Domino Service Dogs

My name is Caitlin. I am 10 years old. Badger is my service dog. She goes with me where ever I go. Badger accompanies me to the grocery store, the bowling alley, school and even to my doctor appointments. In a few days I will be taking her with me to visit Lakeside Amusement Park. My favorite part of the trip will be when Badger and I get to ride the train together. I am so excited about this trip because I love to ride the rides.

Badger is what you would call a brace and balance dog. She helps me walk, she pulls my wheelchair and when I fall or sit on the floor she helps me to stand up again. Sometimes when my leg is hurting really bad Badger lays on it which believe it or not helps relieve some of my pain.

Badger is also my best friend. We spend a lot of time together. Going for long walks, watching TV, reading a good book, picnics under my favorite tree and even watching the sun set. Badger was the one that taught me how to walk up a hill and she even helped me learn how to roller skate again.

It wasn’t always this way though. This story actually began when I was seven. I was very sick. I was in the hospital for a very long time. When I came home my left leg was paralyzed. I spent a lot of time in my wheelchair and I didn’t like it one bit. So I came up with a plan that I hoped would change my life. I told my mom that if I could have our dog Badger to help me I wouldn’t need my wheelchair so much. My mom said “Are you out of your mind? You don’t want to take a dog with you everywhere you go!” I said that I at least wanted to try it. And so began the adventure of a lifetime.

Badger is a Great Pyrenees and her job on our farm was to protect our sheep. She had never been in our house except on really cold nights when she was allowed to sleep in the laundry room. Great Pyrenees have a lot of fluffy white hair so the first order of business was a lot of brushing and a long bath. My Mom and I spent hours getting Badger cleaned up and then the hard work began.

I began teaching Badger all the basic commands like sit, down, stand and stay. I even taught her to leave a tasty treat like a hot dog on the floor while we walked by. Have you ever heard the saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” ? It’s completely wrong! Badger learned all those commands in no time at all and she was 3 1/2 years old when I started training her.

I started taking Badger to places like Walmart and fast food restaurants. She was scared of everything including her own shadow and vents and mirrors and different floors. It took a while but eventually she was no longer terrified of mirrors, shadows and different kinds of floors. 3 months after we began this process my mom started going to school with me so that I could take Badger with me. At first it was just a few hours a day two days a week. By the middle of the school year Badger and my mom were at school with me for half of every day. Towards the end of the year they stayed at school all day every day. And finally after an entire year of hard work and dedication Badger and I went to school all by ourselves. That was the best day I had ever had at school!

Eventually my mom crossed paths with a lady named Sherry. It turned out that Sherry had trained service dogs before and was more than willing to help us out. Sherry donated many hours of her time to help me work with Badger. She allowed me to take part in her dog class every Saturday. She taught me how to groom Badger, clean her ears, brush her teeth and cut her toe nails. Sherry also helped me get involved with Guild Assistance Dog Partners or GAP dogs.

The people at GAP dogs help people with disabilities train their own service dogs. Badger and I go to service dog class every Sunday. We also attend two service dog field trips a month. They provide this incredible service free of charge. Eventually Badger and I will graduate from their program as a certified team.