Canine Companions for Independence
The old cliché states that dogs are man’s best friend.
This friendship typically relegates itself to the pet status; we walk them and feed them and, in return, they come when called and snuggle with us when we’re sick. But the services dogs provide can be much more.
So, friend? Yes. The best? Perhaps.
But also, an assistant to the disabled, a crime fighter and the last bastion against geese, for instance.
Canine Companions
There is a Labrador/golden retriever mix at Memorial Hospital of Union County that, while playing and cuddling with patients, may look like an average dog.
But what 5-year-old Dorian is actually doing is the result of months and months of training.
He is a facility dog owned by Dublin resident Teresa Keathley, a pediatric physical therapist at Memorial Hospital in Marysville. Dorian’s job is to assist Keathley by providing comfort and motivation to young patients.
“Dorian is just a super-friendly dog,” Keathley says. “He loves everybody.”
He is trained to be intuitive to people’s moods; he can be calm and gentle or excited and playful. To have fun, while recovering, the youngsters walk him and even run races with him. He’s also a companion to them while Keathley stretches their muscles.
“They’re just so interested in him that they’re not even worried about what I’m doing,” she says.
Dorian is a graduate of Canine Companions for Independence, a nonprofit that has provided assistance dogs to those with disabilities for free since 1975. Headquartered in Santa Rosa, Calif., CCI has five regional locations, one of which is in Delaware County.
After an extensive training process, during which they learn 40 specialized commands, the dogs are teamed with their future owners for a two-week training period. CCI then graduates the dogs and new owners, and the original trainers symbolically hand over the leash.
The fourth and final graduation of the year in this region is Nov. 8 at the Dublin Community Recreation Center at 2 p.m.
“It’s an opportunity for the puppy raisers to come and say their goodbyes and meet the person who will take the dog,” says Ashley Koehler, CCI development associate. “It’s also an opportunity for us to show the public what we do.”
Dorian graduated three years ago and has since lived with Keathley. They work at the hospital every day, sometimes for 10-hour shifts. She says every time he sees his work vest, Dorian gets excited.
“I needed a dog that was going to be able to do that and he does,” Keathley says. “He loves coming to work.”
But it’s not all-work-and-no-play for Dorian. On weekends, he gets to be “a normal dog,” Keathley says. He mainly enjoys games and activities at the park. Keathley will also treat Dorian to the upcoming DogFest Walk ‘n Roll, hosted by CCI.
This 2-mile walk along the Coffman Park bike trail is open to everyone. Given the Oct. 12 date, kids are encouraged to wear costumes for the trick-or-treat stops along the trail. Registration begins at 9 a.m.
But come Monday morning, Dorian will once again be back at work, doing what he loves.
“If we didn’t do it anymore, he would be bored just being a regular dog,” Keathley says.
Backup Pup
When Dublin police officer Eric Cochrun gets in a pinch while on patrol, he needs only to press a button to open the back door of his cruiser, and his four-legged partner is there for backup.
He and his 8-year-old Belgian shepherd, Bairre, have been partners for seven years. Bairre is the sole member of Dublin’s K9 unit. As Cochrun’s partner-in-crime-prevention, he performs building and area searches, evidence location, criminal apprehension and narcotic detection.
“He’s the only asset a patrol officer has to discover evidence in the field,” Cochrun says. “He can smell things a normal patrol officer can’t.”
As the K9 officer, Cochrun is the caretaker of Bairre, who is owned by the City. The duo is together 24 hours a day, whether they’re relaxing at home or working their 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. graveyard shift. Cochrun was even part of Bairre’s training, which lasted 40 hours a week for 12 weeks.
“There’s definitely a bond there,” Cochrun says of their relationship. “He’s with me more than my wife and kids.”
These days, the majority of police dogs are the Belgian shepherd, or Malinois, breed, says Cochrun. Their smaller size makes them less prone to the health issues of the larger German shepherd, and they have greater motivation, he says.
When Cochrun and Bairre aren’t on patrol, the duo often does demos at schools and other civic events like Cub Scouts meetings. This gives Bairre the chance to show his other, more social, side.
“He’s very tolerant of kids,” Cochrun says. “He’s social until he’s commanded to do otherwise.”
To schedule a demo from Cochrun and Bairre at a civic event, contact the police department at 614-410-4800, or visit www.dublinohiousa.gov for more info.
The Goose Pooch
If you’ve seen a black-and-white border collie chasing geese through the City, then you’ve seen one of the premier goose mitigation experts of Dublin hard at work.
This is Quik, a 5-year-old dog under contract with the City of Dublin for the sole purpose of ridding the City and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium of geese. He is part of the SCRAM wildlife control team, a division of the Ohio Wildlife Center that uses non-lethal methods to humanely remove animals from homes and businesses.
“Dublin residents may see us out chasing geese with Quik in the lead, showing the geese this is no longer a viable spot,” says Adam Turpen, SCRAM director and Quik’s caretaker.
Turpen and Quik work together to monitor ponds, open lawns and waterways, with Turpen giving the dog voice commands and visual cues. The two are such an effective team that Turpen says they’re not on sites longer than one minute and, after Quik is off and running, it takes less than 20 seconds until the geese are in flight.
“Once the first one goes, then they all go,” Turpen says.
After the initial visit, Quik must return to the site for a few more days until the geese get the message: “This area is inhabited by what they see as a predator,” Turpen says.
“We’ve actually seen a major decline in geese here in Dublin because of Quik,” Turpen says. “He lives to do this job.”
Quik has even taken on the role of a mentor. SCRAM has acquired another puppy, a border collie/Australian shepherd mix named Kobe, who is in training.
Turpen looks after both dogs, owned by the center. But even though Quik and Kobe live with him, Turpen does not view them as his pets.
“They are companions, but first and foremost, they are working dogs,” he says.
Eric Lagatta is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
