John R. Johnson, Ph.D. & Chloe
Chloe
is a certified assistance/service dog trained to assist someone with a
disability (that would be me). She is identified as a certified service dog by
the pack she wears and the identification I carry. This means not only is she
better looking and smarter than I am but she gets to travel and go places. Sometimes
I get invited too. It also means she is legally able to go travel with
me wherever I go. This includes all public buildings, transportation,
restaurants and, of course, work. So, if you see a Golden Retriever with a
backpack on campus or in a building, chances are its Chloe. Say hi and she'll
be your friend forever. Chloe has traveled from the east coast to the west
coast and has spent quite a bit of time in Washington, DC (not her favorite
place, nor mine). When she travels by plane she comes on board and typically we
sit in bulkhead seating to get the space she needs...and Noooo, we do not have
to purchase a ticket for her.
Chloe
helps me in a number of ways.
She
carries items I cannot carry in her pack. She can carry about 30% of her body
weight which is about 20 lbs.
She
can pick up anything off the ground including car keys, my cane, and other
gross stuff that smells good to her. This is important because I cannot lean
over and pick something up without either a cane or something to hold onto.
She
gives me a second balance point walking up and down stairs, inclines, and
difficult terrain. She can also pull me up hills.
She
can open doors with automatic buttons and doors with a rope or towel attached
which has come in very handy for the refrigerator because she loves to fetch. I
usually have to give the carbonated stuff some time to settle down since it
usually goes through a number of acrobatics before I get it. There have been
some occasions where I forgot and found her helping herself.
Finally,
she is my social coordinator...she has much better social skills and appears to
have more interest in social activities than I do. She can definitely work a
crowd.
All
of the training Chloe received was by the National Education for Assistive Dog Services
(NEADS) located in Princeton, Massachusetts. This is an outstanding
nonprofit charitable organization. If you are looking for a great place to make
a charitable contribution, please consider NEADS and consider doing it in
Chloe's name. For more information about NEADS go check out their web page or call
their national office at (978) 422-9064.
You
may also want to consider donations to the following organizations who train
animals to serve people with disabilities in San Diego and California. I
consider these organizations to be reputable and provide outstanding service to
people with disabilities.