HomeMy WebLinkAboutIthaca Journal Article - Canine Companions and DACpet, a friend and a I iteline
highly trained dog
opens new horizons
:or disabled woman
ly BETH SAULNIER
oumal Staff
Diana Pogson's dog Clarke is more than just
i woman's best friend.
The 3- year -old yellow Labrador retriever is
Pogson's "canine companion," a highly trained
animal who helps the physically disabled Itha-
can much like a seeing -eye dog would guide a
blind person.
"She's the most polite dog I've ever met,"
Pogson said as Clarke lay beside her
wheelchair in the dining room of her Crescent
Place home. "She's a very well- trained, won-
derful dog."
Pogson, who has multiple sclerosis, took
Clarke home in November after two weeks of
training on Long Island.
But she needs more lessons with Clarke
before Canine Companions for Independence
— the non - profit organization that trained the
dog —will allow Pogson to take her out of the
house unsupervised.
"Additional training would allow me to go
to the mall and go downtown and do all sorts
of things with Clarke," said Pogson, 44.
To help Pogson pay for the training, the
youth group at her church, Forest Home
Chapel, will hold a spaghetti supper benefit or
Saturday.
"We had our eye out for a service project foi
the youth to do, and we thought this would be
the perfect thing," said youth group leader
Vera Versteeg. "They get the reward of beinl
of service to someone, especially someone the.
know."
Pogson attends services at the United
Methodist chapel each Sunday. When her
trainer accompanies her, Clarke sits by Pog-
son's wheelchair as she greets church -goers
and hands out the chapel newsletter.
"She goes under the pew in front of me,"
Pogson said. "She wonders what on earth
everyone is doing when they're singing hymns."
Her trainer, Mary Eldridge, has worked
with Pogson and Clarke occasionally over the
past few weeks. Eldridge charges $25 for each
training session, which can last from one to
three hours.
Eldridge estimates the first month's inten-
sive training will cost $450. After that, she
plans to take Pogson and Clarke on several
weekly outings so Pogson can practice control-
ling the dog outside the house.
"Mostly, it's working with Diana to get her
to understand how to relate better to the dog
and be a more commanding personality," said
Eldridge, a trainer for the Ithaca Dog Training
Club and the owner of Sugar and Spice
Grooming.
• must endure long and rigorous traininCanine coin anions m
p
AFTERNOON WALK: Diana Pogson gets pulled by Clark, her Canine Companion, as neighborhood friends shad Murpny, teir, areu
Mike Albanese walk alongside. The two boys frequently take walks with Pogson and help to exercise Clark.
Pogson, who has had multiple sclerosis for
19 years, is unable to work. While she was once
well-known locally for her handmade dolls, it's
now a struggle for her to remove a dog treat
from the zipped pouch she wears around her
waist.
But some of the strength and dexterity Pog-
son lost has returned in the form of her 65-
pound, amber -eyed companion.
The dog knows more than 60 commands,
which Pogson must practice daily. Clarke 's tal-
ents include opening the refrigerator, retriev-
ing things from the kitchen counter and pulling
Pogson's wheelchair with a special harness.
Pogson's house has a fenced -in yard, so
Clarke can go out whenever she wants. Each
afternoon, two neighborhood boys come over
to play with Clarke and take her for a walk at
nearby South Hill School.
"She's a lot like me. She tends to be sort of
B10FILE
Name: Diana Pogson
Age, 44
Address: 105 Crescent Place
Family: Husband, Greg, a substitute
teacher; two grown sons.
Canine Companion: Clarke. 3, a
female yellow Labrador retriever.
quiet," Pogson said of Clarke, who sleeps on a
foam dog bed in Pogson's first -floor bedroom.
Just as Clarke cares for her master, a por-
tion of Pogson's day is spent attending to the
dog — Clarke's grooming brush protrudes from
a pocket on the back of Pogson's wheelchair.
As Pogson sings Clarke's praises, her left
For: Diana Pogson, who has multiple
sclerosis and needs more training with
her companion dog, Clarke.
