Medi-Dogs

✨ Client Spotlight ✨

When I first started working with Medi-Dogs, I was a senior in highschool and facing the realities of moving out and living independently with a disability. While big life changes are always scary, navigating new health diagnoses and limitations added an extra layer of anxiety. I wasn't going to be able to have the freedom to move out of state to my dream school, or begin to pursue my future career in the way I wanted to. The option of having a service dog seemed unattainable financially and practically. Annie was a huge reason why I am even able to have a service dog today.

I truly could not be where I am today without Annie and Archie. Being able to train Archie, who I had had since middle school, was something I wouldn't have considered without the expert help of all of the trainers at Medi-Dogs. From our first session together, I felt so excited and hopeful for my future! The training process was not only fun, but incredibly empowering. Having Archie has allowed me to regain my freedom, navigate college, and live independently without any fear! He is always ready to go on an adventure or side quest, but also happily sits at home with me on rough days. He is loved by all of my friends, classmates, and professors and he enjoys going to school everyday! From chemistry labs to big lecture hall presentations, he is always ready for whatever gets thrown at us. I get to travel all over the country without having to worry about the unknowns of having an episode alone. He has taught me so much about trust and advocating for myself. From day to day life to big travels all over the globe, I truly could not imagine my life without Archie.

✨✨✨

Interested in making more partnerships like Charlotte and Archie possible? You can support the training of more service dogs through tax deductible donations here:
https://donate.mazloweb.com/donate/YUeP7gAEmyNbu4asF9c3BR

✨ Client Spotlight - Team Nora ✨

I reached out to Annie at Medi-Dogs 3 years ago when my disability progressed to the point where I had trouble getting around on my own. I needed a service dog that could handle my specific balance problems as well as my limited vision. When Annie and I met for a consultation, I knew she was the perfect person to help me. A month or so later, Annie found Nora and we started her training as a guide and mobility dog! Training Nora has made me a more patient, trusting person. I loved watching Nora go from not even having a sit command to being able to find and bring me my phone in the span of a few weeks. It has been so gratifying to observe her progress and benefit from it at the same time.

Living with Nora as my co-pilot has totally transformed my life. I feel safer and more confident when I travel with her, and I no longer avoid environments like crowded concerts or dark movie theaters because I know I have her to keep me upright. Because of Nora, I even got to try gymnastics last year, something I would never have attempted without the guarantee that she'd be there to help me back to the car when I got dizzy. Nora is an excellent traveler and has come with me to everything from a Taylor Swift concert to a family vacation in Denmark. I can't thank Annie and everyone at Medi-Dogs enough for their support and care throughout Nora's training.

✨✨✨

Interested in making more partnerships like Kate and Nora possible? You can support the training of more service dogs through tax deductible donations here:
https://donate.mazloweb.com/donate/YUeP7gAEmyNbu4asF9c3BR

✨ Client Spotlight - Team Maggie ✨

From her Mom:

Maggie changed our lives in a way I don’t think words will ever fully capture, but I’ll try.💙

Our son, Aaden, has autism, and for a long time the world felt overwhelming for him. Simple things like sleeping in his own bed or managing daily anxiety were constant challenges. As parents, you just want to help your child feel safe, confident, and at peace… and for a while, that felt out of reach.

Then Maggie came into our lives.

She didn’t just help, she bounced into our lives full of joy and transformed everything. Maggie gives Aaden a sense of calm we had never seen before. She helps him work through his triggers, lowers his anxiety, and gives him the confidence to face each day. Bedtime is no longer a struggle. New places are no longer impossible. With Maggie by his side, Aaden feels safe enough to try, to grow, and to experience the world. And because of that, so do we.

Maggie hasn’t just helped Aaden, she’s transformed our entire family. She’s brought peace into our home, freedom into our lives, and so much love into our hearts. Watching the bond between them is something truly special… something we will never take for granted.

We couldn’t feel more blessed to have found Medi-Dogs. Maggie is not just a service dog, she is family, she is hope, and she is everything we didn’t know we needed. 💙

✨✨✨

Interested in making more partnerships like Maggie and Aaden possible? You can support the training of more service dogs through tax deductible donations here:
https://donate.mazloweb.com/donate/YUeP7gAEmyNbu4asF9c3BR

Congratulations to Team Bumble on passing their Public Access Test! We are so proud of this team!

The ADA states that service dogs must be “under control” at all times. It does not elaborate on what that means in terms of behavior beyond not barking, aggressive behavior, or things of that nature. There are no requirements such as heeling close to the handler, or not interacting with passing people; there are simply no specifics.

This opens up major issues for “fake”-spotting and for legitimate service dogs. The general public has a perception of how a service dog should look or act. Anything outside of that perception becomes a “fake” when it genuinely could be a real, tasking service dog. The law does not restrict how dogs must look or act, and so standards are all over the place. It is completely possible that a legitimate task-trained service dog looks like a small doodle wearing a flexi leash and sitting on their handler’s lap. Here’s why:

Read more: https://www.medidogstraining.com/post/testing-in-service-dog-training

Why are diabetic alert dogs part of many Type 1 Diabetics toolkits when we have such great technology?

Simple, Technology Fails!

Continuous Glucose Monitors are typically around 15-20 minutes behind real time. That means by the time the CGM alerts there is an issue, a T1D could be far from the number it is currently showing. This can lead to extremely low BG while the cgm shows an in range number, which can be extremely dangerous!

Additionally, technology can’t retrieve a medication bag, bark for help or provide comfort and grounding during scary lows and highs.

Everyone should be able to use the tools that work best for them!

Pictured is Team Ope showing off how he beats technology. The glucose monitor shows a real time BG reading of 198 (high!) and the CGM is showing 147 (in range) with a level arrow meaning the CGM didn’t even think a rise was happening. Due to Ope’s early alert insulin was administered and Toby didn’t stay high as long. Way to go, Team Ope!

Looking to get involved in a meaningful way?

Join our Outing Handler Team! These specialized volunteers take our in-training dogs on outings to practice new handlers, see new places and reinforce their training. You can know that you are not only widening the world for that dog, but also for their future handler. This is a great opportunity for aspiring trainers or just for dog savvy individuals that want to give back.

Check out more information here: https://www.medidogstraining.com/volunteer