A Long Awaited Update

Well hello!

I do apologize for the significant lack of posts. Marley started off his training, and then winter happened and it became a bit difficult. Significant snow several times per week, plus below freezing temperatures meant no one wanted to venture outside, let alone this super skinny, wheelchair girl. But those of you who live in the northeast know exactly what I am talking about. Well, the weather has finally started to become a bit milder, and so winter hibernation is over, and training has resumed.

This past week, Marley and I took two outings together. Our first, was to several local shops for a few hours. Getting Marley ready in his boots and harness took a few minutes longer, since we were both a little out of rhythm. My mom came and picked us up, and we drove to the Lowes up the street to pick up a specialty screw. Not only was this knocking off an easy item on my list, it provided the perfect setting for us to get used to each other again. The aisles are wide, and fortunately, the store was pretty much empty. Perfect for getting the kinks out again before going to smaller stores.

I was unsure of how Marley would do, since we had not been out at all for almost two months (we had several outings that I did not blog about, sorry guys, I am going to try to do better). But Marley was more than ready to start working. Marley loves pulling my wheelchair. He can really get on a roll and he practically runs. One of the major things we need to work on is him going a bit slower so we don't leave our friends behind. We were just getting the hang of that before winter happened. Anyway, turning was a bit rough, as it usually is at the start of our sessions. Part of it is my fault because I always forget what I'm supposed to do, poor Marley never has a chance. Regardless, although it was not perfect, we managed, I got what we needed, and we headed off to our next stop, a brand new pet store that had just opened a few days prior.

Now, pet stores are a huge challenge. One space, dedicated to a lot of stuff intended to catch a dog's attention? Definitely hard work. Especially for someone as new to the game as Marley. So I proceeded cautiously through the store. We had some issues maneuvering, but as I said, I expected this to happen considering how long it had been. What I was more impressed with was his general lack of interest in the actual contents of the isles. He briefly sniffed at some cat food, but responded to his 'leave it' command without hesitation. I browsed through the treats, looking for something new for him for training. He ignored most of it without a second thought except for the self serve bins, which he did sniff, but did not get into any trouble (my mom even commented, 'I wonder how many dogs steal treats out of here'). Ok, so he is a little rough, but overall, he did well. I purchased some new cheesy treats for him, and off we went to the next store.

We walked next door to the Kmart. I made my mom walk in front of us so he could get used to walking at a normal pace. My mom and I wandered a bit through the beauty section, and settled on some sale bins. I placed Marley in a down stay, and searched for anything worthwhile. (I discovered stick on nail polish, and I love it, I am never painting my nails again.) At this point, I could tell Marley was getting tired. Not so much physically, but the mental work of the day was enough. He whined at me a bit, and was a bit antsy, so I knew he had reached his limit for the day. Home we went.

After a day of rest, I took Marley out again with my mom and my brother's girlfriend to the movies. We stopped at the food court first, which is my favorite place at the moment for training in a restaurant type setting without the confines of one. It allows me to put distance between us and other diners to get him used to being at a table, and to easily remove him if anything becomes too much, or he slips up. It is also a great place to teach him how to tuck himself out of the way and under a table, since there is more room to maneuver. Very important for training a 150 pound dog!We got our food and picked a table. Marley, the wonderful dog that he is, immediately knew to get under the table. He had his butt sticking out a bit, but considering this was one of the things he is really going to have to work on due to his massive size, I was happy. To his credit, as we sat, he continued to shimmy himself under the chairs and got his full body under the table! I was a very proud momma.

Once we were finished and ready to head to the theater, I gave Marley the command to get up, and he shimmied himself out from under the table and through the chair legs without knocking it over. Impressive. Our last outing may not have ended so well for the chair! Anyway, off we went, got our seats, and settled Marley down. I was sitting in the companion seat next to the wheelchair space, and I left my chair there, and had Marley get down next to my seat and stay there. Our theater recently renovated, and so we now have those awesome red leather recliners and assigned seating, and the handicapped row had plenty of room for Marley. We were seeing Cinderella, which I figured would be perfect. It is relatively short, not any loud action scenes or sudden loud noises expected.

The movie began, and all was going fairy well. I was prepared for the worst. I had no idea how Marley would react to so much noise and what not. My biggest fear was him barking, and me having to leave the theater. Marley does not bark often, but when he does, boy is it loud. Fortunately, all I got from him was some soft whining. About halfway through, he got a bit antsy, and he stood up from his down stay a few times. But I got him settled with a few treats and scratches behind his ear. By the end of the movie, he had sprawled out a bit and was sound asleep. Not too bad if you ask me! We made it all the way through our first movie without having to leave. And that is all I could have asked of him. He was not disruptive (except to me, needing to reposition him, the theater was mostly empty but for a few people several rows behind), and no barking. His down stay is one the biggest things we need to work on. He is not always great at them if I am not actively keeping an eye on it. But we will work on that. He did much better on this outing than the one two days earlier, which I expected. The first day was really to help work the kinks out from two months of no practice.