When: 5 -7 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Forest Home Chapel, 222
Forest Home Drive.
Price: $5, under 5 free.
hand hangs down by the metal wheel of her
chair. Within seconds, a light blonde head
comes up to nuzzle it.
"It's a really wonderful thing for her and for
me," Pogson said of her relationship with her
new companion. "If I'm upset, Clarke comes
up and licks my tears away."
By BETH SAULNIER
Journal Staff
If Clarke were human, she'd probably have a Ph.D.
The nearly white Labrador retriever is a highly skilled
"canine companion," versed in dozens of commands.
To prepare for her job as service dog for disabled Ithacan
Diana Pogson, Clarke went through more than two years by the
non - profit Canine Companions for Independence program.
The organization, based in Santa Rosa, Calif., has placed
more than 700 dogs with disabled people around the country
since it was founded in 1975, said Canine Companions
spokesman E. Mark Hartman.
Potential canine companions are chosen from the organiza-
tion's pedigreed breeding program. At about 8 weeks of age,
they're placed with volunteer "puppy raisers," who begin their
basic training. Puppy raisers are encouraged to socialize the
dogs by spending as much time with them as possible, even tak-
ing them to work.
At 13 -16 months, the dogs are returned to one of four Canine
Companions training centers, located in Santa Rosa; Rancho
Santa Fe, Calif.; Delaware, Ohio; and Farmingdale, Long
Island.
There, they receive eight months of intensive training before
being matched with disabled people.
"They're exceptional animals in their own right," Hartman
said.
Canine companion dogs must meet exacting standards —
only 40 percent of the puppies graduate from the program, he
See TRAINING, 4A
'�A City/Regional/Continued Story
1&aining
(Continued from Page 3A)
said.
The organization trains dogs for
four different kinds of duties:
* Service dogs, like Clarke, assist
people with physical disabilities.
• Hearing dogs alert people who
are hearing- impaired to such sounds
as an alarm clock, a telephone or a
child's cry.
• Social dogs are trained as com-
panions for people with developmen-
tal disabilities, or are placed in institu-
tions to work with those with emo-
- tional problems.
• Specialty dogs help people with
multiple disabilities, such as someone
who is hearing impaired and uses a
wheelchair.
Most canine companions are gold-
en or Labrador retrievers. Border col-
lies and Pembroke Welsh corgies are
also used as hearing dogs.
Once the dogs are matched with
,their masters, the pairs undergo more
training to learn to work together. In
November, Pogson spent two weeks
in Farmingdale for "boot camp" train-
ing with Clarke.
"They work you so hard," Pogson
said.
The pairs typically have a trial peri-
od during which they are not allowed
to go out unsupervised, according to
Canine mfortnWon
Information: If you're interest-
ed in applying for a `canine
companion," volunteering as a
puppy raiser or making a
donation, call Canine Com-
panions for Independence's
northeast regional training
center.
Phone: (516) 694 -6938; the
phone line is TCD compatible.
local dog trainer Mary Eldridge.
Some pairs, like Pogson and Clarke,
require further training before the
restriction is lifted.
"She's extremely excited about the
dog," Eldridge said of Pogson. "It
means an awful, awful lot to her."
It costs more than $10,000 to train
each dog, Hartman said. But those
who receive the dogs are required
only to pay a $25 application fee and
$100 training fee; the organization
relies on donations for the rest.
There's a long list of people wait-
ing for a canine companion; Pogson
applied three years before she was
matched with Clarke.
"I was very excited," Pogson said.
"I had waited such a long time."
Education expert is critical
of Cuomo's school -tax plan
Gannett News Service
ALBANY — Gov. Mario
Cuomo's plan to allow local school
districts to raise money through a
countywide income tax is riddled with
problems, an education expert said at
a forum Wednesday.
A surcharge on existing state
income taxes would be a better
approach, suggested Albany Law
School Professor Bernard Harvith,
who is also a member of the Bethle-
hem Central Board of Education.
"It would be better just to raise
taxes at the state level," Harvith said.
