Tail Waggin Training Center: Specialising in training service dogs for children with autism (and SDs for people with other disabilities as well!)

Located in Central Maine...

http://www.tailwaggin.net

LD # 2285 (Previously LD #289) Signed by Governor Baldacci

On April 18th, 2008, Governor John Baldacci signed the bill that redefines for the State of Maine what a Service Dog is. The good news is that corrections were made on the bill before it passed the house and senate and it is a good thing. This puts Maine inline with the ADA. I am so happy to have been a part of the Task Force that rewrote the new bill after the first introduction flopped and the rep who presented it pulled it on the day of the public hearing because of the uproar. This means that writing letters to your state representatives, senators etc. do work to make desired changes in bills and laws. Take an active part in standing up for what you believe is right and just and write those letters!

At this point I do not have the link but will be adding that as soon as I find it. Thank you for all of the support and well-wishers from all over! Your comments have been appreciated!

Maine State Governor John Baldacci


LESSONS LEARNED:

To those who have service animals, make sure that you are familiar with your state's service animal laws and don't assume that they protect you. Learn and know the ADA enough that you can tell when someone is feeding you a bunch of bull. Know that not even the DOJ/ADA phone-line is a place to get the full truth on service animals. Know that not everyone who uses a service animal will support your use of a service animal. Even disabled individuals discriminate (sadly enough).

Now What Has She Done...

Rosie returns to the exam room at the Eastern Maine Emergency Veterinary Clinic after having her foot splinted and bandaged with pink bandages with purple hearts on it. She did really super for everyone there even though they took her away from me and didn't let me go with her. When they splinted her, Rosie looked back at me from the other side of the nurse's station on the exam table there and I looked at her until they made her lay down so they could put the splint on. I wish they understood that when they take her from me like that that it is not like she is just a pet dog. She is my faithful service dog who has followed me everywhere since she was 9 weeks old. We are together 24 hours a day, 7 days a week all year long. I was very proud of her, being so brave and calm and she did not need to be sedated like when she was a pup (and had broken her toe... the outside one next to this one.)


After a nice Mother's Day weekend with family, Rosie broke her toe. Monday night (5/12/08) while playing frisbee in the field near the river in Bangor, somehow my talented service dog broke her right hind toe (second one in from the outside, second digit down from the claw digit.) The only way I can figure she did it is that when the frisbee landed on the ground, she tried to do one of her sliding stops, her claws dug in and her body continued to move ahead. All we know is that she came back on only three legs, and we know she went after that thing on all four. So, my girl with be "out-of-service" for quite a while. She's already bored and so am I.

Earlier on Monday, we had taken a nice walk up Beech Hill in Rockport, Maine after having spent the night at my Mother's house in Camden. It was so beautiful out and Rosie had fun... went to a swim in the river and took her first dock dive of the summer (and maybe her last). In this above photo she does a sit stay pose for me and looks like a beautiful Lass looking out to the ocean. The broken toe was such a horrible ending to the weekend and will really put a damper on both of our summer activities. Not to mention she might have to learn how to stay home alone if I need to walk to appointments or whatever.

My New Puppy Broke!: I know I have been here before...

This whole thing with Rosie and her broken toe reminds me of my new little 10 week old puppy that I took with me on a camping trip. There was a Boy Scout camping activity and I took my baby Rowena with me. For some reason, I rather inadvertantly handed my new puppy's leash over to a boy scout to take for a walk. I was just about ready to tell the boy to watch out "Be careful! She will get underfoot as she herds moving pantlegs!" But before I could get a word out, I heard a series of puppy yipes as the boys foot came down on my new puppy's little white freckled foot. Little did anyone know that at that moment, little Rowena's first toe on her right hind foot was fractured.
The whole weekend people would not even realize it, but I knew something was wrong. My new puppy still played and leaped around, but I could see, ever so slightly, that she was favoring that foot. Everyone said I was just being a nervous new puppy mom, but the next day I took her to her vet's to get it looked at. Little Rowena had just been into the vet's only about a week earlier at her first puppy well-check up. They sedated my new puppy and x-rayed her little foot, taking her from my view. The report was that her toe was indeed broken. They took her back (again out of my sight) to splint her little foot with a huge spoon splint and the pink and purple colored bandage per my request. A couple of hundred dollars later, I am carrying my tiny little gal home. She was heavy in my arms, still sedated. That didn't last nearly long enough though. I was supposed to keep a young border collie puppy quiet and still for a month. Yeah, right.

A long day with my new puppy... and SHE'S BACK! Little Rowena wakes up!

Over the next four weeks, the splinted foot got wet, dirty, worn, and duct taped. Seasons changed and holidays soon arrived, I found it only fit to not just repair her bandage once, but yet another time only dress it up for the holidays!

Above photos: (Click on photo for a larger view) Pink and Floral on the left... Red and white with green Christmas trees topped with yellow stars on the right.

Rosie's Veterinarian told me that now Rosie only has 2 toes left to break on that foot! Wow! I wonder if Rosie gets an award after all toes have been fractured! (knock on wood that doesn't happen.)