Marine Corps Sgt. John M. Peck, 26, hugs his new service dog Nasar at Canine Companions for Independence in Medford, NY. Photo credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara.  

“Medford nonprofit teams wounded vets, service dogs”

Unfortunately, you can’t read the entire article unless you have a Newsday subscription, although I think that picture tells you all you really need to know.

If you could, though, among other things, you’d read about how John Peck lost parts of all four limbs when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan in May 2010, and how amputations, something I’ve talked about here repeatedly (“Amputation Cases Among Troops Hit Post-9/11 High In 2011″), continue to climb.

You can find lots about John, but here’s a couple things that give you a good idea just what kinda young man he is:

“Wounded Antioch Marine’s goal: ‘Be as independent as I can be’”

I’m always very proud to be associated with CCI, but some days even more than others, and today is definitely one of those days.

“Finding the Perfect Match“

This is not how Canine Companions for Independence does it — candidates are not brought in early to meet their potential service dog, the matching is done entirely at Team Training — but the process is certainly very similar in its meticulousness and the fundamental core concept that a match is not final until the end of the process.

The paragraph that got my eye, particularly in light of something I just heard about someplace that is telling veterans they’ve been accepted and then sending them a picture of the specific puppy that is going to be their service dog, is this:

“Once we have a match, we notify each person. We don’t always let them know which dog they’ve been matched with because the reality is that not all dogs make it through the program, even once they get to advanced training. We don’t like to get someone’s hopes up about a specific dog, only to have to tell them that that dog has been released and they’ve been paired with a different dog.”

Exactly.

In CCI’s case, only about 40% of the puppies who started out over a year and a half earlier as potential candidates for a specific Team Training cycle are even still in in the program by the time that Team Training cycle rolls around. (That happens every three months – Feb, May, Aug, Nov – and, coincidentally, is going on at all five regional centers as I write this.)

If you’re working with or supporting someplace that doesn’t do things this way and isn’t this particular or thorough, I would respectfully but strongly suggest you might wanna look somewhere else.

Corporal Justin Jones, Sergeant Joey Smith, Lance Corporal Lance Weir and his Canine Companions for Independence service dog Auggie accept the Chairman’s Cup for the Marines from Admiral Winnefeld, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Warrior Games at the US Air Force Academy May 5. (Photo by Pat Cubel)

I haven’t posted here for the last couple weeks because of Warrior Games, and it’s hard to believe they ended a week ago. I’m finally pretty much recovered and feeling back to normal (and I was just watching, not competing), although they are still very much on my mind.

I’ve written a fair amount here about both previous Warrior Games, and have wanted to say something about this year’s, but there’s really no way to capture it all here (a search on the DVIDS site alone shows about 500 stories, photos, and videos), and others have already done a great job of that.

None better than this fantastic highlight video – if you only watch one thing about WG, watch this.

On a personal level, beyond all the competition, ceremony, and so on, the real hook for Warrior Games for me is that I get to see a lotta great old friends and finally meet – in person – some new ones that I’ve wanted to meet. And all of them are from different eras, different contexts, but all here and often in the same place at the same time.

That was a long list this year, and the heart of the whole thing for me.

Among the competitors this year were two guys I know well and have written about here before – Damian Orslene and Lance Weir. Everybody says it’s not about the medals (usually as they’re pointing to the ones they’re wearing ), and, ultimately, it really isn’t, but I am still very, very proud of both Lance and Damian for their achievements.

Lance went home with two, a Gold and a Bronze, in individual shooting events; Damien went home with four Bronze Medals – individual ones in discus and cycling, team ones in sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball.

Both had their challenges getting here, too. Lance had some very, very serious health issues just prior to the Games. You can read about those here, and he discusses them in this video:

Damian had his own set of hurdles as well. You can read about those here, and this video will give you a really good idea of the kinda guy he is:

Two different deals, two different guys, but they have a lot in common, including, I’m happy to say, being good friends of mine.

Most memorable moment for me, out of many memorable moments, was watching triple amputee Royal Marine Matthew “Spider” Webb swimming the crawl stroke with only his right arm and being cheered home in the tradition of the games. You can see that in the last ten seconds of this video, 3 minutes and 30 seconds in. Couldn’t get it to embed here properly, so here’s the link: “Warrior Games 2012 Swim Meet, Part 2″

As for service dogs, without going into any details, I’ll just say that a combination of things – things I saw, stories I heard, conversations I had – only reaffirmed even more strongly what I already knew and said here: “Try CCI First”. I may have more to say about that later.

Again, a tremendous time, and I’d love to be a part of stuff like this all the time (albeit a little less intense, maybe).

