BARKS ‘N BLUES CONCERT AUG. 25 BENEFITS LITTLE ANGELS, BRINGING BIG CHANGES TO PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM SEIZURES AND OTHER DISABILITIES

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Facility trains therapy dogs for people with epilepsy, autism, hearing impairments, physical and mental disabilities

By Henri Migala

 

August 23, 2022 (Jamul) -- Little Angels Service Dogs, an Assistance Dogs International (A.D.I.) accredited organization based in East County, is entering into a creative and exciting two-year partnership with San Diego-based Neurelis to help people suffering from epileptic seizures obtain life-changing companionship and other benefits provided by service dogs specially trained to care for people suffering from epilepsy.

To mark the unique partnership, Neurelis and Little Angels Service Dogs are proud to present the "Barks 'n Blues Music & More" fundraising concert this Thursday, August 25, at 5:00 p.m. at the Quartyard, 1301 Market St., San Diego. The concert is to promote epilepsy awareness and raise funds to pay for the costs of training the service dogs. Featured performers include five-time San Diego Music Award winner Whitney Shay, San Diego Music Award nominee Ron Houston & The Berry Pickers, and former American Idol finalist, Jessica Meuse.

 

Little Angels also trains therapy dogs to help people with physical disabilities, such as those in wheelchairs, as well as hearing impaired individuals and diabetics, as well as people with autism and those diagnosed with psychiatric conditions such as PTSD.

 

"Our partnership with Little Angels is an extension of our mission to improve the lives of people with epilepsy and empower them to effectively treat their seizures, return back to their daily lives, and reduce worry about when the next seizure will occur," said Craig Chambliss, CEO, and President of Neurelis. "We are committed to working with Little Angels to reduce fear and stigma associated with epilepsy and educate people with epilepsy and their care partners about the importance of having a seizure action plan in place."

 

“Little Angels is a big player in the epilepsy community,” said Josh Drew, Little Angels Executive Director. “Our mutual connections connected us, our visions aligned, so we’ll be working together to reduce the stigma of epilepsy.”

 

Drew shared an example of one of Little Angels’ clients, a young lady who was only 17 when she had her first epileptic episode. Those episodes started coming more frequently until she had up to 25/day. She was a college athlete but had to drop out of sports and school because she couldn’t live independently because of the risk of seizure. 

 

Little Angels connected her with one of their service dogs trained specifically for her and her condition. The dog is able to detect the onset of a seizure up to 10 minutes before it happens and hasn’t missed a single seizure. When the dog senses the onset of a seizure, it gives the young woman a heads-up that a seizure is coming, andthe dog has been trained to dial a special emergency phone to contact a family member or 911. The service dog can also retrieve her medications and bring them to her.

 

Epilepsy in the US

 

“About 3.4 million people in the US have epilepsy,” stated Chambliss. “Three million adults and about 400,000 children. 60%-70% are well controlled with diet or a single agent so they don’t have seizures. But 30-40%, up to about 1.5 million people, will have infrequent or frequent seizures, from once/year or multiple/day, and can be on up to 5 drugs.”

 

According to Chambliss, “25-30% patients get a sense a seizure is coming, but the majority of seizures come unannounced.”  Thankfully, “ dogs can sense them.” Dogs can predict the onset of a seizure up to 10 minutes before it happens.

 

“The benefit and importance for us to work with Little Angels is to improve the quality of life for people with epilepsy,” added Chambliss, “so they can live a normal lifeand not have to worry about having a seizure. Having a service dog lowers anxiety, provides the person with some independence and a better quality of life.”

 

The Dogs

 

Most of the dogs that Little Angels trains to be service dogs are bred in-house.

“We breed only the best of the best temperament and health,” said Stephanie Marlowe, the Little Angels Site Director in San Diego. “Golden Retrievers and Labs make the best dogs because they are the most dedicated, are food motivated and are people pleasers. “And the best of the best of those become our breeding dogs.” Little Angels breeds their dogs no more than four times.

 

The facility breeds English Golden Retrievers, which are white or cream and lack genetic problems common in American Golden Retrievers.

 

Trainers start working with puppies when they are four weeks old. At that age, the dogs are started to be acclimated to real life by being exposed to various sensory stimuli, sounds, surfaces, and are taught how to sit. “We’re really starting to screen the dogs at four weeks rather than really training them,” said Marlowe during East County Magazine’s visit to the Little Angels facility.

 

There is a long waiting list to get one of the Little Angels service dogs, and the next person on the list is not the next person who gets a dog. Depending on the skills of the dog, the dog is matched with the most appropriate person. Once the person is identified, the dogs are specifically trained to meet the specific needs of a certain individual. The dog is trained and matched to the person and his/her unique needs and circumstances.

 

Once the person and the dog are matched, the family gathers the scent of the person’s seizure with gauze and sends it to Little Angels so that the dog can begin to know the scent of the seizure of the person they will be matched with.

 

The dogs can be trained to bring medication and dial a phone to either a family member, 911 or whatever the phone is programed to call.

 

Because of the huge demand for their services, Little Angels opened a second location in New Hampshire. They have 100 dogs in training across the country, 55-60 are in training, 15 are onsite in San Diego and the rest are in their prison programs and foster homes.

