Service dogs for veterans train at museum in Boyertown
Fulton tucked in between Tracy Hausknecht’s legs, sitting down facing backward to “check her six” and make sure there was no danger lurking behind her.
“This is what they’re supposed to do,” Hausknecht said of the young doodle.
A moment later, as Hausknecht stood chatting, Fulton began to slip. Tempted by the sights and sounds and, most alluringly, the smells around her, she started to wander a bit.
There was a mannequin to sniff, other dogs to watch. There was a TV news cameraman to hit up for some scratches behind the ears.
They were small indiscretions, the kind typical of most dogs. But they’re things that Fulton is supposed to avoid.
Hausknecht didn’t appear too displeased. After all, as the red vest she wore said, Fulton is still just a “service dog in training.”
Fulton was one of about a half-dozen pups learning to become a service animal that recently visited the General Carl Spaatz National USAAF Museum in Boyertown. They were accompanied by volunteers and trainers from Tails of Valor, Paws of Honor, a Lehigh County-based organization that provides service animals to veterans.
The dogs that train at the 19-acre kennel in Coopersburg are learning to become psychiatric service dogs. Each eventually will be matched with a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, providing relief from the anxiety it causes.
“If they sense a vet is in an anxious situation, they will move him and touch him,” said Hausknecht, program director at Tails of Valor. “They’ll start with a paw and then lean on them. They can make the vet sit down
and even lay across them, if they need to. The dogs will even interrupt nightmares.”
In order to do that, the dogs must dedicate all their focus to their veteran. Which is why the pups in training visited the Spaatz museum.
Hausknecht said part of the training process is exposing the dogs to 100 different potential distractions. They’re exposed to each three times.
“When a person has a house pet, [the pet] might be afraid of fireworks or a
garbage truck,” she said. “Maybe they’re afraid of someone with a hood on. Our dogs have to be able to guide their vets through all of that.”
The sights, noises and people at the museum fit the bill of things the dogs have to learn to ignore.
Retired Col. Keith Seiwell, the museum’s CEO, said he was happy to provide a place for the dogs to learn, particularly given that they will eventually assist veterans.
“We want to make sure all vets, anyone with disabilities, can come here,” he said.
During their day at the museum, the dogs stood closely by their handlers as a film featuring footage from World War II played loudly nearby. They walked from exhibit to exhibit, ignoring the mannequins dressed in military garb.
The politely posed for
pictures sitting inside a military jeep.
The were hiccups here and there, stern reminders when the dogs’ attention wandered. But for the most part, the trip seemed to be a success.
Visits to public spaces like the Spaatz museum are just a part of the intensive training regimen the dogs go through before going home with a veteran.
The first step, Hausknecht said, is picking puppies to train. Tails of Valor used rescue dogs when the organization started 10 years ago, but that often created challenges.
Some of the rescues had difficult backgrounds, which made them hard to train.
Now, Haushnect said, the organization works with a handful of local breeders who provide free puppies. The dogs are “interviewed” at 6 weeks old, and if selected start training at 8 weeks old.
Haushnect said the ideal candidate is assertive but not aggressive, alert but not attention seeking.
The puppies go to school at Tails of Valor’s kennel four days a week, six hours a day. At about 8 months old they get matched with a veteran.
Hausknecht said the veterans spend time with the dogs at the kennel until one of the dogs chooses them. Each pair then trains together to build a bond and allow the veteran to learn how to become a handler.
The dogs are provided to the veterans for free, with Tails of Valor doing fundraising to cover the roughly $50,000 it takes to raise and train each dog. Hausknecht said that each year the organization pairs about a dozen dogs and veterans.
Richard Fogel, one of a number of volunteers with whom the dogs live during weekends while they’re in training, said being able to play a part in matching veterans with service dogs is incredibly rewarding.
He said he got involved with the organization at the suggestion of a friend. A veteran himself, he said he found Tails of Valor’s mission important given that about 22 veterans a day in the U.S. were committing suicide.
“The dogs give them a reason for living,” he said.
Fogel said he has been impressed with how well the dogs take to their jobs.
One of the dogs he helped raise even ended up becoming bilingual, he said proudly. The veteran who the dog was paired with was Latino, and he very quickly started responding when the veteran’s wife would speak Spanish.
Fogel is helping to raise Barney, the seventh dog he’s served as a puppy-sitter for.
“He’s too smart, he’s definitely too smart,” Fogel said. “And he’s a snuggler. He’s going to make someone a very good partner.”