But that idea was rejected by
Cuomo's top education advisor, who
pointed out that Cuomo has said
repeatedly he won't raise the state
income tax because it would hurt the
state's ability to retain jobs and attract
new ones.
Cuomo has proposed allowing
school districts to levy income taxes
on a county-wide basis in exchange for
freezing or reducing the property
MONITOR
lWo teens charged
in Lansing burglary
Two teens were charged with bur-
glary in a break -in in Lansing
Wednesday night, New York State
Police said.
Brian N. Dearden, 17, of Locke,
and a 14- year -old from Lansing,
whose name was withheld by police
because of his age, were both charged
with second degree burglary, a felony,
state police said.
The pair allegedly broke into a
house on Conlon Road and took sev-
eral items, state police said. Both
teens were caught and the stolen
items were recovered, police said.
Dearden was released to be
arraigned in the Town of Lansing
Court.
The 14- year -old will appear in
Tompkins County Family Court on
April 3.
OBITUARIES
TAXES
taxes on homeowners.
Speaking Wednesday at a forum
on public issues sponsored by Albany
Law School, Harvith said the theory is
sound, since income is a better indica-
tor of ability to pay taxes than proper-
ty, and a countywide tax could be used
to equalize the amount of money
spent on students.
But he said he saw these problems
with the idea:
• "It's not clear what would hap-
pen to renters," since they would not
directly save money on property taxes
but would have to pay the new income
tax.
• It would be difficult to phase in
since property taxes the districts now
levy in September wouldn't be collect-
ed until the following April under the
Cuomo plan. That might mean some
people would have to pay double in
the first year. "It gets tricky," he said.
Etna teenager charged
with speeding today
A 16- year -old Etna youth was
charged with speeding at about 1 a.m.
this morning in Ithaca, the Tompkins
County Sheriffs Department said.
The youth, whose name was with-
held by deputies because of his age,
was clocked going 95 mph on the 1300
block of Route 79, deputies said.
After a chase, the driver stopped
the car in the road and both he and
his passenger ran away, deputies said.
Ithaca Police Department officers
assisted deputies in searching the area
and both driver and passenger were
caught, deputies said.
The driver was charged with speed-
ing and unlicensed operation of a
vehicle. The passenger, Charles
Green, 20, of Enfield, was charged
with underage drinking, deputies said.
Both were issued appearance tickets
and released, deputies said.
F
e
A
C
F
fi
t
I
assistance to reduce dom
closing and mortgage cost
homes anywhere in the a
Persons and families i
homeownership who cur
work in Tompkins Count
aged to submit a preap
assistance. To be eligit
must meet certain incorr
one person, under $21,0
sons, under $24,000; th
under $27,000; four pej
$30,000; five persons, ur,
and six persons, under $3
For a preapplicatior
information, contact Be'
for Tompkins County at
you live within the City c
wish to purchase a homf
contact Ithaca Neighboi
ing Services at 277 -4500
tions will also be availz
offices of local banks.
BIRTHS
TOMPKINS COMMUNITY
SHIBITOV — Valer
Sullivan, 615 Lansing Rc
a daughter, Molly Emn
1993.
IACOVELLI — Larry
Salotti, 168 Troy Road,
4, 1993.
SOLVESON — Fre
Bonnie Inman, Route 90
Locke, a daughter, Brit
March 4, 1993.
STANTON — Kevin
Blackman, 6323 Count
Ovid, a son, James Hai
4, 1993.
ALLISON — Matthe
Battista, 107 Cascadill
Jackson David, March 5
GARRISON — Willia
Gould, 304 Valley Road
son, Eric Daniel, March
PIERCE — James ar
Buchanan, 83 Caroline
Brooktondale, a son, D
March 5, 1993.
TAYLOR — Ronnie
Pratt, 315 N. Fulton St.,
Michael, March 19,199
FRANCES T. WEATHERBY Funeral services will be ating. Spring buria
MCMURRAY, PA— Frances T. held at 8pm Fri, March 26 at Willow Glen Ceme
Weatherby 84 of 110 Scar- the Rhn�lP_r„•.� T_