L8 APEX
01-11-2006, 11:58 PM
I was buying a coke from a quicky mart in Mansfield at 157 and Broad. I looked at the counter and they had a clipping from a local paper. It was a 10yr old girl named Emma and her new companion a 6 month old German shepherd named Shadow. I guess I will always have a soft spot for Shepherds named Shadow, as I look upon my mantle..
Here is the article:
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/special_packages/mannews/13557186.htm
Emma Hopkins knows she’s supposed to look both ways before crossing the street.
But as an autistic child, the 10-year old Willie Brown Elementary fourth-grader just doesn’t comprehend the dangers.
“There’s no concept of the streets for her,” said Emma’s mother, Cyndee Hopkins.
Yet her mom wants to give her more independence so she can play like other children without constant supervision.
The solution: Give her a shadow.
Shadow, a 6-month-old German shepherd, is in training to become Emma’s companion and service dog. The dog, which cost approximately $1,000, will be trained to grab her clothes or block her to keep her out of the street.
The dog’s name may be a pun but it’s not a coincidence. He is the first of many service animals that Mike Pugliese plans to train at Shadows for Life, a new Mansfield-based non-profit organization.
Shadows for Life will train dogs to help people with seizures, disabilities or special needs, such as Emma’s autism.
Pugliese, who has been training dogs for 29 years, said puppies should start training as young as possible. Shadow is just starting his training and won’t be fully prepared for another year, but in the meantime the Hopkins family will foster him while Pugliese trains him.
Through training the dog will learn to override its instinct in place of commands and his duty to protect Emma, Pugliese said.
Shadow will be trained to help Emma do the little things autistic children need.
Shadow can make sure the bathroom door is shut and put enough personal space between Emma and other people.
Cyndee Hopkins brings Shadow when she drops Emma off at school and takes him to the cafeteria for lunch. She also has brought him to restaurants and he’s gone to the movie theater to get him used to being in public.
“The school has been very good about allowing the dog,” Hopkins said. “When he’s fully trained, he’ll be coming with us everywhere. Everyone has been real supportive.”
It is important that 85 percent of the dog’s training take place in public, Pugliese said.
Pugliese, who worked for Paws for a Cause when he lived in Michigan, also owns “Lucky 13” Dog Training, a company that trains pets. He runs the company out of his home and makes house calls.
Timing, repetition and consistency are the keys to dog training, whether for a family pet or a service dog.
“It’s what’s going to work for him to get him to do what you want him to do,” Pugliese said.
Shadow’s training will become more intense as he matures, including a six-month period where he’ll be kept from Emma.
While it’s hard for Pugliese to spend so much time with a dog like Shadow, then give him away to the Hopkins family, the satisfaction he gets from helping enrich someone’s life is unbeatable, he said.
“You can’t ask anything else,” Pugliese said.
Shadows for Life is asking the public for help to build a kennel facility in Mansfield to train the dogs.
Donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 926, Mansfield 76063.
Visit shadowsforlife.org for more information.
Here is the article:
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/special_packages/mannews/13557186.htm
Emma Hopkins knows she’s supposed to look both ways before crossing the street.
But as an autistic child, the 10-year old Willie Brown Elementary fourth-grader just doesn’t comprehend the dangers.
“There’s no concept of the streets for her,” said Emma’s mother, Cyndee Hopkins.
Yet her mom wants to give her more independence so she can play like other children without constant supervision.
The solution: Give her a shadow.
Shadow, a 6-month-old German shepherd, is in training to become Emma’s companion and service dog. The dog, which cost approximately $1,000, will be trained to grab her clothes or block her to keep her out of the street.
The dog’s name may be a pun but it’s not a coincidence. He is the first of many service animals that Mike Pugliese plans to train at Shadows for Life, a new Mansfield-based non-profit organization.
Shadows for Life will train dogs to help people with seizures, disabilities or special needs, such as Emma’s autism.
Pugliese, who has been training dogs for 29 years, said puppies should start training as young as possible. Shadow is just starting his training and won’t be fully prepared for another year, but in the meantime the Hopkins family will foster him while Pugliese trains him.
Through training the dog will learn to override its instinct in place of commands and his duty to protect Emma, Pugliese said.
Shadow will be trained to help Emma do the little things autistic children need.
Shadow can make sure the bathroom door is shut and put enough personal space between Emma and other people.
Cyndee Hopkins brings Shadow when she drops Emma off at school and takes him to the cafeteria for lunch. She also has brought him to restaurants and he’s gone to the movie theater to get him used to being in public.
“The school has been very good about allowing the dog,” Hopkins said. “When he’s fully trained, he’ll be coming with us everywhere. Everyone has been real supportive.”
It is important that 85 percent of the dog’s training take place in public, Pugliese said.
Pugliese, who worked for Paws for a Cause when he lived in Michigan, also owns “Lucky 13” Dog Training, a company that trains pets. He runs the company out of his home and makes house calls.
Timing, repetition and consistency are the keys to dog training, whether for a family pet or a service dog.
“It’s what’s going to work for him to get him to do what you want him to do,” Pugliese said.
Shadow’s training will become more intense as he matures, including a six-month period where he’ll be kept from Emma.
While it’s hard for Pugliese to spend so much time with a dog like Shadow, then give him away to the Hopkins family, the satisfaction he gets from helping enrich someone’s life is unbeatable, he said.
“You can’t ask anything else,” Pugliese said.
Shadows for Life is asking the public for help to build a kennel facility in Mansfield to train the dogs.
Donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 926, Mansfield 76063.
Visit shadowsforlife.org for more information.