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Kayla Pollock has type one diabetes and relies on her service dog, Dakota. Ms Pollock says she has had problems with people not accepting her great dane as a service dog. Violating the care animal laws could result in a heavy fine. Violating care animal law could cost you high fines For a life-saving hero, Dakota doesn’t always get the respect she deserves. The year-old great Dane is a service dog for Keswick resident Kayla Pollock. While most people are familiar with seeing eye dogs for the visually handicapped, few know that there are other dogs just as important for the health of their owners, Dakota being a notable example. Ms Pollock, 22, has type one diabetes, which requires her to take four to six insulin shots per day. “I often have severe low blood sugars that can be life threatening,” she said. “To make matters worse, I live alone.” Dakota comes for Dogs for Diabetics in Dakota, Neb. — hence, her name — an organization that specializes in training dogs to recognize symptoms ...

Video NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. -- The service dog to a 5-year-old girl with cerebral palsy was shot point-blank in an alley behind the house. The gunshot shattered the dog’s hind leg. Pumba was the best friend and lively motivator of Kathleen Micholas, 5, but is now forced to hobble around on three legs. The organization Animal Protectors of New Kensington came to the rescue to provide cash for veterinarian bills for a temporary cast for the dog’s shattered leg. However, an expensive operation costing thousands of dollars will likely be necessary in order to save Pumba’s leg. Animal Protectors is asking people to donations for Pumba’s operation. Police said they have no suspects in the shooting.

One day after Grace Ligon received her brand new, $24,000 custom-made wheelchair in March, it began breaking down. The 10-year-old was in school when one of the armrests fell off. A janitor reattached it with duct tape. When she got home, the foot plates came loose. And the headrest. For weeks, the manufacturer, Permobil, and the business that sold the wheelchair, Apria Healthcare, made small fixes, but the chair continued to break down. By early July the wheelchair was in such bad shape, Grace, who has cerebral palsy, could no longer use it. Her mother, Kathy Becker, called Apria and was told the company could no longer help. On July 1, Apria had sold its Burr Ridge wheelchair store to a company called Rehab Tech. The Apria representative said the broken chair was now Rehab Tech's responsibility. Becker called Rehab Tech and was told no, no, no—Apria had sold her the wheelchair, so Apria should fix it. After Becker pressed the issue, Rehab Tech picked up the wheelchair and agreed ...

ISLAMORADA, Fla. (AP) -- A dog is recovering after a Florida Keys carpenter dove in to save his pet from a shark. Greg LeNoir said he took his 14-pound rat terrier Jake for a daily swim at a marina Friday. The five-foot shark suddenly surfaced and grabbed nearly the entire dog in its mouth. LeNoir said he yelled, then balled up his fists and dove headfirst into the water. He hit the shark in the back and the creature finally let go of the dog. Man and dog made it safely back to shore. The dog suffered bite wounds but was not critically injured.

Manny was waiting up for Abby when she got home a little after 3 a.m. last Saturday from the Chatsworth train crash scene. "Where you been?" he sniffed. The two search dogs had worked together after 9-11, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the La Conchita mudslides. They were tight. Manny was hurt that Abby was on the job without him. "He sniffed her up, like he was asking: `Where were you? What were you doing without me? Tell me what happened,"' handler Ron Weckbacher said. Manny was Weckbacher's search partner for 10 years, until the dog retired at age 11 a couple of years ago. The Thousand Oaks resident got him from the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation in Ojai, which provides search dogs for fire departments and a few civilian handlers, including Weckbacher. Manny was one of the best. But trying to find victims still alive in the rubble of a disaster is strenuous, dangerous work. It's a young dog's job. "I knew at La Conchita that it was...

Naahh, this says it all.

(click to enlarge... SWEET!)

Starting around 8:44, Rosie mentions that her friend, Bobby, tells the airlines that his pet dog is his "service dog" so he can have it fly with him in the cabin. I wrote and asked her to PLEASE inform people not to follow his lead. I love Rosie, but this is such a bad example of someone misusing the system to get their pet dog on a plane. Imagine if her friend's dog, not being trained as an actual Service Dog, were to interfere with an actual Service Dog on it's flight. A bad experience with a pet dog passed off as a Service Dog could ruin it for those of us who REALLY NEED THEM and who struggled for so long for access rights. For non-disabled folks with dogs, instead of lying, please follow these guidelines (from Airfare WatchDog ): In order to bring your dog into the main cabin, the kennel must be able to fit in the area under the seat in front of you. The maximum dimensions for the kennel is 17 inches x 12 inches x 8 inches, but keep in mind that it varies, depen...