“Rocket’s DogBlog- New Beginnings”

That’s where that comment comes from, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard one of my service dog graduate friends say something just like that.

I say all the time that the most important overlooked thing when someone’s looking for a service dog, and one of the major advantages a first-class organization offers, is support, and a successor dog is right at the top of that list. Naturally, when you’re just first looking for a dog, you aren’t likely to be thinking down the road 8 or 10 years (or maybe less) to when it’s time for the next one – I understand that.

But you wanna know, first, that the organization is viable and will just be there, period, for many years. And, second, that they will be there for you - to give you help when you need it, whether it’s a training issue, or medical issue, or any number of other things including the ultimate support issue – a successor dog.

There are so many insights in that post that you normally will never hear unless you know someone involved in the process that you really need to read it all, especially to get the full emotion of Randi’s experience, but key things to note:

• The graduate has to initiate the process themselves and contact CCI directly; no one’s gonna push you, CCI wants to be sure you’re ready.

• You have to go through the very same application process every time you get a dog, but (and this is a really key, core concept)…

• “They do give successor candidates preference on the list because they understand how hard it is to be without a dog once you have had one…”

I’ll just leave you with Randi’s description of how she’s feeling about the whole thing – says it all:

“It’s a very singular experience, almost like losing a spouse and then going to a matchmaker to find another one. It seems too soon in some ways, but in other ways it seems that it can’t come soon enough. I don’t know how I will ever love another dog to the degree that I loved Lucky. He was my heartbeat; I don’t know where I ended and he began, he was my other half of a whole. But all the reasons that Lucky was in my life, and all the gifts he gave to me are why I am in the midst of the process again. Lucky’s purpose was to give me independence and confidence and bring joy to my life. He was faithful and true to the last beat of his heart and I owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion. So I am opening my heart to another canine companion who will carry on his legacy, should I be blessed with the privilege of having a successor dog.”

Just a tremendous picture! Canine Companions for Independence wounded warrior graduate Steve Blackman with his service dog Gotti (given name Gottlieb) and three – count ‘em, three – Medal of Honor recipients. Left to right, Joe Marm, Bruce Crandall, and Jim Taylor. (Thanks to Donna Cranston from Defenders of Freedom and Steve for the picture.)

The three were part of a larger group of 14 MoH recipients who were gathered for the annual Medal of Honor Host City Program in Gainesville, TX April 11-14.

Update 4/18: There’s now a video to go with the picture. You can see all 14 MoH recipients introduced, and there’s a quick glimpse of Steve and Gotti with Bruce Crandall near the end.

I know the word “hero” gets tossed around a little too loosely these days, and guys like this who it really does apply to don’t generally like being called that, but that’s exactly what they are – heroes.

Note that Carolyn very quickly reels off and demos a whole list of specific patient therapeutic goals that Seamus helps with:

• Physical Therapy: balance and endurance
• Occupational Therapy: fine-motor activities like brushing and grooming and putting on / taking off different collars
• Speech Therapy: speaking more loudly and clearly
• Neuropsychology: feeling more relaxed and comfortable

You can see another great video example here of a dog doing similar work I’ve already talked about - Scully at WakeMed Rehab in Raleigh, NC.

I continue to be amazed – and dismayed – that there are not more CCI Facility Dogs doing this kinda work, especially in military hospitals, particularly with the current focus on TBI. I would think that every rehab hospital working with those issues would be knocking down CCI’s door trying to get one of these dogs.

It’s not like they’re a big secret, either. For example, the Drucker Brain Injury Center has a long-time relationship with DOD and even collaborated with them way back in 2004 to produce this report: “Rehabilitation for Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury“.

I dunno, maybe it’s the commitment involved – somebody has to go through the application process, and, if accepted, commit to going to training for two weeks and having the dog live with them and be part of their family.

Please – if you’re an occupational or physical therapist, especially if you’re working with military veteran patients, and have any interest at all in a CCI Facility Dog, reach out and contact CCI, me, MossRehab. WakeMed, somebody – there are any number of us who would be happy to help you.

I’ve never heard a better interview about Canine Companions for Independence than this new podcast at Working Like Dogs with Ellen Torop, legendary long-time CCI Northeast Region Program Manager.

If you have any interest in service dogs in general, and CCI in particular, especially if you’re interested in applying for a dog yourself or know someone who might be interested in applying, you absolutely want to listen to it, and likely more than once.

Not only do you normally never hear directly from one of the five regional PMs, Ellen has been with CCI longer than most, if not everybody in the organization – 23 years. And she very directly, succinctly, and eloquently explains things in a very down-to-earth way.

Whole clip is 39:35, but the interview itself is in two 16-minute segments, and moves along very quickly.