Although we did struggle through quite a bit, and his endurance is a bit lacking at the moment, I called these days an overall success. Why, you may ask? Marley is very inexperienced when it comes to public access work. A few outings are not enough to perfect all behaviours. There is no poof! Service dog! No, that would be far too easy. It requires work, and patience, and time. Time that Marley has not yet had. So yes, he was not perfect pulling me, and he sniffed a few things he should not have, and he did not keep a perfect down stay, but he listened, he did not break anything, he did not bark, he did not solicit attention, he didn't misbehave in any real sort of way. True, a fully trained service dog will be able to ignore the cat food. But he is not fully trained. If the worst thing he does at this stage is sniff a few things, but listen when told to leave it, I think he is doing fairly well. It is early yet, and we have a long way to go still. He will only get better.

Welcome! Meet Marley!

Hello! Chances are, if you have stumbled upon my humble blog, you have some questions regarding service dogs. (Or you are a loyal friend willing to read my ramblings.) I am, by no means, an expert. In fact, I am just starting my journey into the world of service dogs. I figured if I wrote about this incredible journey I am about to embark on, not only will be I be able to look back on all of the fond (and perhaps not so fond) memories of the experience. Oh, and maybe help someone starting a similar journey.

My name is Emily, former EMT, current premed student, and collector of chronic illnesses. My entry into the world of chronic illness technically started at birth, but it did not really impact me until I was 19. In 2010 I began really noticing the effects of two chronic illnesses I have, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia (IST). It took me two years to be diagnosed, during which time I experienced significant disability, as well as loss of school and work days. But I trudged through as best as I could. Along the way, I would pick up diagnoses as I traveled to what seemed like a million doctors, neuropathy here, interstitial cystitis there, chronic idiopathic hives on top of that. It was all manageable until one late shift first aid call changed my life. I injured my shoulder, which I initially blew off. It was just a small thing, I told myself. EMS is strenuous, I am very small, it'll feel better tomorrow. But it didn't. Turns out I had dislocated my shoulder that day, and it lost its ability to stay in place. Not much later, I was diagnosed unofficially with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a genetic connective tissue disorder affecting collagen. It essentially weakens all the tissues in the body until they are too weak to function normally. As time wore on, my shoulder dislocated more and more each day, and it was eventually decided that I would need surgery to stabilize it. So on February 4, 2014, I walked into Robert Wood Hamilton Medical Center for outpatient surgery, only to have my life change forever.


Both of my lungs partially collapsed. It took the doctors three days to realize they had done it. I was never treated there, and after a week was sent home, only to have to return to my local hospital, both lungs still collapsed. I don't know if it was the delay in treatment, or my own crappy lung tissue (perhaps both) but my lungs refused to heal. Eventually the lungs reinflated, but they would never be the same. I could barely walk without becoming extremely short of breath, my oxygen levels would drop dangerously low with activity, and I was stuck in a wheelchair, being pushed around by friends and family because I was too broken to do it myself. Fast forward to today, and these issues still persist. For any distance, I am stuck in my wheelchair, and in between I am dragging around an oxygen tank almost too heavy to make the effort worth it. On top of that, my GI tract decided it did not want to play nice anymore, and I found myself with a central line, requiring TPN, IV nutrition, to survive. Yes, I am a mess.


I have never been one to sit down and just take what has been given to me. I call it stupidly stubborn. Others call it inspiring. But it is all I know, so I move on with my life, find away to work around the disabilities I have become so entangled in. And that is how the idea of a service dog came into play. A motorized chair was logistically a nightmare. It is heavy, requires a specialized vehicle to transport, and insurance companies often will not pay if you can still use your legs at all. The currently used method requires a second person to be with me at all times, which is just not always possible. But a dog . . . now that could change my life. So I started research. I spent hours and hours reading articles, blogs, anything I could find to help guide me on this journey. But the options were limited. The nearest training center was over three hours away and had a two year wait. Which seemed about par for every agency I found. It was all a waiting game. Years and years just didn't seem fair for someone who had already been through so much. So I figured owner training was my only option. But this of course, would be the hardest of all. I had no experience, my boyfriend, Dan, was good, but could he do it? I don't know. But I kept up my research, and eventually I stumbled upon a trainer local to me who specialized in service dog training. And luckier than that, he focuses his program on first responders and military personnel who acquired their disability through their service. His name is Sam, you can check out his site here.


With his help, the search began. And with a huge stroke of luck, we stumbled upon Marley, an 18 month old Saint Bernard who had been trained by a good friend of mine for a family who were no longer able to keep him. And after Sam evaluated him, I was able to take Marley home! And he is just the sweetest 150 pounds of dog you will ever meet. For the past two weeks since we brought him home, we have focused on getting him used to his new environment and family, with a goal to start his true service training next week. So what will Marley be trained to do? He will learn to pull my wheelchair, (he has a slight head start thanks to my friend, thanks Katie <3 ) he will balance and brace me when I do walk, carry my oxygen, and respond to any falls I am have. But most importantly, he will give me back the freedom I lost after that surgery. And that is the most priceless thing of all.