Service animal being trained to help deaf woman Candice Benavides and her new hearing dog Cookie participate in team training at Texas Hearing & Service Dogs' training center in Dripping Springs Sept. 9. After five days of training, Cookie and Candice will undergo 13 weeks of in-home training. ALICE -- Single mom Candice Marie Benavides' biggest fear has been that her 4-year-old might need her at night and she won't know it. Born deaf and unable to wear her hearing aids to bed, the 24-year-old has had her daughter, Leana, sleep with her. But now Benavides can rely on better hearing than any human ears. On Sept. 8 after a more than three-year wait, Benavides began bonding with Cookie, an 18-month-old mixed-terrier being trained as a hearing and service dog. The final day of weeklong training in Austin was cancelled because of Hurricane Ike-related problems. But Tuesday, a trainer brought Cookie to Benavides to settle into her new home. "I love her already," Ben...

ADAPT wasted no time challenging Policymakers on the housing crisis for persons with disabilities with low incomes. After setting up a tent city at HUD headquarters, ADAPT sent 100 activists to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) offices in Washington, D.C., and another hundred to a Sen. John McCain campaign office in Arlington, VA. ADAPT presented a platform for affordable, accessible housing. "The DNC was cordial, and accepted our housing platform, and invitation to visit 'DUH City,' which is HUD spelled backwards," said Barb Toomer, Utah ADAPT. HUD told us they had no authority to make decisions. We have to wait for the administrative appointees to make any decisions. Sen. John McCain's campaign staff not only refused to even look at our housing platform, they had eleven of us arrested." ADAPT's housing platform points to America's growing crisis in the availability of affordable, accessible integrated housing. Many people with disabilities liv...

Video here SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- A dog specially trained to call 911 when his owner suffers seizures grabbed the phone and whimpered for help when the dispatcher answered Wednesday morning, police said. Chris Trott, a veteran police operator, said she heard a cry from Buddy, who she later discovered was an 18-month-old German shepherd. Buddy's owner, Joe Stalnaker, was suffering one of his more severe seizures, said Sgt. Mark Clark of the Scottsdale Police Department. Ten years ago, Stalnaker said he was in a military accident that severely injured part of his brain, leaving him prone to potentially fatal seizures. He got Buddy when the dog was 8 weeks old through the help of Paws With a Cause, an assistance animal adoption service. Stalnaker said he trained the animal to recognize when he is having a seizure and respond by grabbing the phone and bringing it to him. "He doesn't actually sit there and dial 911, but whenever he picks up the phone, one of his teeth inevitably ...

Inspiring! See photos here

Miniature dachshund gnawed off owner's toe while she slept An American woman says her beloved miniature dachshund gnawed off her right big toe while she was asleep. Linda Floyd said her beloved Roscoe has since been put down because of safety concerns. The 56-year-old says she has no feeling in her toes because of nerve damage from diabetes. She discovered the toe missing after waking from a nap. A vet said that because the toe had been bandaged due to an ingrowing nail, it may have somehow attracted the dog.

Miniature dachshund gnawed off owner's toe while she slept An American woman says her beloved miniature dachshund gnawed off her right big toe while she was asleep. Linda Floyd said her beloved Roscoe has since been put down because of safety concerns. The 56-year-old says she has no feeling in her toes because of nerve damage from diabetes. She discovered the toe missing after waking from a nap. A vet said that because the toe had been bandaged due to an ingrowing nail, it may have somehow attracted the dog.

"I like the charbroiled flavor," he says, "just like anybody else." But the Pittsburg man, a quadriplegic with limited use of his arms and upper body, claims fast food giant Burger King makes it a chore to get it his way, from rolling his wheelchair through the drive-thru lane at the Pleasant Hill restaurant, to narrowly steering it between bushes and garbage bins along the entryway, to struggling with heavy doors he can't open. "I'm dead in the water," he said Wednesday as he sat outside the Burger King on Contra Costa Boulevard, flailing his arms for attention. "I'd like to go in and get something to eat, but I can't." On Wednesday, Castaneda, 45, made his complaints a federal case as the lead plaintiff in what disability lawyers hope to make a large class action claiming the fast food giant violates the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and state disability laws. The lawsuit targets 90 restaurants in California that lawye...

University of Texas at Austin alumnus, Chris Stanford (MSEE '91), and Electrical & Computer Engineering undergraduates are working on making exercise fun for wheelchair users. For the last year, Stanford has been partnering with engineering seniors to test his idea for a virtual reality treadmill for the disabled. "Not many people realize," says Stanford who has been confined to a wheelchair since 1988, "the special health risks faced by wheelchair users. Everything is more difficult, including eating right and getting enough exercise. Because of this, the incidence of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease is several times the rate of the general population." Stanford's solution, called TrekEase, approximates an arcade driving game. Users back a manual wheelchair into a frame, engage the flywheel for resistance, and start the driving software. "When Chris approached me last year about using [TrekEase] as one of our senior design projects,...

We have a weekly lawn service that comes on Tuesdays. Usually they arrive while I'm still sleeping. No, the grinding lawnmowers and weedwackers don't wake me up! But sometimes they come in the early morning when I'm waking up in front of the TV. For some reason the dogs don't bark when they come early, but the bark like maniacs when they come and I'm up. Instead of listening to the barking for the next 15 minutes while they mow, I would usually "kennel up" both dogs in our guest bathroom. Recently I started just staying on the couch and yelling "Kennel Up!". Both dogs will run to the guest bathroom AND STAY THERE until I say OK to release them. I never have to move. Sweet. Yeah, I'm a dog trainer.

