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The Tao of Pooh Personal Stories |
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Getting to Know Kelli Sullivan In 1993
Kelli was living in Kenmore, Washington. A
care provider told her about a program at the
woman's prison in Purdy. They match
assistance dogs to disabled individuals. The
care provider gave Kelli the information and she
took it from there. Kelli decided to utilize
the aid and support of a program because she is not
able to train a dog herself. She had a German
Shepherd Dog in mind, but the people at the program
thought a German Shepherd might be too much
for Kelli to handle. For her,
independence began with a delightful assistance dog
named Mocha. Kelli waited 5 years to be partnered
with Mocha. She trained for 2 weeks with The Prison
Pet Partnership Program. Kelli Sullivan found
out about the Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound
(ADC) through one of its long time members.
She was in the park with Mocha. She was
invited to an ADC summer picnic about six years
ago. Before joining ADC she "thought she was
the only one with an assistance dog." ADC
helps Kelli by learning new things she may not have
known about. Mocha
increased Kelli's independence by retrieving
dropped items. Fred, Kelli's care assistant, said
that Kelli having a service dog makes his life much
easier. When
Mocha was 10 years old Kelli decided it was time to
begin looking for a successor dog. She knew
that one cannot work a service dog into old age or
if it develops physical problems. Someone
told her that 11 or 12 is a good time to retire a
service dog. Kelli reapplied to The Prison Pet
Partnership Program for a successor dog. About a
year later Kelli was matched with Karma.
Karma, a young Golden Retriever, was
and is very energetic. She wants to be doing
something all the time. Kelli said she had to
get Karma to be more patient and wait. Not to
be demanding to do something all the time. Since
Kelli was unable to have two dogs in her living
arrangement Mocha was placed with one of the
officers at the prison. Kelli is glad that Mocha
went to someone the program knew. Kelli's
assistance dog picks up things that she drop, Kelli
says "I drop things every day". Having a
service dog also makes Kelli feel more confident in
public. "I don't have to rely on other people
or ask people for help in public." When
asked how she handles questions from the public?
Kelli answered "Generally, I feel it is an invasion
of my privacy when people in the general public ask
me questions about my assistance dog. However
I will answer questions if they ask me intelligent
questions, not the dog's name or if they can pet
the dog." Kelli
feels that training is ongoing practice and it is
important to train regularly with her
dog. Kelli
wanted people to know that a service dog
partnership takes commitment, especially at the
beginning. The bonding doesn't happen right
away. Kelli
said that now that she has had two service dogs she
would never want to be without one. |
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Contact the Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound by e-mail for further information. |
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