ALL ABOUT DEKKER, THE SERVICE DOG
Dekker’s Story
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My name is Dekker and I am a world class service dog.
That’s what I have been told, anyway.
Between you and me I am an ordinary British Black Lab who has had the privilege of a world class education.
Although born into a long line of dogs who grew up to be seeing eye dogs I was chosen to become a service dog which means I get to help my owner in many areas…some of which are difficult to explain to other humans.
Even when I am resting I have one eye on my owner in case she needs me.
WHAT ELSE I CAN DO
My chief assignment is CSO…Chief Safety Officer and I get to be the trainer, encouraging her to keep moving or to sit down when I see her tire.
I’m always on call to pick things up that she has dropped which happens a lot.
I love picking up my toys and putting them in my toy box. She calls it a chore but not for me. Life is all fun from my perspective.
Yes, I must stay under the table whenever people are eating but from there I have an assortment of feet on which to rest my head…depending on who comes to supper. My favorite is when a person has crossed their legs and I get to bounce my head on a swinging foot.
I am tall enough to reach light switches and open automatic doors and with my nose I nudge shut the doors she leaves open.
I am always on the lookout for trouble…like the day my owner fell while I was running after a ball so I came back to her side and barked until someone came to help her up. She can be such a clutz sometimes!
HOW I WAS TRAINED
I grew up in prison. From a place called NEADS in Massachusetts, I was matched at a very early age with my first trainer, an inmate in a program for training dogs to help people.
For almost a year and half I lived, slept and ate in the prison with Ronald* from Monday to Friday and then on the weekends I went to the home of a great family who took me on outings, to concerts and restaurants as well as on trains, in cars and to the beach.
I wish Ronald could have come with me to the beach but he had to stay home.
I don’t understand prisons. It seems to me the men there are especially gifted and motivated to teach us everything we need to know in life. It was from these people that I learned over 40 commands and grew to be the handsome fella I am today.
I graduated in November, 2017 – magna cum laude – in human terms.
*Name changed for privacy
A Bit About NEADS
Dekker is one of many service dogs trained and placed every year with people who need assistance with hearing, mobility or PTSD by NEADS, a world class training organization.
Some dogs are specially trained to work with professionals as assistance dogs who help in various settings like hospitals, schools and courts.
The amount of training for these special dogs is extensive and includes not only the efforts of the inmates in prison, and the weekend volunteers, but veterinarians, trainers, fundraisers, administration staff, housing for the programs as well as the dogs, and a facility for clients when they come for training.
In round figures this amounts to over $50,000 per dog.
As many as 50% of the dogs who begin this program never graduate because to be a successful service or assistance dog requires a very special temperament as well as intelligence and stellar health. Some very fine animals are just too ‘dog gone’ friendly to focus, or perhaps get anxious in public settings. These dogs are re-homed with people who want class A pets who just weren’t cut out to be a service dog.
All potential matches (ie. Clients) commit to raising $8000 toward the cost of this world class training program.
Helping others meet their goal is my motivation for raising money with the creation and sales of photo note cards featuring photography taken around the state of Maine and across New England.
All profits go to NEADS in support of people with a disability whose life is waiting to open up with the help of a service dog.
How You Can Help
If you would like to know more about service or assistance dogs go to www.neads.org, and be sure to check out some of the folks waiting to be matched with their dogs.
Even better—you could go to my Etsy shop and purchase some fine handmade photo note cards for yourself or as a gift.
The images are mounted in beautiful eco-friendly cardstock in a variety of colors, include fine stationery inserts, and come with a white envelope. They are hand-signed before being packaged in clear protective envelopes and shipped to your door.
Find The Perfect Card Now
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