• First segment starts at 3:20 and runs to 19:30. Subjects include Ellen’s background, what a Program Manager is responsible for, how CCI selects dogs for the program, and what characteristics make for a good puppy raiser.

• There’s a 3-minute commercial break, then the second segment goes from 22:30 to 38:45. It focuses on the kinds of dogs CCI trains, what kinds of clients CCI serves, how long the waiting list is, and, most importantly, the application process and just exactly what CCI looks for in potential candidates.

It’s that latter part I most want people to hear, because, while they’re really not secret, there are insights there I can tell you even many associated with CCI aren’t aware of, and they go way beyond the official description you’ll read at CCI’s site.

You really have to listen to the whole thing to get the full benefit of Ellen’s tone, inflection, and style, but let me give you just a few highlights:

• About candidates: “If they’re looking for the tasks that our dogs perform – retrieving things, picking things up that people have dropped, getting things from high places, opening and closing doors, pulling wheelchairs, turning lights on and off – those are the sorts of things that we train for. And if that’s what they’re looking for, then we’ll enter into a discussion which is actually a long application process…”

• She describes the five-step application process that culminates in a personal interview, and what CCI is looking for in a candidate: “What we’re looking for is teachability. We’re not looking for “Are you an expert dog handler?”, “Have you had a ton of experience?”, but we’re looking for somebody that says “I want this, I want to enhance my life this way, I’ll follow direction, and I’m committed to this.”"

• “At the end of the handling portion there is a personal interview, and after that personal interview, which goes into tremendous detail about the person’s lifestyle, then we have a committee that sits down and says “Can we effectively serve this person?”, “Can we give them what they are looking for?”, “Do we have the right kind of dogs?”, “Can they work within our structure?”

That last part is perhaps the most key core concept of CCI’s philosophy that I know well, but am so happy to hear somebody publicly articulate, and so well. So often people seem to have it the other way around, as if the whole process was designed to weed people out and focuses solely on the candidate end, when the reality is the organization needs to be absolutely sure that it’s the right match for the person and can truly help them as well.

Again, a tremendous interview, thanks to Ellen for doing it, and also to Marcie Davis for asking great questions and providing some excellent comments about her experiences.

My good friend CMSgt (Ret) Damian Orslene, me, and 1st Lt Ryan McGuire at the Air Force Academy Community Center gym Friday afternoon. They’re both previous Warrior Games medalists and were here for this year’s Warrior Games Air Force team selection camp. (Thanks to my friend Coach Cami Stock for taking the picture, too.)

I’ve written about Damian here before and you can also read more here: “Combat Injuries Can’t Crush Chief’s Spirit”

Ryan is a 2008 USAFA graduate, the first amputee to graduate Undergraduate Pilot Training, and is now a C-17 pilot at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. More here: “Laughlin Amputee Earns His Wings”  “Flier Lost Leg But Wins Wings”

Great seeing them again, as always, and two guys I’m very proud to call my friends.

Lotta well-known people were there including Medal of Honor recipient Sal Giunta (whose great speech to the crowd is at the end of the video below), Sergeant Major of The Army Raymond Chandler, and several Tuskegee Airmen.

Some not-so-well-known names were there, too, including wounded warrior and recent Canine Companions for Independence Southwest Region graduate Steve Blackman and his service dog Gottlieb. You can see them very clearly 24 seconds into that video when Steve shakes hands with legendary Congressman Sam Johnson, who was a POW in North Vietnam for almost 7 years and is a friend of CCI.

Here’s a couple stills from the Welcome Home A Hero Facebook page as well:

More news coverage of the event at these links:

“Welcome Home program for soldiers ends after nearly nine years”

“Volunteers welcome vets home with open arms”

“Texas-Sized Welcome Home at DFW Airport“

“Huge crowd greets troops on final R&R flight landing at D/FW Airport“

“Last Troop R&R Flight Arrives at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport“

]]> http://www.albrittain.com/veterans/final-military-flight-into-dfw-canine-companions-for-independence-was-there/feed/ 0 http://www.albrittain.com/veterans/try-canine-companions-for-independence-first/ http://www.albrittain.com/veterans/try-canine-companions-for-independence-first/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 18:14:51 +0000 Al http://www.albrittain.com/?p=12178 If you’re looking for a service dog, Try CCI First.

That’s it – the whole message. Try CCI First.

Sure, there are tons of things I can tell you. and lots I’ve already written here, but if there’s one thing I can leave you with, and you remember nothing else I say, remember that: Try CCI First. That simple.

Now, there are good reasons why CCI may not be the place for you, and it’s not for everybody (a service dog, period, is not for everybody) – it’s a lot … Read More