Photo By Staff Sgt. Kellen Stuart | A volunteer with the Southeastern Guide Dogs pose inside a UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter...... read more read more
We all know the saying, “dogs are man’s best friend.” They become a part of the family and share in every aspect of the household from holidays to birthdays and even graduations. The 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade hosted a walk through for a special group of dogs in training to become service dogs for veterans with post-traumatic stress and the visually impaired.
“Southeastern Guide Dogs transforms lives by creating and nurturing extraordinary partnerships between people and dogs,” said Kerstin Ramus from the Southeastern Guide Dogs. “Employing the latest in canine development and behavior research, the national organization trains dogs of the highest pedigree for people who are blind and for veterans.”
On June 26, puppies perched their paws on various pilot gear on Hunter Army Airfield to become familiar with equipment they may encounter as an active-duty service members or veterans service dog.
“We are giving them an opportunity to make positive association with every day, normal life situations, which is the reason why we are meeting at Hunter today—we do provide veterans with psychiatric service animals,” Ramus said. “We provide service animals to people who can’t see or have seen too much. Some of our veterans are still on active duty so the dog very well may be asked to work in this environment.”
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chris Hellums, assigned to B Company, 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, along with his son Gabriel and daughter Aliciona, both attending Islands High School, each individually care for dogs who can potentially become a service dog.
“About a year and a half ago, my daughter Aliciona expressed some interest with raising a service dog puppy,” said Hellums. “So we went through the application process, met Kerstin, was approved and got Cinnamon, who graduated today.”
Cinnamon as well as the other dogs in training go through an education path that takes them from birth to about two human years; where they socialize, learn basic obedience and house manners, as well as choose a major to go into, explained Ramus. As the dogs progress in their education, unique aptitudes and abilities become clear. Dogs pursue a major based on their personality, health, temperament, trainability and suitability for specific careers.
Majority of the dogs in training pursue a path in guide dog, service dog, facility therapy dog, or gifted canines, which hand selects dogs to serve in law enforcement, provide emotional support to veterans with disabilities, support Gold Star Families who a lost loved one who served in the military, she added.
Kyle is a black Labrador who is an ambassador for the Southeastern Guide Dogs and is now paired with Hellums as he goes through an honorable medical discharge process.
“Kyle was the first official dog I raised on my own,” said Christel-Ann Ramus, a volunteer with the Southeastern Guide Dogs. “I learned of the responsibility that comes with raising a guide dog, which means getting up in the morning 20 minutes earlier. I got to experience the challenges of everyday life plus the dog and it’s a humbling experience.”
People can raise money to name a Southeastern Guide Dog puppy in honor of a loved one.
“I will be getting my third official dog in July,” said Christel-Ann Ramus. “My best friend in high school, Allie Laungh, a nursing major at Georgia Southern University, unfortunately died in a car crash a few years back. She was an organ donor so parts of her live in others but nobody gets to call her name anymore. I started raising the money two years ago and now I raised enough, so the puppy that I will be raising will be named Laungh, her last name in honor of her. So that somebody will get to call her name as people get to live with parts of her.”
Chris Kyle’s family also raised money to name two dogs in his honor, she explained. His family has a puppy that helps them with the loss of the former Navy SEAL and author of American Sniper.
Kyle, the black lab paired with Hellums, is named in Chris Kyle’s honor.
“Kyle couldn’t be a full-time service dog because of a possible injury,” said Hellums. “So he was returned back to the area to become the ambassador dog for Southeastern Guide Dogs. Since I am medically retiring he is going to hang out with me and we’re going to continue to work with together to get through our medical issues as I transition out of the Army.”
| Date Taken: | 06.29.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 06.29.2017 14:58 |
| Story ID: | 239646 |
| Location: | HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 197 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Paws on pilot gear, by SSG Kellen Stuart, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT