Big Changes & Excitement Ahead!

Today is Shilo and my last day working for the University of Oregon supporting the Center for Excellence on Developmental Disabilities and the Youth Enrichment and Talented and Gifted program; we are proud to announce that we will be working for Albertina Kerr as the Program Manager for their Community Inclusion program! This is a big change on many levels as we have spent the last four and a half years surviving the economy by working no less the two part-time jobs at once going up to as many as four trying to make ends meet.  We will be working full-time! Shilo will have a four-legged co-worker as well here, a black lab male from Guiding Eyes for the Blind!

 We are also going to two conferences:
The Abilities Expo in L.A. March 15-17, 2013
CELA-National CRT Leadership and Advocacy Conference in D.C. April 9-11, 2013

Job Interviews with a Service Dog

Since being partnered with Shilo my work situation has consisted of multiple part time positions. My main position with the University Center For Excellence in Developmental Disabilities began two months after Shilo and I were partnered, so we interviewed for the job as a packaged deal. The job began with  .3 time or 12 hours a week and within six months I was bumped up to.5 or 20 hours a week. It is hard to meet all of one's financial obligations on half time, I continued to look for other part time work and found a job as a facilitator/ data collection specialist for a research project out of OHSU for the Healing Pathways project testing and facilitating a peer facilitated strengths-based curriculum for women with physical disabilities who are also dealing with depression. This job was contract work for a set amount of hours and pay with the average being ten hours a week for the last year and a half. As this contract comes to a close, I need to fill the gap that it creates in my income so it's back to the job hunt!
Job hunting for a person with a disability can be daunting even in the best of times, though the current economic woes in the US (9.8% according to the Bureau of Labor statistics in Nov. 2010) as a whole and the even more dismal picture of employment in my home state of Oregon  (10.6% for Nov 2010 according to Oregon Labor Market Information System) can make it feel like a gladiator fight to the finish.   I have been working and interviewing with a service dog or service dog in training in tow for over a decade. I know for some people the question arises whether or no they should go to the interview with their service dog, because it brands them as a person with a disability especially when their disability is not readily apparent. The decision of how and when to disclose details about a disability is a deeply person one often with far reaching implications. My disability just happens to be very apparent so any employer or potential employer knows there is something. Therefore, I put my service dog in the same category as my wheelchair, where I am it is.

Preparing for a Job Interview:
When I am preparing for a job interview I have a routine:

• Research the company and identify points of interest, questions I have, skills I feel based on my research I can contribute
• Prepare my professional portfolio
• Pack any requested application materials in my bag
• Look up directions
• Pick out my clothes
• Wash my wheelchair upholstery
• Wash Shilo's Gear
• Brush/Groom Shilo

It is very important when going on a job interview with your service dog that your dog be just as dressed and groomed to impress as you are. It is also very important that your service dog be on it's very best behavior--All Business. In the space of an interview you and your service dog can show an interview that you and your service dog can work quickly, quietly and unobtrusively.  You should also be prepared to answer the three questions per the DOJ Business Brief: 1) Is that a Service Dog? 2) Are you a Person with a disability(as defined under the ADA)? 3) What Tasks does your dog perform?  Nowhere do questions 2 or 3 require a person to disclose what their disability is; however, some handlers may have to think carefully about how they describe the work their dog is trained to do to avoid disclosing their disability. 

News: Career Connection Series: “What can be done to make service dogs easier to accept in the workplace?”

Career Connection Series: “What can be done to make service dogs easier to accept in the workplace?”

By Guest Blogger Linda Carter Batiste, J.D., Principal Consultant, Job Accommodation Network
This is a great question, and it’s one that we’re hearing a lot at the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) as more and more people with disabilities start using service animals.
In the past, service animals were typically used by people who were blind and were often referred to as “seeing eye” dogs. Now people with a variety of disabilities use service animals to assist with everyday tasks. There are service dogs for people with all types of mobility impairments, seizure alert dogs for people with epilepsy, psychiatric service dogs for people with mental health impairments, hearing dogs for people who are deaf and even dogs that can detect low blood sugar for people with diabetes.
With this increased use of service animals comes a corresponding increase in public awareness. It’s no longer unusual to see a service dog in a store, restaurant, hotel or even on an airplane. So why then is it so difficult for employers and co-workers to accept a service dog in the workplace?
Perhaps it’s because the workplace was traditionally seen as a sort of kingdom, where employers ruled and employees either followed the rules or sought employment elsewhere. One of the standard rules was often NO ANIMALS ALLOWED.
Even current law makes a distinction between public access for service animals and workplace access. In the workplace, having a service animal present is a form of reasonable accommodation, which means employers, unlike owners of public places, do not have to automatically allow the use of service animals. And many employers resist allowing an employee to bring a service animal to work, not only because it’s against their rules, but also in part because co-workers sometimes express fear or concern about having a dog around.
So how can you overcome this resistance, fear and concern? Let’s start with the employer. Read more

