dogs

Filed under: Themes, Deaf Jam

Dr. Tom McDavitt, like most deaf veterinarians, has learned to auscultate with his hands.

The nervous Corgi dug its nails into the metal examination table as Dr. Thomas McDavitt held the tan-and-white dog in place. The patient began to relax as the veterinarian listened for a heartbeat. But instead of using a stethoscope, he felt the dog’s side with his cheek. It was a bit untraditional, but then again, so is Dr. McDavitt.

After contracting spinal meningitis at the age of 5, Dr. McDavitt experienced swelling from the infection that damaged his auditory nerve and left him permanently deaf. Since that tender age, he resolved to be undeterred by his disability, and later, to pursue his dream of becoming a veterinarian. In fact, whenever anyone told him he couldn’t do something because of his deafness, Dr. McDavitt always had a reply ready—”Watch me!”

The rigors of veterinary education and practice can be difficult enough, but an additional set of challenges arise for people with profound hearing loss. They face issues such as how they will communicate with their peers and clients in various settings and whether they can properly appreciate animal heart, lung, and bowel sounds.

A number of deaf veterinarians have met those challenges in their own way … Continue reading this article on avma.org

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The numbers:

• Estimates of the total number of deaf veterinarians in the U.S. range from 40 to more than 100.
• Approximately 15 American veterinary schools and colleges have graduated deaf students.
• The Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses (AMPHL.org) was founded in 2001 by three deaf veterinarians—Drs. Kimberly Dodge, Candice A. Corriher, and Danielle Rastetter—and three deaf medical students.
• The association has expanded to include other professions such as physical therapy and psychology.

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Filed under: Themes, Auties & Aspies, Books & Book Reviews, QuIrked Kids, Irked Videos, Interviews

The book Cowboy & Wills opens the day after critically-acclaimed author Monica Holloway’s adorable three year-old son Wills is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She takes him to a pet store; and from her first impulse purchase of a full aquarium, Holloway quickly graduates to hermit crabs, hamsters, African dwarf frogs, and a rabbit. But like all children, what Wills wants most is a puppy. That Christmas, eight-week old Cowboy arrives and forever changes their lives.

Where Wills is cautious, fastidious, and tender hearted, Cowboy is rambunctious, affectionate, and impulsive. Soon, the boy who could barely say hello to his kindergarten classmates is going on playdates, learning to swim, and sleeping in his own bed. Through it all, Cowboy is there, dragging him toward other children and giving him the confidence to face his fears—with her by his side. But love is not enough to save the beautiful Cowboy from her fate, and the cruel world of puppy mills quickly catches up to them. When Cowboy is diagnosed with lupus, Wills and his family realize that they must be there for her, just as she was there for them.

Monica Holloway sat down with Simon Spotlight Entertainment (a division of Simon & Schuster) for a discussion of her life’s path as a mother and memoirist, and the unexpected trajectory this path has taken through her life. Here are the highlights:

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Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries, Campaign Watch

Virtual Helping Hands (VHH) is a coalition of four groups, united in their mission “to bring people who have disabilities into Second Life so everyone can enjoy what Second Life offers—entertainment, education, and employment. Everyone can explore and enjoy the same virtual worlds of the Immersive Internet”….with just a teensy weensy li’l bit of code tweaking.

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Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries

Chung-Pin Lin, who lost his sight to retinal cancer at age two, is winemaker at Waipara’s Mountford Estate, and a vineyard consultant in Australia, Europe and the United States.

He said the blindness had not affected his winemaking skills, although the perception he had heightened senses was incorrect.

“I certainly do use the other four senses more because when you lose one you do tend to compensate a bit more, but to say I’m better because of the sight loss, that’s actually not true,” he said.

“You still have to be born with the talent for tasting and have the understanding of the wine industry. It’s more the fact that I’m good at what I do.”

However, talent did not always result in tolerance from others.

Lin said he told classmates while studying at Lincoln University in 1995 that his goal was to make the best pinot noir in New Zealand.

“Quite a lot of my classmates laughed. It was not a very good response.”

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Filed under: Themes, Deaf Jam, Irked Videos

Ray Dobson and the dog he now calls Goblin both had a problem.

The little mixed-breed who was rescued from the streets of Puerto Rico needed a home. Dobson, of Orleans, Mass., was losing his hearing.

“My wife saw me kind of dropping out,” he says. “As people get deafer they get more anti-social.”

