Kathy Ferrara & Mobility Assistance Dog Harvey Author: Sarah Schaff It takes a remarkable canine to be an assistance dog and an exceptional person to be a special education teacher, so one can only imagine what’s possible when the two forces combine! This is the story of Kathy Ferrara of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and her mobility assistance dog, Harvey, who are happily thriving in their new partnership. During a regular checkup in 2011, a doctor noticed something wrong with Kathy’s eye response. After further testing, she was officially diagnosed with ataxic cerebral palsy caused by fetal alcohol syndrome. She now …
Feature Stories
Winning Combination
John Eliason & Mobility Assistance Dog Gracie Author: Patti Miller In life, we are often able to choose to take the path of least resistance. But what if you didn’t get the choice? Imagine for a moment a path lined with obstacles, but not the fun obstacles like inflatable slides, giant swinging foam balls or mud bogs that you crawl through on your belly. No, these obstacles include Multiple Sclerosis (MS), vertigo, social anxiety, fibromyalgia, neuropathy, obsessive compulsive disorder, arthritis, and the list continues. No matter your age, medical conditions like these are emotionally debilitating and physically draining. A young …
Happiness with Daisy
Nancy Lauderman & Hearing Assistance Dog Daisy Author: Jake Grossman As a Hearing Assist Dog, Daisy is trained to help Nancy Lauderman of Minneapolis, Minn. with a variety of essential tasks. Due to nerve damage in childhood, Nancy has limited hearing and lacks a sense of smell. She was also diagnosed about ten years ago with depression and fibromyalgia and she lives with PTSD. With her daughters at home, Nancy’s symptoms were manageable. But after they grew up and moved out, Nancy gradually stopped cooking, fearing that she would burn food or miss the oven timer. She also had trouble hearing …
Bonding with Wilbur
Sara (Sally) Williams and Mobility Assistance Dog Wilbur Author: Bobb Elsenpeter Sara Williams a.k.a. Sally is no stranger to the challenges of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). But in spite of the disease, she meets life on her own terms. Sally and her husband, Jerry, live in Two Rivers, WI: Sally is a retired medical lab technician. As a retiree, Sally uses her time and energy for quilting, taking daily walks, gardening, cooking, attending church, and going out with friends. Unfortunately, MS causes significant fatigue, so Sally relies on the use of a power chair to get around at home and in …
Little PCA on Paws
Nicole Hintz and Mobility Assistance Dog Mac Author: Hanna Kantor It is the simplest things in life that we often take the most for granted. Now, when we think of these things it is the love of one’s family, the ability to drive, having a phone. However, the thing taken the most advantage of is the ability to move; the uninhibited use of our arms and legs. These things, that are so easy to overlook, are something many of us could not imagine living without. However, it is a reality in which 27-year-old Nicole Hintz of Marshall, Minn. lives every day. A …
Loyal Leo
Robert Keck and Mobility Assistance Dog Leo Author: Jake Grossman For many of us, taking on a new pursuit might mean starting a hobby, going on a trip, or trying out a different haircut. For Robert, a web designer from Hopkins, Minn., being matched with Mobility Assist Dog Leo began as a fresh opportunity at “a perfect time in life.” This new chapter has blossomed into a beautiful relationship: the two have been a fantastic team ever since Leo’s placement. Leo has boosted Robert’s confidence and given him an “extra hand” with day-to-day tasks. Robert, who was born with cerebral …
Willy the Wonder Dog
Madison Stangl and Diabetes Assistance Dog Willy Author: MarySue Krueger Diabetes Assist Dog Willy never made a peep during the entire time Madison (Maddy) Stangl was in training with him. That changed the night he moved into her apartment. Maddy was instructed by Can Do Canines staff for Willy to sleep in his crate for the first few nights at home until he became accustomed to his new home. Maddy recalls, “I woke up when I heard him crying in his crate. It was the first time I’d ever heard him make a sound.” She decided to check her blood …
Slowly but Shirley
Kimberly Hodges and Mobility Assistance Dog Shirley Author: Susan Byers It’s been nearly 20 years since Kimberly Hodges from Burnsville, Minn. was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). But thanks to her can do attitude – and two Can Do Canines – Kimberly is standing tall, literally and figuratively. “I’m blessed because I’m still vertical,” she explains. “That’s my goal – to keep walking.” Thankfully, the MS progressed slowly for the first ten years. But over time, Kimberly became marginally worse – more wobbly and at greater risk of falling. That’s when a girlfriend suggested a Mobility Assist Dog from Can …
A Friend to Lean on
Thomas Powers and Mobility Assistance Dog Dryden Author: Caty Taborda-Whitt If you glanced at Thomas (Tom) Powers’ busy schedule, you may never guess he has anything potentially slowing him down. A teacher at an elementary school for the Anoka-Hennepin School district, Tom is also an active leader in the teachers’ union, sings in a choir, and plays in a golf league. Yet over 23 years ago, Tom, of Coon Rapids, was in a car accident that caused a bone spur to his spinal cord resulting in a contusion at the C3-4 vertebrae. This left him as an incomplete quadriplegic with …
A Balancing Act
Greg Waibel and Mobility Assistance Dog Victor Author: Amy Verrando For former Marine Greg Waibel of Ramsey, Minn., the last seven years have been a blur of hospital visits. Greg suffers from peripheral artery disease, and about seven years ago, due to multiple blood clots, his right leg was amputated just above the knee. Because the clots were discovered late, Greg was very ill at the time he was rushed to the hospital. “I don’t remember being sick, I don’t remember being taken to the Emergency Room, I don’t remember the surgery.” Throughout the ordeal, Greg’s wife, Karen, and daughter, …
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