog food to their dog. I also complimented Dr. Kim on following her heart and her little voice rather than following the literature she’s been fed to the contrary.
As far as the rest of our session here I explained to the owners to listen to their hearts as well. If what I say feels right to you or not right to you, I need you to tell me. I am very interested in the feedback I get from the owners. What do their hearts have to say? What is their intuition?
Next let me hear it from the owners lips: “You never see this cat licking excessively or pulling out its hair?” The answer was no. That left us with another clue and that this has to be happening during the day when they were at work. So is the cat bored or lonely?
I asked what they thought the cat did during the day and they said he hung out at the window a lot, looking for other cats. They also told the story of having a cat visit for a few days that they were thinking of getting but for whatever reason they decided not to.
I wanted to know how Zooka did with the cat. They said the first day he distanced himself but by the second day he was interacting and playing with the cat. Now to me, that is a social cat. Cats that don’t want the companionship of another cat can takes weeks, if not months, to get used to another cat in the household. If Ever! The fact that Bazooka buddied up within 24 hours does say he would enjoy the companionship. In the same breath I had to say though that the only good reason to get a second cat is because they actually want one. I mean, it may be part of the solution for Bazooka but there is no guarantee that it would make a difference, and that’s a big commitment. Plus, I’m aware that there are advantages to being the only pet, such as getting a whole lot more individual attention when the owners are at home.
#2 Boredom Consider and weigh whether you would like to get another cat.
Next ….. I’m still thinking boredom…..
You say Zooka hangs out at the window. Is Zooka a cat that wants to be outside? Does Zooka try to bolt out the door when you open it? The husband said, “No, in fact we can actually leave the door open and he’ll come up to the door and sit there and look out, but he doesn’t want to run out.” Well, that answered that one. No sense in creating a safe outdoor area for Zooka to add variety to his life because he probably wouldn’t use it.
Next … Does Zooka like cat treats? The answer was yes. I share the story of the cat treat hunt.
#3 Cat treat hunt when they leave in a.m.
Also, since now I am convinced that this happens during the day, the tuna that we are going to leave out is left out in the a.m., before they leave for work.
#4 Playfulness
Yes he’s playful and likes certain toys. So get a variety of toys and rotate toys that are left out during the day when gone. At night when you get home, pick them up. And, yes, they did know about playing with the laser light, and this was something they did on a fairly regular basis in the evening.
#5 His Coat
I asked what his grooming on their part consisted of, and she said that she bathed him probably every couple of weeks, and with a particular shampoo that Dr. Kim and I thought of as harsh. So, #5 became bath with different shampoo, and Dr. Kim had some products right there at the clinic that fit the bill.
#6 I notice he’s shy….
They say yes, he isolates himself when company comes over. So I talk about how health and well-being would be reflected in confident behavior. I encouraged them to not let him isolate himself.
Still digging, I’m asking, since this all started in October of last year, which is 6 months ago, were there any other big changes that he could be frustrated about? I asked about all of the obvious things; food, litter, moving … anything?
Then all the sudden I started taking a closer look at the wife. A little overweight, very plain, no makeup, young, quiet and reserved herself, and then I started taking a closer look at her bottom lip which I had noticed looked chapped but I hadn’t really looked until this moment. So I began to inquire … “Have either of you been more stressed out in the last few months?” They looked at each other and all of a sudden there was a weight of heavy energy in the room, and the wife looked back at me and said that yes, she got very stressed at work during the day. As she began to speak I watched her bite her lip. Being a straight shooter I said straight on, “I couldn’t help but notice your lip, what’s that about?” She looked back at me, and yes, she was busted. She didn’t resent the comment; as a matter of fact she knew and agreed that her chapped lip was evidence of the stress she was going through at work.
Now I don’t know all the details, nor do I want to, but I did have to conclude:
#7 The wife being stressed during the day at work, was something that an intuitive cat could pick up on.
As a matter of fact, looking at her a little closer now, the stress in her face, also evident in her skin, the condition of her lip, the blemishes on her face, suddenly her face showed … the exact stress Zooka was feeling inside. Bull’s eye! I had hit on it. How did I know? You could feel the energy in the room. The husband looked at her, she looked at him, and we all knew that was it!
So, I pointed out that the cat may be internalizing it, too. Then I went into how every emotion is preceded with a thought. You do have power over how you think. Don’t nurse your hurts and rehearse your hurts. Wellness in her, or lack of, does get reflected in our surroundings.
It was a fabulous appointment! Even more fabulous was when months later I followed up with the veterinarian, and the owners had made all the changes. The cat was off the anxiety medication and no longer pulling out it’s hair. This can only mean that Zooka’s owners were better off as well.

Is this the right dog for this family?

I just got off the phone …
My office had spoken to this person initially, but rather than go the standard route of scheduling an appointment with me she wanted to talk to me first over the phone. No wonder, her 1-year-old Great Dane had bitten a little boy. This story holds lots of extenuating circumstances.
The dog’s owner, Mattie, wanted to talk to me first because she was thinking that she just wanted me to take the dog for boarding and training. She had worked with another trainer at her home, but that really hadn’t helped much. With the recent incident in which the boy did receive a small mark on the arm, and there were a few drops of blood, it was a bite … now Mattie realized the need for in-depth training and total control over this dog.
