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Changing the World Inspired by her encounter with Keller’s Cause, a nonprofit that helps deaf and/or blind dogs fulfil their true potential, Heddie Leger realizes that we are all up to the collective challenge – or opportunity – of moving forward to the next level in our care and training of dogs
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e all live in a world within a world. Each of us has the inherent ability to change and adapt, and we have unlimited opportu nities at our fingertips. We make thousands of minute deci sions that change our immediate environment every day. For instance, I open my eyes, raise my head, lower my feet to the floor, then con sciously move my feet to touch the floor, moving from a sitting position to a stand. I then decide what to do first. This is a simple stepbystep process before we start our day. If you think about it, that is eight deci sions before determining what to do next. I have changed my world in a few seconds before I even begin the day. Changing the world may be defined simply as changing the immedi ate environment. Consider all the little micro actions and decisions that take place in any given situation, and you will realize how you change the elements in your world on a regular basis. Now, consider adding in tentional purpose to accomplish change in some area of your life that will impact another life. It can be with any species. Many moons ago, as a young mom with two small children, I pon dered how to manage working and caring for my children. It was a bal ancing act at best. Add to that the fact that I had to be at my work location by 7 a.m. and my children didn’t need to arrive at school until 8 a.m. A dilemma faced by many working moms... What to do with the children for one hour before school and how to get them to school? At the time, before and afterschool childcare was nonexistent. I had read one article and study on the topic. Other than that, there was no help available other than grandparents – which we did not have in the imme diate vicinity. You might wonder what this has to do with dog training and behavior consulting but bear with me.
Community I looked at the resources in my immediate area and began to put to gether a plan. Three of my friends who were in a similar situation joined me in my quest and we began to create a before and afterschool pro gram concept. Public officials like the mayor, city council, school district, and a host of other professionals said it was “not needed” because “not enough women worked,” and that we were wasting our time. But we knew otherwise (I am dating myself here!). We started with our own re sources: inkind contributions, such as books, toys, and creative grit. We finally convinced the school board and school district to provide an in kind contribution of space, since this is where the children needed to be when school started, hired a managercaregiver, and the rest is history. Long story short, we became a model for other schools, communi ties, cities, and states to follow. History has a way of repeating itself. People can be ingenious when need be and no challenge is so great that it cannot be creatively overcome. So, you might still ask, what does this have to do with dog training? Let’s think about that now. We walk through the door into a client’s house, or they walk through the door of our facility. Over a dozen deci sions have already taken place between the human and the dog. I will not go into detail here, as I believe you know what I mean. We then progress to our skill set or plan of the session we hope to accomplish. Another set of decisions and interactions have taken place.
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BARKS from the Guild/May 2021
© Can Stock Photo / Everst
Pet professionals can bring about change by working together to ensure every dog s given the chance to succeed within the limits of his capabilities
We have begun to change someone’s world. The humananimal bond has been reinforced, we have communicated the details of the exercise, and the team has taken steps to accomplish the set goal. Without getting into details or semantics, as that will vary from per son to person, or dog to dog, each interaction is changing someone’s world. This is important because if we are to succeed at training or be havior change, we need to be aware of the consequences of each of our interactions. As humans, we are not always terribly selfaware. It takes conscious effort to develop that skill. How many of us really think about it? What does it even mean to be selfaware? I think our dogs have a better handle on that than most humans! This is how we learn from our dogs. They teach us to be selfaware, because of who they are and who we need to be, if we are to help them and their humans succeed.
Special Needs Dogs A perfect example of this is the rescue group, Keller’s Cause. I came across this group recently, as I was helping a blind and deaf dog find his place in the world. I have found that there are not too many resources available to help those of us who work with special needs dogs. But when I came across Keller’s Cause, I found a caring, compassionate community, led by Amanda Fuller and Rose Adler, that was changing the world for deaf and/or blind dogs. Fuller and Adler immediately responded to my request and helped me realize there was hope for my pup. Deaf and blind dogs are often euthanized before they have a chance to experience life. When a
