COV AND SHOTS AND SDP
I KNOW EVERYONE IS ANXIOUS TO COME VISIT.... WE ARE GETTING TO THE. POINT OF------ IF YOU HAVE BOTH..OR ONE... SHOT AND ARE TWO WEEKS BEYOND THE SHOOTING.... IT IS POSSIBEL TO COME HERRE.. WITH CONDITIONS...YOU HAVE TO STAY 10 FEET FROM EACH OTHER... OR ME... AND I SEE NO REASON FOR ANYONE TO GATHER ANYWHERE BUT IN THE T TENT.... THERE IS COFFEE.. FOOD.. REFRIG.. MICROWAVE ETC LOADS OF SEATING AND TABLES... YOU CAN WANDER THE OUTSIDE OF BUILDINGS-- ALL OUR ANIMALS HAVE OUTSIDE ACCESS .. THERE IS LOADS OF POO TO PICK... AND PINE CONES TO PICK.. ACTUALLY I HAVE BEEN INVITING FAMILIES WITH SMALL CHILDREN TO GO ROUND WITH COOKIES, TO GET OUR DOGS MORE ACCUSTONED TO STRANGE CHILDREN. ( OR REGULAR CHILDREN??).
ONE THING THIS HAS TAUGHT US IS. BUNCHES OF PEOPLE HANGING IN THE KITCHEN. OR THE "FEED ROOM" IN THE BARN... IS NOT CONDUCIVE TO EFFICIENT WORKING CONDITIONS FOR STAFF... ONE VOLUNTEER TALKING TO TWO STAFF CAN BE EXPENSIVE.. AND I THINK WE HAVE STAFF ORGANIZED TO ACCOMPLISH THE VERY BASICS.. SO THERE IS PLENTY OF VOLUNTEER STUFF TO DO... YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW PINE CONES HAV E CONFUSED THE PROCESS OF POO PICKING.-- AND MY PRECIOUS PATCH OF GREEN GRASS MAY NEVER BE READY FOR PUPPIES ON THE PATCH UNDER "MY" SWING SET---- SO THEY COULD BE ON CAMERA... AND VAN PREP... STARTING WITH A FOURTH TIRE.... AND WALL HANGERS TO COVER METAL;...... STRAIGHT FENCES ARE PURELY A FIGMENT OF MY IMMAGINATION.....---- THERE IS NO END... AND FOR THE MOMETN YOU WOULD HAVE TO STAY OVERNIGHT ELSEWHERE-- WE NEED THE GUEST HOUSE AND TRAINING ROOM....FOR TRAINING .. THE ONLY INSIDE PERMISSIBLE IS .. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO RUN BETWEEN THE DOOR AND REST ROOM IN THE LAUNDRY... BUT YOU MAY NOT COLLECT THERE EITHER....GO COLLECT IN THE T TENT.. OR MAYBE TEH CHICKEN COOP !!
"STAFF " IN GENERAL HAVE PUT THOSE RESTRICTIONS ON US... AND THEY THEN MAKE ME THE "WHIP" LETTING ME BE TEH ONE TO CRACK DOWN ON ANYONE WHO THINKS " JUST FOR A FEW MINUTES". OR "SURELY THEY DON'T MEAN ME". THE REST OF TEH CAMERA PEOPLE WILL LET ME KNOW... AND I AM EXPECTED TO BE TOUGH. ? WHO ME???
---
THIS NEXT WAS WRITTEN BY CAROLINE ABOUT HER SERVICE DOG CLARK-- SOMEWHERE IN OHIO
-----
Chairperson, Honors Committee Office of the Board of Trustees University of Cincinnati
March 15, 2021
Dear Mr. or Ms. Chairperson,
I am writing to nominate my service dog, Clark, for an Honorary Degree from the University of Cincinnati. Clark’s dedication to his work, invaluable assistance to me, and his positive impact on the community embody the University’s value of service and make him most deserving of this award. Clark has been my mobility service dog throughout my entire speech pathology PhD program at UC, and we will be graduating in May 2021. Clark has attended every class, conference, training, and late study session with me, helping me navigate campus.
I have Friedreich’s ataxia, a neurological disorder that significantly affects my abilities to walk and balance. Often, a path to class or traveling for a conference would require me to walk a significant distance, climb steps, walk over uneven ground, and open heavy doors. Clark, a 170 lb. Harlequin Great Dane made this possible every day for me. His support of me allowed me to succeed in my program. For example, I took the a course on Brain, Mind, and Behavior, which included practicals in the cadaver lab. Clark was extraordinarily well-behaved in an environment that would have been quite daunting for other dogs and never had a sniff ever out of place.
Another example of Clark’s service relates to a fellowship I received as a UC student. I was successfully awarded a Ruth L. Kirschstein Pre-Doctoral National Research Service Award (NRSA) to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research from the National Institute of Health. I was the first student in the College of Allied Health Sciences to receive this prestigious award. While the award was given to me, it would not have been possible for me without Clark’s help. The training program of this grant required me to travel to several workshops and conferences. Traveling can be especially difficult for me, as new environments often present unexpected accessibility and safety challenges for me. With Clark, however, I am confident in my ability to safely travel, and we I traveled to five conferences/workshops in cities around the country in order to share my work on behalf of the University of Cincinnati.
Clark’s services were also invaluable in the classroom and the department’s speech clinic. I cotaught Speech Science to the Master’s students in my program and Clark’s presence warmed the classroom atmosphere and made students more at ease. During a particularly stressful week, I invited the students outside to the courtyard, where I took Clark’s work vest off to let him engage/play with the students. Clark successfully lowered the stress level in a way that I never could! After the break, the students were re-energized and ready to learn. Clark had a similar effect on research participants. The children I worked with felt more comfortable with Clark in the therapy room and participating in my work in MRI research, and I had several parents tell me how much their children looked forward to speech therapy because they got to see Clark.
Clark’s impact extends well beyond physically helping me. He brings joy everywhere we go. He has changed the types of interactions I have with people I know and also with strangers in public. Rather than looking at me, a young person with a visible disability, with pity and concern, I see people smiling as soon as they see us. On one trip, a man I didn’t know helped me get my luggage at baggage claim in the Boston airport. A few months later, I coincidentally met the same man in Cincinnati. He spotted us and said, “Hey! I helped you with your luggage in Boston! Your dog is amazing!” As another example, in the spring of 2018, I participated in a panel discussion on rare diseases at the Food and Drug Administration in Washington, D.C. During the question and answer session, I was not surprised that many of the questions I was asked were actually about Clark.
Furthermore, in the summer of 2019, we were featured in a UC News human interest story, which allowed us to spread awareness about Friedreich’s ataxia in the larger UC and Cincinnati community. Over and over again, Clark shows that his role as service dog entails acts of service on a larger scale than just helping me. Not only has he loyally accompanied me through all the academic requirements of my PhD program, he also has helped to bring a new, welcoming face to life with a disability.
For all of these reasons and more, Clark is highly deserving of an Honorary Degree from the University of Cincinnati. Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Caroline 2021 PhD graduate,
College of Allied Health Sciences 2011 BS graduate,
McMicken College of Arts and Sciences
CAROLINE IF THERE IS ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO FURTHER THIS DEGREE.. LET US KNOW.
