Comments by Participants - Assistance Dogs of Texas

"As you well know, Tribute has been trained and is still in training, to accomplish various tasks for me. You have shown us more than we ever hoped to learn. Of course, we need to keep on-track, and keep refining MY skills so that I can help Trib be HIS best. If I have a minor fall or if I'm simply sitting on the floor, he will brace to help me up. If I have a bad fall, he'll go and find my husband, on command, and bring him to me.

"Although Triibute willl pick up and/or retrieve dropped items, he is still trying to learn that those items are to be returned to ME! Of course, he thinks that anything I have, is his too. Tribute does bring in the newspaper every morning regardless of weather. One of his latest self-taught jobs is bringing in the firewood. If I get a piece, or if my husband or our grandson are bringing in firewood, he feels he has to help! At times, he even takes it to the fireplace for me!

"... Trib has become quite a hospital/therapy visitor. He refined this asset as we visited our friend for several months. Everyone, including the doctors, became attached to Trib -- he added such a sense of calmness, even under some horrendous situations. Two weeks ago, Trib and I met our friend as they moved him from the ambulance to the emergency room. He and I stayed in the ER for more than four hours. Trib was never asked to leave the room -- which I thought was most interesting. He backed into differenct crevices depending which side of the room was needed. As things would settle down for a moment, Trib would go and nuzzle our friend's hand and kiss his arm.

"Throughout these visits, many patients have called out to us to see if Trib might spend a few minutes with them. One elderly lady was in the process of being wheeled in for x-rays, but spent five or ten minutes regaining her calmness as she stroked Trib. Trib has also spent various days in the Rehab section of the hospital and seems to be unflustered by the traffic and equipment.

"This past month, Trib started attending church with us. His next lesson plan will include learning to bow his head when the preacher says, 'Let us pray.'

"All-in-all, what has truly amazed us about Tribute is that he will give us whatever we need from him, no matter how much time it takes. ...

"We will always be indebted to Assistance Dogs of Texas for the many hours of training and dedication. You have truly given me back a large part of my lost confidence, as well as a comfort to my husband when he is not with me but I do have Tribute with me."

A boy wrote the following essay at the age of 10 for a school competition just prior to receiving his hearing alert dog. He won his competition and received a wonderful dog too.

"When I hear 'Hero,' I think of a policeman or fireman. I think they are heroes because policemen help people stay safe and firemen put out fires and save people from them. When I think of a different kind of hero, I think of service dogs.

"Service dogs are dogs that help people with disabilities. Any type of dog can be a service dog. Service dogs help people in wheelchairs by getting things for them and by helping them do things like putting clothes in the washing machine and in the dryer. Service dogs help blind people by guiding them places. They help people who are deaf by waking them up and warning them about fires and intruders.

"Service dogs also help children learn how to read. When students are learning how to read, they are pulled out of the classroom to read to a dog. They get very excited about reading to a dog. This makes reading exciting for them. Service dogs help policemen by chasing bad guys and sniffing out bad things. They also help cheer up hospital patients by letting the patients pet them.

"I think service dogs are heroes because they help people and sometimes even save them. They help make people's lives better."

"Molly (a hearing alert dog) is doing well. Her little independence streak arises now and then so we have to work it out. I have not worked with her enough on some of the things that are not daily necessities.

"Having said that, though, her retention is amazing. I was working in the upstairs bathroom about a week ago. I accidentally set off the fire alarm. Molly took off down the stairs and went to the rear patio doors. When I didn't come right away, she came back and made sure that I was coming. I followed her and we went outside and I gave her a treat and all was well. We had not practiced that in a year."

"Travis has already changed my life and my husband agrees. ...He alerts me when someone is coming to the door. When I drop something he’s right there to pick it up. If I drop his leash, TV remote etc. he gets it and gives it to me. ... If I need help getting up he is there to assist me. If I do happen to fall at home he is there to assist me in getting up and if I still can’t get up he will retrieve 'his' telephone so I can call for help. ... When I catch my left foot on something, he has kept me from falling forward many times. When Travis has his harness on he is like a walking cane and actually anticipates when I am going to fall.

"Travis greets me every morning like he hasn’t seen me in days and during the day he will come over from time to time and flop that big head down in my lap as if to say 'It's time to pet me.'

"My whole attitude is better, a lot better."