GENOA TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Although they're teenagers, Tucker and Tori Price received a dose of what it's like to be a parent and to have responsibility 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The brother and sister are from Livingston County's Genoa Township, about 40 miles west-northwest of Detroit. They helped raise a working dog for Paws With a Cause, a nonprofit group that trains and supplies assistance dogs for people with disabilities. In September 2007, they received a 13-pound yellow Labrador puppy named Austin and raised and trained him into a gentle, somewhat well-behaved 80-pound dog. Tori Price, a Brighton High School sophomore, placed a dog treat on her leg with Austin lying down only inches from her. He stared at the treat but did not move an inch toward it until she said OK at which pointed he gobbled it up. ...

Darin Peets' companion dog, Robis, carries a bottle of glue to students as Peets teaches kindergarten at Del Dayo school in Sacramento, Calf. (RANDALL BENTON / MCT / September 2, 2008) SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Darin Peets' service dog, Robis, can pick up his keys for him. He can turn out the lights and he can pull Peets' wheelchair across the playground at Del Dayo Elementary School. But what can he do for the kindergartners in Peets' class at the Carmichael, Calif., school? "Can he bring me the glue?" asked 6-year-old Adam Gerdel. Following a few commands from Peets, Robis delivered a plastic bottle of white glue to the table where Adam sits. "It's a little slimy," said Peets. "But Robis did it." Peets, 47, is a new kindergarten teacher at Del Dayo Elementary school. He's also a quadriplegic. He uses lessons learned during his three decades of limited physical mobility to teach his young charges to try hard. And then ask for help. ...

Man in wheelchair robs Texas 7-Eleven of condoms A robber rolled into a Dallas convenience store came armed with a bat and a knife. He left with a lot of condoms and an energy drink. Dallas police Cpl. Kevin Janse said Friday that a man in a wheelchair entered a Dallas 7-Eleven Wednesday afternoon, rolled straight toward the cash register and beat it with a baseball bat until it opened. But he didn't grab any cash. Instead, police say he stole 10 boxes of condoms and an energy drink before making his getaway Wednesday afternoon. Janse says the suspect may have been homeless and was likely intoxicated at the time of the robbery.

Melanie Brown says she doesn't know what she'd do without Odessa, her big moose of a dog. Brown, who suffers from severe back problems, says the bouvier-chow mix helps her stand up, pulls her along, even anchors her from behind with its leash as she descends flights of stairs. "She's amazing," Brown said. "She senses how much help I need and does it." Brown insists Odessa is a service animal, which means she can bring the dog into any public building. But, she said, Cowlitz County officials kicked her out of the Hall of Justice in July, claiming Odessa doesn't really assist her with her disability. The 60-year-old Ryderwood resident said she had to abandon a lawsuit she'd filed against a homeowners' association because she and Odessa weren't allowed into the courtroom. She has since filed a claim for nearly $730,000 against the county over the incident. Brown isn't alone. Dawn Moran, 49, of Longview said she and her service dog, a cho...

Haverford High School senior Bernadette Krause maneuvers around her classroom with the help of Gusto, an assistant service dog, on the first day of school Tuesday. An assistant service dog provided through Canine Partners for Life, Gusto accompanied his owner, 18-year-old Bernadette Krause, every step of the way, demonstrating the quiet devotion and helpfulness he's trained to deliver. Gusto picked up index cards, keys, and books that Krause dropped and could not reach from her wheelchair. He walked beside her down hallways and lay peacefully at her feet during classes. "We forgot the dog was here," said biology teacher Vicki Pollard. This astute canine can, on command, open doors, operate lights and elevator buttons, make purchases at a cash register, help his owner do laundry, even dress. And while Krause can't walk independently because of cerebral palsy, Gusto provides better support than a walker, she said. A senior this year, Krause thinks the main purpose of h...

Freedom Service Dogs rescues the animals from shelters, trains them and gives them to disabled people free of charge. The organization is holding a canine love affair event Sept. 13 at Centennial Park to show off the abilities of mixed-breed dogs and raise money for the program. A Freedom Service Dog hits the handicapped door trigger to open the door for its master. Freedom Service Dogs rescues the animals from shelters, trains them and gives them to disabled people free of charge. The organization is holding a canine love affair event Sept. 13 at Centennial Park to show off the abilities of mixed-breed dogs and raise money for the program. Dogs and their owners have their day Sept. 13 when Freedom Service Dogs brings the Italian canine love affair to Englewood. “We decided to bring the event, called the Festival of the Bastardino, to the area to showcase all things Freedom Service Dogs and mixed-breed dogs can do,” said Colette Palmer, director of development. “We have a lot of e...

Uhhh, this is FREAKIN' high lar reee ious!