Recently in assistance dogs Category

Here's yet another great way dogs are being used in remarkable ways.

The Dallas Morning News reports on a program called Courthouse Dogs in which dogs are used to calm the nerves of abused youngsters facing the prospect of testifying in court:

"Sometimes, these children will say things to the dog that they're too embarrassed to say to a person," Courthouse Dogs founder Ellen O'Neill-Stephens said. "We had a girl who had been severely abused and she could never talk about it. But she petted (service dog) Jeeter for over 90 minutes straight and she was able to tell what happened."

Stephens said the courthouse dogs, usually golden or Labrador retrievers, or mixes of the two, go through an intensive training regimen. And even then, only about 30 percent of the dogs that start out actually make it, she said.

The group's web site includes a link to a case study from the ABA Animal Law Newsletter.

HT: Dogster 

Y'all know how much I like border collies.

So I couldn't resist posting about this story out of the UK on best friends Bonnie and Clyde, a pair of border collies who have a special relationship:

Best friends Bonnie and Clyde were brought to the animal shelter in Norfolk after they were found wandering the streets in a rain storm.

When the pair are together, Clyde, 5, seems as capable as a fully sighted dog -- but he won't move unless Bonnie, 2, is close.

That's because Clyde is blind.

Bonnie guides him on walks or tward food and lets him rest on her when he becomes disoriented.

Cherie Cootes, who runs the Meadown Green Dog Rescue Centre in Loddon, Norfolk, said: "He totally relies on her the whole time. When she walks she tends to stop and make sure he's there -- she does look out for him."

A spokeswoman for Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, Vicky Bell, said she'd never heard of a dog voluntarily acting as a guide for another dog.

"There's absolutely no option of homing them separately," she said. They have to go as a pair. This is a very unusual case, it's such a lovely story." 

Bonnie and Clyde with handler Riana Blanchard 

Call them the Puppy Professors.

This Saturday, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, the dogs from PAWS to Read will be at the main Redondo Beach Library for a new Animal Assisted therapy children's literacy program.

Children can practice their reading skills by reading to one of the dogs in 15-minute sessions. "Dogs in the program help children overcome their fears by providing an attentive, uncritical, non-intimidating ear," said Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, L.A. chapter. "The kids are then free to proceed at their own pace, leaving with a positive reading association."

The program, which is free and open to all readers, will be offered at the RB Library on the fourth Saturday of each month (Sept. 27, Oct. 25, Nov. 22, and Dec. 27). The library is at 303 N. Pacific Coast Highway. For information, call 310-318-0675, Ext. 6.

 LA.  for children

  There's a great video today on the CNN web site about a dog named Buddy who saved his owner's life by calling 911.

Joe, the dog's owner, suffers potentially fatal seizures stemming from a 10-year-old military injury. About a year and a half ago, Joe acquired Buddy, a young German shepherd, and trained him to bring the telephone to him in an emergency. He also trained him to bite down on the phone to automatically connect to the pre-programmed emergency number.

You can hear an actual tape of the 911 call on the video. The operator answers and asks "What is your emergency?" Buddy replies: WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!

After a night in the hospital, Joe is now back home with his best friend in Scottsdale, Ariz.

"He's always there," Joe said of Buddy. "I just hope I can be as good to him as he's been to me."