Are You Prepared? Take Your Dog to Work Day

From Shiloh, Summit Assistance Dog

June 25,2010 is National Take You Dog to Work Day,which began more than a decade ago as an effort to celebrate all that dogs give to us,their human companions while putting the spotlight on all those dogs waiting to find their human. Having your dog with you for the day at the office can a wonderful thing if you and your are prepared... after all, still must work done.  I have been working with a dog at my feet 12 years now,and while it is great there is much preparation require for it to an enjoyable experience.

Tips to a Ensure Everyone (Dog and Human) Enjoy Take your Dog to Work Day:

1. Bath and Groom your dog a day or two before the event. This will ensure they will not offend others with doggy smells,will be less likely to accidentally scratch people while shaking paws, and will be less likely to leave fur piles behind.
2. Find out if their is anyone in your office who afraid or allergic to dogs and give them their space.
3. Bring a Bed, Blanket, or Crate for you dog that was also recently cleaned to help your dog know it's space.
4. Bring a baby gate to keep your dog in your office/Cubicle when you have to leave for a bit.
5. Exercise your dog well before bringing them to the office. After all, a tired dog is a happy and well behaved dog.
6. Follow these Introducing Your Dog to New People and Dogs Tips
7. Ensure Your dog is solid all the following Basic Behaviors: Come, Sit, Down, Stay, Quiet, Wait, Off, Leave it, Loose Leash Walking, House Broken,and knows which toys are theirs (you don't want to find your printer cord chewed coming back from a meeting). If you dog doesn't have these down yet maybe you should keep working on it to be ready for next year's Take You Dog to Work Day. First impressions are lasting ones and we all want our dogs to make the best one they can.
8. If Your Dog is working though any of the following problems you may want to reconsider taking them to work with you is likely to be too much for them (and quite probably you): Separation Anxiety, Fear Periods, Specific Fears (i.e cars,specific types of people, new places, new dogs, etc.), Generalized Fearfulness, Aggressiveness, Barking, Territoriality, Resource Gaurding.
9. No Flexible Length Leashes in the office! Six foot straight lead at the longest. The locks on flexible leashes can pop loose and it is much more polite to have your dog on a leash that is a constant length so everyone knows just how much room your dog has. If you have a very powerful and or exuberant dog you may even want to consider shorter leash lengths for your dog such as four or two feet to ensure they don't they better of you through shear momentum, and help other to feel that you are truly in control of your dog.
10. Make Sure You Collar and Leash are in good condition.
11. Bring quiet, non-smelly toys and treats to entertain your dog. A bored dog may just go looking for ways to entertain themselves some of which you may not like, not to mention other people.
12. Bring Supplies to Clean Up After Your Dog including Poop bags, disinfectant wipes, and a towel.
13. Be prepared to Catch your Dog Doing Good and Reward them! Bring the treats and use the day to remind yourself and your dog how wonderful and good they are.
14. Do not allow your dog to Disturb/Greet/ Invade the Space of Working Service/Guide Dogs. It is customary to give handlers of these dogs warning if you need to pass them such as "Dog Passing on the Left/Right" and to keep your dog at your side while passing. If you all cannot pass in the hall or other tight space let the handler know (if they were in the tight space first) that they can pass keep your dog at your side in a sit or a down leaving plenty of room for the team to pass. If you are in the tight space first again let them know you are coming through with a dog keep your dog at your side.  Please know that service dogs are generally not permitted to greet/socialize with other dogs while working as it distracts them from the reason they are there... to assist their partner with a disability. Any team you encounter today will be very grateful if they do not have be on the lookout for or surprised by unknown dogs in their path,because you are looking for them:)

If all of the above is overwhelming to you, consider leaving your dog at home on Take your Dog to Work Day and enjoying the dogs and people that do show up. Remember: Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD do it. Make the right choice for you, your dog, and your workplace.