Both problems were solved when man and dog were brought together Click to continue »

Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries

Quoting The Chronicle-Herald:

When Helen McFadyen got her first Seeing Eye dog a few years ago, she realized quickly there was a need in Halifax for places to exercise the animals. Her five-year-old black Lab, Opal, is extremely well trained and disciplined, but like other dogs she needs a chance to run free, play and sniff around a bit. ”That’s a huge thing, that part of a dog’s life,” Ms. McFadyen, 53, said Monday. “They need the downtime because working dogs, especially guide dogs, have a pretty stressful job. ”They have to do stuff that’s opposed to their natural instinct.” So as the chairwoman of Halifax’s advisory committee for people with disabilities, she started to push three years ago for an enclosed place where people could take their working dogs without worrying about them running away or getting into trouble. ”I thought, wouldn’t it be great if there was a place where I could go and my guide dog could run freely,” she said. Now there is . . . Ms. McFadyen, a divinity student at the Atlantic School of Theology, lives in residence. ”If I were to let Opal off leash, she’d probably decide she wants to go swimming in the Northwest Arm,” she said. “And I don’t think I want her smelling like that.” She said the park cost about $25,000 to build and caused some envy among other dog owners in the city who have been lobbying for off-leash areas. She said she has no problem sharing the space with non-working dogs, as long as they’re behaving. ”There are people who have really wacko dogs out there,” she said. “My dog’s been attacked. We’ve been jumped on by pet dogs.”

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Quoting UPI.com:

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Two U.S. researchers say dogs appear to be helpful to soldiers and former soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Craig Love, a research psychologist, and Joan Esnayra, founder of the Psychiatric Service Dog Society, discussed their work Thursday during a conference on military health research in Kansas City, The Kansas City Star reported. They are about to begin a $300,000 study, funded by the Defense Department, at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington. Love and Esnayra surveyed 39 people with PTSD who were given service dogs and found 82 percent reported a reduction in symptoms. There are now about 10,000 psychiatric service dogs in the United States. What they do depends partly on the symptoms experienced by the people with whom they are paired. In the case of people with PTSD, the dogs can be trained to nudge them when they show signs of panic attacks. They can also help calm PTSD patients down by reacting calmly or not reacting at all to something the person perceives as a threat.

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Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries, Campaign Watch

The Globe and Mail:

Opal is trained to work with the unflappable calm you expect from a Seeing Eye dog. Conditioned to ignore distractions, the black lab is usually the epitome of propriety as she guides Helen McFadyen around Halifax.

But while extensive training has taught Opal to suppress her instincts, she still has all the energy of a five-year-old dog and Ms. McFadyen says she’ll run “like a freight train” when given the chance.

“There’s the assumption that these dogs are regimented little machines,” Ms. McFadyen said. “But they’re still dogs. They need downtime. They need play.”

Until this summer, though, when Halifax opened what is believed to be the country’s first dog run specifically designed for service animals, letting Opal play the way she wanted was too big a risk for Ms. McFadyen. She worried about letting her trusted companion out of reach, and the only way to allow Opal to get real exercise, she said, was to stand in an open space with a long leash and let the dog do laps around her.

“She would run in circles,” Ms. McFadyen said. “It gives an opportunity to run very hard but not what you’d call free running.”

Now, thanks to her lobbying efforts, the dog can run free. The downtown spot set aside for service animals is not big, and it is bounded by several major roads. But it is fenced and double-gated, secure enough that Ms. McFadyen is comfortable letting Opal off leash to work out her excess energy.

Ms. McFadyen, a master of divinity student at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, is chair of the municipal government’s advisory committee on persons with disabilities, which comprises councillors and members of the public.

Blair Blakeney, capital projects parks co-ordinator for the Halifax Regional Municipality, said the city already owned the land when the request came in from the advisory committee, making it a relatively easy idea to pursue.

“This is not a dog park; it’s an area we set aside especially for people with service dogs,” he said. “They deserve something unique.”

The idea is unique not only in the region but apparently in the country as well.

John Rafferty, CEO of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, said that he is not aware of a similar project elsewhere in Canada.

“I think it’s a great step,” he said. “It’s certainly a fantastic commitment by the city of Halifax.”

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Read the rest of Oliver Moore’s great article >>

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Read all about Opal-the-dog

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Filed under: Regular Contributors, David Roche, Art Gallery

Original text by David Roche after the jump…

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Filed under: Themes, Blind Visionaries, Campaign Watch, Irked Videos

Interesting developments (and a bonus comic)…after the jump!

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