In the dog’s defense, the real circumstances surrounding the bite are comprehensible. Mattie was inside her house when she heard her dog barking ferociously in the back yard. She knew the bark signaled that the dog was truly alarmed, and as Mattie goes to see what’s going on she realizes the two neighbor kids, ages 6 yrs. and 7 yrs., have jumped over her fence and have run into the back yard. Before Mattie can comprehend what’s happening, the dog is in pursuit and the two kids burst into her house with the intention of exiting out Mattie’s front door. One kid jumps up on the table to get away from the dog while Mattie corners the other child in a corner. There’s a lot of hysterical screaming going on, and that’s when she nipped him!
I’m now in a position of helping her sort thru this. I find that she has three children of her own who are ages 2, 5 & 6 … (not a good sign, because you would think the dog would be more tolerant of children). I also learned that she had worked with another trainer, but knew it was time to get help elsewhere.
One of my first questions was, “How did you end up with a Great Dane?” She explained to me how they had had a Great Dane before, however she was really the opposite of this dog. The Great Dane before would welcome anyone at the front door. With their other dog they could let anyone in and she might bark once but then she would just stand there and lick them. This current dog, Cory, is ferocious at the front door. The way the other trainer had tried to help them was by stuffing her with food when the doorbell rang. Mattie said, “My husband even asked, ‘Aren’t we just rewarding her for bad behavior?’” All in all, the real point here is that this Great Dane is genetically very different in disposition from their other Great Dane. This Great Dane, Cory, is a natural watchdog. The other Great Dane was at best, a deterrent by site.
Mattie confessed that they really preferred the disposition of the other Great Dane and that they weren’t looking for a watchdog. In hindsight, she remembered the day she went to look at the puppies and noticed how she was actually afraid of the mother dog, which was being kept behind a gate. Mattie had thought to herself, “I hope she doesn’t get out of that gate and my, my isn’t she protective of her puppies.” Then Mattie just focused on the puppies. Having had such a gentle giant of a Great Dane before, it never even occurred to her that this dog had a very different disposition. No she just thought this dog was being protective of her puppies. WRONG.
Through the whole conversation I did find out that there were a number of things that Mattie had done wrong that would contribute to the problem … especially with a dog whose disposition is much more of a natural watchdog.
The first thing Mattie had done wrong, and later realized it on her own, was that when other small children were over playing in the backyard they would put Cory in a wrought iron fenced yard which surrounded the pool. The idea was that Cory could be outside with the kids and watch them play and not accidently knock them down. (That’s what their other Great Dane would have done.) Cory on the other hand ran up and down the fence, chasing and barking at them. Mattie began to realize it was not a good thing when she noticed that Cory continued the pursuit with a noticeable level of vengeance once she got out. Not the form of innocent exercise Mattie had hoped for.
With her busy schedule, and having three small children of her own, Mattie had not taken Cory to dog parks or socialized her much as a puppy. (Also not a good thing when raising what will turn out to be a very natural watchdog.) As far as managing her behavior when people came over, Mattie just found it easiest to always put Cory outside before she let people or children in. (Another great way to teach a potential watchdog to hate people coming to the house.) You see, getting isolated whenever people come can be internalized as a form of punishment for a dog. For the dog, they just know that when people come over they get punished. It doesn’t take long for the dog to decide that they hate it when people come over. Also, not what you want to teach a natural watchdog.)
So far in this conversation I have learned a few things. I know that this is not the disposition of dog that they were used too. I am glad to hear that they have done a number of things incorrectly, as in changing those things we can also change Cory. However, no matter how well obedience-trained Cory is, she will always be a watchdog and the first thing they need to ask themselves is: Is this the disposition, the temperament of the dog we want to share our lives with? Are we a good fit? Is this the relationship we want? Cory will always be a watchdog. She could be a watchdog under control, but she will always be a watchdog.
I want my customers to achieve the results they are looking for. If they search their hearts and know that they only want a laid-back dog that would let anyone in no matter what and would never defend them, then Cory may not be the right dog in the first place. Fortunately in Cory’s case the breeder is willing to welcome her back with open arms and find a more appropriate home for her. Or should they change their minds and realize that Cory’s protective instincts are a real asset to the family and learn how to manage her appropriately, honoring her watch dog self and getting her under control? I have known lots of families whose home has been broken into or they have been violated and absolutely want a dog that makes them feel safe. With three small children in the home, many parents would not want a gun in the house. Cory would be much better than a gun.
So I suggested we start here. Search their hearts and make the first decision of is she the right dog for them. It’s at this point in the conversation that I tell her that the root of the word obedience means to listen. To be obedient to God means to listen to your heart because your heart knows what’s right for you. Perhaps the universe knows that they do need a watchdog like Cory in the house to keep them safe. If that’s the case, then their hearts will tell them to accept her and learn to love her more and do what’s needed. With any relationship … when the going gets tough you either leave or learn to love more. Those are the two choices. If after some soulful searching their hearts say no, she’s not the right dog for us, then there’s no sense in putting in all the work. Rather, let Cory find the home where she will be loved and trained and honored for who she is. If it’s not good for Mattie’s family, it’s not good for Cory either.
So that’s how we left it. They first need to search their hearts. If the answer is keeping Cory, I know I can help them train her appropriately. No matter what, they need to go into this with eyes wide open. On the other hand, if their hearts say she is not the right dog for us, then all the training in the world will never bring their other Great Dane back. No, they will find her in another dog.
Final Answer: They searched their hearts and decided to love her more. She’s now at my home for boarding and training, and doing fabulously, I might add.