Shiloh Comes Through When it Really Counts!

This morning I woke up with severe pain in my neck and right shoulder(again). At first I wasn't even sure I could get out out of bed, but with a little persistence I managed to make it out of bed. As I tried to transfer into my chair my shoulder gave way and I ended up on the floor! I tried a few times to get up, but quickly realized my right shoulder was not going to weight bare at all, so even using Shiloh to brace a bit was out.I tried Plan B yell, for my roommate Leslie, no dice, since she sleeps like the dead.
Time for plan C, get Shiloh to roust my still sleeping roommate from her bed. My roommates and I have been working on getting Shiloh to find them by name and Shiloh loves my roommate's room, so time to put it to the test. I asked Shiloh "Where's Leslie? Go Get Leslie!" She went to my roommate's door and found it closed ( I could see her and the door from where I was on the floor), so I cue her to touch the door with her paw again and again. She would come back every few times, and I would send her back again. After, a few minutes Shiloh finally succeeded in waking my roommate's Guide Dog, Cammy, who I heard come over to the door and sniff. Shiloh continued to paw the door, while Cammy (deciding that it was time to be up) went over and stuck her nose in Leslie's face, finally waking her! She then heard Shiloh pawing away at the door. Disoriented, and still half asleep, I see her come out of the room saying "What the hell?!" Now I tell her I need help I can't get off the floor! She being the wonderful friend and good roommate comes in immediately to fish me off the floor.
Even if my roommate had not been there and I would have had to wait for someone to come help me, or until I felt it might be safe to attempt to get myself of the the floor having Shiloh there, knowing the that I was not alone she could get the phone and show the people who came to my calls where I was kept me from slipping in to that fear that I could be here on the floor until God knows when! Not falling into that fear left me able to more logically process the situation and stay calm. Shiloh is my constant companion and between the two of us we can figure out a lot of really difficult predicaments! Even it the best thing to do is wait, I am not so vulnerable with Shiloh around she will patiently wait with me.

Note: New Part-time Job

My dear readers,
As you know this is a tough economy in the U.S. and to make ends meet I now work two part-time jobs, both of which allow me to serve and work with other people with disabilities. My latest job is as a recruiter and facilitator for the Healing Pathways Project described below:

APPROVED: Jul. 6, 2009



Healing Pathways
Women with physical disabilities who experience depression may be eligible to participate in an Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) study. The purpose of the study is to test a peer-implemented 12 week group therapy program. Participants will be randomly assigned to an initial intervention group and a wait-list control group, however, all enrollees will eventually receive therapy. Depending on group assignment participation will last between 6 and 12 months. There is a possibility that dealing with depression will cause emotional distress. Participants will receive monetary compensation. Study sites include Eugene, Salem, Portland, and Medford/Grants Pass, Oregon. For more information call toll-free 877-226-4221. or in Portland call Elizabeth McNeff at (503) 475 4307 / email mcneffea@comcast.net. You may also contact the OHSU Principal Investigator Dr. Hassouneh at (503) 494 2714 or email phillide@ohsu.edu to inquire about the study (OHSU IRB#4296).

This flier was sent out on behalf of OHSU, however, neither your name nor any other information has been disclosed to OHSU.

Examples of How Shiloh Increases the Work Flow

Today I saw two great of examples of how Shiloh not only helps me, but allows others to continue their work when before Shiloh they would have had to stop what they were doing to help me (conversely, I would have also had to wait for someone to help me) causing both me and the person helping to slow down their work/activities.

Example One:
I was running down stairs to get the mail from another office. They had a child there who kept running in the hall, so they closed the doors to keep him in. Since the doors are glass the staff started to get up to open the door for me;however, it only took a second for the staff to see Shiloh was doing it and she could keep working with the client she had in front of her.

Example Two:
I dropped something while talking to a co-worker. The co-worker and I were able to continue working while I asked Shiloh to retrieve the dropped item.

The above example may seem insignificant, but the time Shiloh saves myself and those around me by picking up where my capabilities leave off, instead of always having to find someone to help and waiting until they have time to help me.

Can you think of examples like those above where your service dog (or seen a service dog) has saved time and energy as well as allowed activities to continue uninterrupted?