 

Little Angels receives about 3,000 to  4,000 applications/year for their service dogs. Only a couple hundred of those move to the wait list, when they have to start helping with fundraising. It costs about $38,000 to train a service dog with the special skills needed to meet the needs of a specific client. In a good year, Little Angels can match about 25-30 dogs.

 

The demand for quality service dogs is very high, as are the costs for training these highly specialized dogs. The primary limitation to getting more dogs to the people who need them is funding.

 

The Trainers

 

Not only are the dogs “the best of the best,” but so are the trainers. The day we visited Little Angels we had the great pleasure of meeting two of Little Angels’ three full-time trainersKate and Trinity, both young ladies in their twenties. 

 

Kate started working with Little Angels’ dogs in the Prison PUPS (Puppies Uplifting Prisoner’s Spirits) Program while she was incarcerated. “It’s the most difficult program to get into because it requires you to have perfect conduct,” said Kate.

 

“I knew nothing about training dogs when I started,” shared Kate. But Kate’s dedication, commitment and professionalism distinguished her, and a year after starting the program, she is now out of prison and a full-time trainer for Little Angels.

 

“The dogs are just as therapeutic for me as for the people getting the dogs,” shared Kate. “I love coming to work. I really feel blessed to be in this environment, and excited knowing the impact the dogs will have in someone else’s life.”

 

Trinity, who is expecting her first child in a couple of months, was looking for a dog training program and stumbled upon an ad for a Kennel Tech at Little Angels. After starting to work with the dogs in the kennel, she started to learn about, and participate in, training them, and after a year, transitioned to being a full-time trainer.

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“My favorite part of my job is the dogs,” said Trinity, “and seeing the people when they’re first matched with their dog. It’s way better than you ever think.”

 

“A lot of people get really emotional when they first meet their dog,” shared Trinity. “You can see the relief in the person because they feel that finally, something understands what I need help with.” 

 

Trinity’s near future involves creating a family. Kate wants to work with PTSD and first responders, and incorporating dogs into their treatment and therapy. “The dogs know everything, and pick up on everything,” stated Kate.

 

Seizure Alert and Response:

 

According to the Little Angels website, Little Angels’ dogs are trained to alert to, and assist after, a seizure. Each case is unique depending on the types of seizures the person seeking an assistance dog experiences. Due to the wide variety of factors involved in determining how a dog can best assist the affected party, Little Angels staff will need to speak to the prospective client and his/herneurologist to gain a complete understanding of his/herseizures. This allows Little Angles to determine what is possible, how to train the dog to assist most effectively, and to set realistic expectations for the type of assistance a dog can provide.

 

Gradual Escalation Seizure Activity:

Some seizures, including many temporal lobe seizures, are characterized by a gradual escalation of seizure activity. This extended onset before the seizure begins to present visibly provides an opportunity for a dog to recognize the scent cue and alert, thereby providing advance notice of a seizure.

 

Quick Building Seizure Activity:

Frontal lobe seizures tend to strike quickly, and do not provide a dog time to alert before the handler begins to show physical symptoms. However, in cases where seizure activity builds very quickly, the dogs can still be trained to alert during the seizure. In these situations, the dog is often taught to go and find another family member when his handler has a seizure.

 

Seizure Response and Assistance:

Little Angels’ dogs are also trained to assist after a seizure. This is often referred to as “seizure response” training. These dogs are trained to locate and retrieve a phone for their handler to call for help if needed, or even to dial a specialized assistance dog phone, which allows the dog to call for help by pressing a button. This means the dog can call for help even if the affected party is unconscious. Dogs are also trained to help brace and balance their handler for stability after a seizure, retrieve medication, provide deep pressure therapy, or in certain cases recipients will ask that the dog be trained to retrieve a family member in another room.

 

“Dogs are life-changing,” said Marlowe. “They give people independence and freedom. Children or adults couldn’t be left alone. But with a dog, then can, and it’s comforting for families to know that the dogs keep their family members safe.” 

 

Celebration and Fundraiser

 

The Barks 'n Blues awareness and fundraising concert is this Thursday, August 25, at 5:00 p.m. at the Quartyard, 1301 Market St., in San Diego and will include service dog demonstrations, food and refreshments and a silent auction featuring attractions, dining, trips, sports tickets, memorabilia and a chance to meet and name a litter of future service dogs. 

 

Tickets are still available and can be purchased in advance for $25 on Eventbrite through Aug. 24, or for $30 on Aug. 25, based on availability.

 

Funds raised through this event go to support the Little Angels training programs for service dogs.

 

For more information, to buy tickets, or to find "Barks 'n Blues Music & More" on Eventbrite or Facebook, visit www.littleangelssd.org/events, or call 603-374-5156, option 4.

 

Links:

Little Angels Service Dogs

https://littleangelsservicedogs.org/ 

 

Neurelis

https://www.neurelis.com/ 

 

For information about epilepsy:

American Association for Neurological Surgeons:

https://www.aans.org/en/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Epilepsy 

 

The Epilepsy Foundation

https://www.epilepsy.com/ 

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

https://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/index.html 


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