I felt worried about being alone in case I were to have another stroke. I also felt concerned about being out on a walk, and, god forbid, something were to happen, at least a dog would attract attention. I thought that somebody would stop to help a person with a dog potentially faster than they would stop to help just a person. We had fostered a couple of dogs (Meg and Dugger) so that I could understand the physical and cognitive demands of having a dog. I could do it, but it needed to be the 'right dog'.
How to find the right rescue dog?I was lucky to work with a couple of rescues that were willing to understand what my needs were and help me find a dog that could match my abilities. I needed a dog that was good on a leash and did not pull, one that was small enough that they couldn't knock me down but big enough that I could notice it as to not trip. I explained my health situation and what some of my disabilities were and they kept an eye out for a matching pup. So into our world came Ginger, now and furever known as Stevie Nicks. We adopted her just 7 months after my stroke.
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Stevie's Service Dog Training
Our Training Team
Faithfully K9 empowers people with PTSD, mobility, and hearing challenges by guiding them to train their own service dogs—transforming lives through partnership and independence.
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What Made Me Believe Our Rescue Dog Could Become a Service Dog?
 Group naps are our favorite.
From the get-go, Stevie seemed to know that I was the most vulnerable member of the pack. She intuitively kept an eye on me, and a few times she blew my mind. I remember standing on the bed (no judgment, please) to dust the fan, and she went to alert Rob—who absolutely judged me. Another time, as I was walking down the stairs, I lost awareness of my hand, and it wrenched my frozen shoulder. I cried out and flopped on the top step, overwhelmed by the pain. When I gathered myself, Stevie was right there, refusing to move. Only when I stood did she walk beside me, step by careful step, all the way down.
On another day, after a long wait in a checkout line, she grew restless as we reached the front. I knelt to pet her, and when I stood again, the grounding helped me realize that I was the one who was off-balance and overstimulated. I think she knew I’d had enough—we both had. both ready to go. Her instincts, her timing, her quiet protection have made her an extraordinary partner in my healing. It was those moments that led me to begin researching how to train her as a service dog—an unexpected path, and not an easy one, but one that felt exactly right. I was fortunate to find Faithfully K9. Ironically, they were based in Colorado—that's where I was when I had my stroke. We were headed to Denver in December 2021 for Maya's graduation, and I arranged to meet with Cathy, the Director, to assess whether my needs and Stevie's temperament would be a good fit for their program. We were accepted into the program and arranged to start virtual sessions in the new year until we could return to Colorado. You might wonder why an organization based in Colorado made sense to me, but you have to understand that before my stroke, we were looking to buy a place in Colorado, and our plan was to be there part-time. It's where our daughter lives, so a big chunk of my heart is there, and I knew we'd be visiting often. Plus, when you find the right people who understand and want to work with you, you know it's worth it. Helping someone with a disability train their dog is no easy task. It requires patience, repetition, problem-solving, and generosity of spirit. Empathy is needed to put yourself in the person's place to see where they're struggling and how to best help them succeed. Our trainer, Anne, is terrific. |
In the new year, I met with Anne weekly. We had already been in obedience training at PCTOC and continued supplementing with them. That spring, we returned to Colorado for five months and trained weekly in person. Back in NY, we continued working with Anne, doing our at-home training, and keeping Stevie busy at PCTOC with Nose work classes. Being a rescue dog, a few behaviors proved more difficult than others to mitigate - Stevie's still not a fan of high-energy dogs, and we are still actively working on it. Still, she's been able to keep it together when it matters most, especially when working during outings with me.
On June 26, 2023, Stevie passed her Canine Good Citizen and AKC Community Canine tests. We've trained her for over 170 hours on general obedience, many skills, some tricks, and, most importantly, the tasks to support my disabilities. Stevie is trained for one of the most impactful tasks: supporting me in taking my meds. I described it well in the video. Stevie learned this sequence by working with me and being coached virtually by Anne. |
