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From Shelter dog to Service Dog – Layla Opens Doors!
This is a a dog from shelter that we assigned to a veteran that has Lou Gehrig’s disease. He is wheelchair bound. We taught Layla to open and shut the back door. She gets so excited to do tasks.
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13 Replies
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OMD @bmacwatt her FACE when she shuts that door! Gawd this is lovely for all the reasons. Thanks for sharing beautiful Layla. Nice work!
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She went through several families at the shelter. She was a very excitable and out of control. She just needed a job to do. She picks up on tasks faster than any dog i have ever trained. It took maybe 2 sessions to teach retrieve. One of her owners came through the door one time with a pile of papers. They fell all over the the floor. Layla picked up each individual piece and brought it to the owner. An amazing dog
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Gah! What a tremendous success story – and such a lesson for everyone – dogs with jobs are the best.
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@bmacwatt – did you match Layla with her person or join Team Layla after her adoption?
Having a “talent scout” who looks for likely working dog canidates in a shelter can be just the ticket home that does like Layla need!
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At our organization, we have a trainer that looks for dogs in shelter that match well with Veteran. We have found that if we match the dog to the veteran, it works better than if the dog is already in home (pet dog). I’m not sure exactly why this happens but the drop out rate is less when we match dog. In Layla’s instance the Veteran came to us and wanted a service dog. The trainer picked dog for him. Initially I was alittle unsure if the dog had the right personality for service dog. Boy was I wrong. That’s why I don’t pick dog’s out. Ha Ha
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It is inspiring to hear Layla went from a Shelter dog to a Service dog. She sounds like an amazing dog who is happy to have a job.
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What an amazing story!
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Super inspiring to watch this happen! Congratulations on working to make so much progress!
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Wow I’m so moved by this! I want more Layla videos!!! When I see a dog with a job, I can literally feel their fulfillment in having a job to do. I feel it too! I actually want my dog to have more jobs. I often think that would make him happier, and me too! Maybe this is something we can learn more about how to do here in DD? ????
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This is SO SO AWESOME!!! OMG. I keep rewatching it, lol. Love it! I just adore the look that she gives in the end. ????
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What a heartwarming story — that really makes me smile!
What organization do you work with, @bmacwatt ? I volunteer with Pets for Vets, hoping to serve as a foster/trainer at some point.-
I work for a non profit called operation at Ease. We take shelter dogs and train them to be service dogs and give them to veterans
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I bet that’s very rewarding work.
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