Nassim: My new service dog is still learning, so call him 'Mr. T'
Some of you may have been reading through your Tuesday Herald-Times at some point over the past almost two months and wondered what happened to my column. Well, nothing happened to it, but something did happen to me.
You may recall that my former service dog, Lucy, retired after 11 years of partnership with me in September. Later that month, I welcomed her successor, Thomas. Thomas is a 2-year-old yellow Labrador retriever. He will assist with challenges relating to cerebral palsy and an autism spectrum disorder including picking up and retrieving items, providing assistance with balance and stability on stairs and uneven surfaces, and assistance with social interaction and social skills.
Thomas was trained through the Indiana Canine Assistant Network, located in Zionsville, Indiana. ICAN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which uses carefully screened incarcerated men and women at three Indianapolis area correctional facilities to train service dogs for children, teens and adults living with physical or developmental disabilities within a 250-mile radius of Indianapolis, according to their website.
Other area ICAN graduates include Jordy the CASA Dog. Jordy is a courthouse facility dog with Monroe County CASA who assists children in the juvenile court system due to instances of abuse or neglect. He also occasionally assists with criminal cases. Jordy graduated ICAN in December 2016.
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Getting to know and work with Thomas has been a day-by-day process over the past two months, and it is one which will continue over the next several months. For a new dog to become fully adjusted to his routine and life with his new person or family takes up to six months. The process of Thomas and I becoming a team began with a week of team training with the ICAN trainers and staff, where we began to bond with each other and I learned his cues, what motivates him, what situations he has difficulty with and how to coach him through them, etc. Every day we work on maintaining skills and behaviors and developing his confidence. He is very driven to work and loves to go, which is great for me because I never sit still long.
There is no denying that Lucy had an amazing impact on my life. However, I’m excited to develop this bond with Thomas and to work with a young dog again. When I train with him throughout the day and he picks up something or gets his leash when I ask him, I can tell he is just so happy and so proud of himself. I start telling him what a good boy he is and rubbing his ears and rewarding him with his treats and he has so much fun. I’m really excited about the next 10 to 12 years with this guy. Just so everyone knows, he and Lucy are best buddies. They nap on the same dog bed and sit beside each other watching TV when we visit.
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ICAN has asked that clients use a pretend name for the dog when we're around other people in public so that unassuming people don’t mistakenly call the dog and potentially divert his attention from the handler. So others should call him “Mr. T.” Please understand that he may not pay much attention to you, as he was not trained to recognize this name.
Additionally, the name “Thomas'' is meant to be something very serious to him, so please try not to use it around him as much as possible. ICAN also asks that 70% of the time the dog not be petted or engaged with by other people. Thirty percent of the time, the dog may be petted, if demonstrating appropriate behavior. However, given that, Thomas has just recently graduated training and bonding is still occurring; petting and visitation will be very limited at this time. Thank you for your understanding.
For more information on ICAN including how to apply for a dog, donate or volunteer visit: www.icandog.org
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Adria Nassim shares how its going with her new ICAN service dog
