Samuel Dohrn is a lovable ten- soon-to-be-eleven-year-old boy who has been diagnosed with epilepsy; bilateral cortical dysplasia; pathologic myopia (severe nearsightedness); congenital stationary night blindness. He can still smile and hopes to do a lot more–if funds can be raised to provide a Seizure Service Dog as his everyday companion.
Sam is the son of Roxanne Schmidt and John Dohrn, both of Clinton, IA. They hope to raise enough through donations to start the process of selecting, training, and securing a service dog from the QC CAN. The Quad Cities Canine Assistance Network raises, trains, and monitors the progress of service dogs for such needy individuals as Sam.
A fund raising “Soup Lunch” (noon to 2:00 p.m.) will be held at Spring Valley Church, 10960 Spring Valley Road, Fulton, IL, on Saturday, February 21, 2015.
- A great menu of chili, chicken noodle, and Zuppa Toscana (potato-Italian sausage) soups, dinner rolls, and desserts await all attending.
- Two canine demonstrations will be performed at 12:30 and 1:30 p.m.
Donations [for the $6000 puppy purchase and training] may be mailed to Spring Valley Church, 10960 Spring Valley Road, Fulton, IL, with ATTN: SAM on the envelope.
Once funds are secured, [a pup is selected….Training starts] for the many specific talents that will be expected of Sam’s future companion. Constant monitoring and recording of Sam’s expressions and actions–before, during, and after a seizure–will be gathered for six months. Specific training needs can be readied for training a young golden or labrador retriever.
Trainers will mimic the seizure expressions. The pup will spend his entire maturing months learning how to react to every expression that Sam has experienced. The dog will be trained to recognize specific changes in Sam’s expressions and react according to each, to assist Sam’s safety during the seizure. Training will consist of eight-to-ten hours per day of instruction and interfacing, with actual live situations that will be encountered when assigned to Sam.
QC CAN uniquely works with the Augustana College Viking Pups Service Dog Club as part of the two-year training. Students are assigned service dogs to accompany them 24/7, to experience all activities that a normal college student encounters….[This will] prepare the dog for many social environments that will be faced when the final assignment is made. These students all have proven training credentials and have passed all necessary regulations to be State certified to train such special animals. The service dogs and student trainers are under the constant supervision of QC CAN President and head trainer, Hillary Plog, herself a wheelchair bound survivor of a car accident.
The total preparatory process for Sam’s future best friend takes two years from the time a pup is chosen. During that time, the dog and Sam will spend considerable time building a friendship and creating a common bond. That will allow the service dog the ability to protect and perform up to the expectations for which he has been trained.
Tasks that Seizure Response Service Dogs can be trained to provide are:
- retrieve an emergency bag, medication, water bottle, or other necessary items needed after a seizure
- paw at, lick, bark, or perform other behaviors that will help [someone] recover quicker from [a] seizure
- press an emergency alarm or phone that calls 911 [during] a seizure
- [alert] someone [if a client is] having a seizure, by intensely pawing or barking at them
- provide peace of mind for parents of children with Epilepsy or seizure disorders, by performing all response tasks for their child
- help a child to be calm and happy during medical examinations and procedures associated with their disability[, which] are often uncomfortable or cause anxiety
- perform interrupting tasks for children that have other behavioral symptoms associated with Epilepsy, such as hyperactivity, OCD, or other emotional/behavioral disorders.
The abilities of Seizure Response Service Dogs are extreme by most dog training standards, but the needs of Sam are extreme by most human standards….Pairing of the boy [and] dog [will] allow another child to lead a life that parallels his friends’….[It will] allow Sam Dohrn the ability to grow socially, academically, and physically, with a lessened concern for his safety. [This will be due] to the Seizure Response Service Dog that the generosity of the community provided.