i am getting alot of these from all over the country ( we are up to 37 million and counting)
Hello from Indianapolis,
I have recently seen the video and news reports on Bella and George. Congratulations on the great work you do. I understand that your service is for those living in the northeastern United States. Could you please recommend an organization in the Midwest that can help provide and/or train service dogs for mobility issues similar to the situation Bella experiences?
I have a 5 year old granddaughter who has spasticity issues in her legs and in her arms to a lesser extent similar to cerebral palsy. They have determined that it is not a form of CP but have not been able to find an actual diagnosis. She can walk on her own but with an irregular gait. Her tight, spastic muscles and balance difficulties are her only issues. A large service dog such as a Great Dane would be a great help, allowing her to walk with support and confidence and reduce her fear of falling.
Any suggestions you might have would be appreciated.
i wish some other dane breeders would join the service dog project instead of troting around in circles for a blue ribbon...- i got in trouble with that whole show crowd years ago when i went out and bought 100 blue ribbons for 15 cents each and quit the dog show business.
ah well... can't please everyone.
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i do have one response to this particular letter... 5 is really too young.....i think we have learned that anyone gettin g a dog of ours has to be capable of it's total care-- because when someone- like a parent- takes over too much , the bond between dog and child is gone... that is what is so spectacular with bella and george-- he is totally focused on her.. where is she .... and what is she doing??
that is getting to be a big factor in choosing who gets a dog.... can they take 100% care of the dog-- and will they then get out and around to keep the dog's life interesting.. can't have a dog and watch too much tv....
*****
i have to go to bellas this morning with a couple pups for the akc to film.. megan is going to join me..
richard ( of washing machine fame) sent me an email which explains this whole thing in few words...
60 years ago he heard a marketing lecture in cambridge about how a successful steak house sells the concept of a sizzling steak,
they market the sizzle... not the actual steak....
In all these years I never forgot....his was"Sell the Sizzle Not the Steak"...
The dogs are the steak(sorry) and you and what you do is the sizzle.
YOU RUN A CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION..... ALL OF THE ABOVE IS THE SIZZLE
So .. that's it, you have a beautiful story to sell....It's the Sizzle.
interesting concept-- but that is what megan and i will be doing at bella's today
....sizzling
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and kitty has chimed in on the project and we are meeting later today about more sizzle.
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we did get ?8 pallets of dry food from purina yestrday-- and thanks to the roller thing mark gave us, ryan,devlin , and grace were able to get it in the storage unit before i had a heart attack about the rain that was forecasted...
it was a case of lucile ball at the candy factory---i was shocked to find ryan and devlin never heard of her-- or the episode
where lucy is supposed to wrap and pack candies in a box as they come along a conveyer belt.. which is fine for a few minutes.. but the supervisor comes and says they should work faster so the candies start coming faster --- she ends up stuffing her shirt, hat and mouth with the extras... a very funny skit.
why that should remind me of the medical insurance companies who arrived at my husbands office , i happened to be covering the desk for the receptionist who was sick... and while one insurance agent talked to tom, another really got on my case abotu how many patients to book-- they wanted 2 every 15 minutes--
now i go to lahey clinic....and ... so help me... i was allowed only one ailment per visit... to check a strange looking mole/freckle, meant i would have to book another appointment and come back.... and the nurse was most unfriendly about it...
i had a feeling they are paid for only
and i was sent a piece of paper-- survey---all about the visit....was i happy with the service... was i seen on schedule???
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bailey report.
i think she feels better -- and is eating one piece of hamburger or grilled chicken at a time... but that is progress... and she is producing less goop out the abcess... she looks better... slightly... and she si now drinking some of the puppy gruel
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i have a new law to lay down..... all staff and volunteers wishing to store somethingi n the freezer may use the freezer in th et tent... not the one in the kitchen... i can't find anything when it is stuffed with english muffins etc...
