This is an essay that Andy wrote in 1988 when he was taking Comp I at the Community College. I think it is interesting insight into how he felt. Some of his essays were quite humorous, although this one is one of his more serious ones.
K-9 Companions
Clarence Andrew W.
O and W Comp
Have you ever dropped anything and had a hard time picking it up? I have. Of course, that may have to do with the fact that I am in a wheelchair, but I can remember it happening even when I was up. Everybody has a hard time reaching the floor now and then.
About 2 years ago I heard about a program that trained dogs to help the handicapped. In case you wonder, it is not always easy being confined to a wheelchair.
The companion dogs are trained to help their owners open doors, turn on lights, carry things, and pull them if needed. There are many things that you can teach a dog, but they should be taught whatever you really need them to do. In my case, I can do most things myself, but it is nice to have a dog trained to help me.
There are dogs trained to assist the blind, the deaf, and the wheelchair bound. Seeing as I am in a wheelchair, I was interested in the dogs that work with wheelchairs. They had a lot of dogs to choose from. They have Poodles, Golden Retrievers, and Labradors to name a few.
After I figured out what breed of dog I wanted, then they told me what it would cost. It really sounds good to be able to write away for a trained dog, but there are a few catches to a venture like that. Sure, you can do that, but they also want you to visit their establishment. Not only do you have to pick up your dog, but you have to spend 2 weeks there. According to them, it takes a couple of weeks for the new owner to learn what the dog already knows, such as what commands to give for the dog to do what ever you want him to do. To me, that seemed like a lot of unnecessary rig-a-marole to go through. When they started talking five thousand dollars, give or take, which turned me against them real fast. Sure, I liked the idea of having one of their dogs, but there was no way I was going to spend that kind of money on a dog.
About that time, I started looking for someone here in Oklahoma to train a dog for me. That turned out to be quite a job in itself. There are a lot of guard training kennels here, but I did not want my dog trained to bite people. After a lot of phone calls I finally found a trainer here in the state who said that he would try. I had already bought a Golden retriever-Labrador mix about 9 months earlier that I knew would be good for what I wanted. It took two different trips to the trainer's to get the results I wanted, but now at least my dog will do the things that I require.
My dog's name is Sheba, and she weighs about eighty pounds. She picks things that I may have dropped, or things that are on the ground, and brings them to me. Unlike the dogs trained in California my dog is not super trained with a lot of commands that I, myself, do not understand. She knows what she is supposed to do and she really likes to work with me.
Sheba was waiting on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge for Andy when he passed away. She had developed paralysis in her hind legs about 4 years prior that progressed to where her organs were failing. We made the decision to have her put to sleep when one night she dragged herself through the house to get to Andy's bedside. We both cried buckets of tears as they gave her the shot, and we were both with her when she died.
The people who trained Sheba are still in the training business, and this is a link to their site: American Dog Obedience Center. Sheba was the very first handicapped assist dog that they ever trained!
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