Much more than man's best friend; [STATE Edition]
JACKIE RIPLEY. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Oct 16, 2005. pg. 1
Copyright Times Publishing Co. Oct 16, 2005
Angela Bubley has been obedience-training dogs for 11 years. She broadened her scope about three years ago to include training dogs to assist people with disabilities. That's when she created By Your Side, a nonprofit program for raising and training assistance dogs.
"He has a very strong sense of smell and is persistent," Bubley said, recalling the day Buzz took the lid off a garbage can. His keen nose even found a Sweet Tart wrapper between the seats of Bubley's car the day she brought him home.
Bubley also trains service dogs living in other locations. One such dog is Hugo, a full-blooded German shepherd belonging to Ann G. Beattie, who lives in Wesley Chapel.
Shiner is getting pretty good at turning the lights on and off. Buzz is mastering the art of picking up a pen off the floor. And Rosie's in the know when someone's at the door.
"She'll do the same thing when the alarm clock rings," said Rosie's owner, Theresa Mattioli. "She enjoys the thrill of jumping up on the bed and waking us up."
While those might not seem like the most complicated tasks, they're pretty amazing when you consider that Shiner, Buzz and Rosie are dogs.
But they're not your everyday, run-of-the-mill dogs. They're part of an elite canine corps being trained as service, or assistance, dogs.
"It takes two to three years to train for assistance while they learn 80 to 100 commands," said Angela Bubley, who owns
B-Pawsitive Pet Dog Training in Lutz.
Bubley has been obedience-training dogs for 11 years. She broadened her scope about three years ago to include training dogs to assist people with disabilities. That's when she created By Your Side, a nonprofit program for raising and training assistance dogs.
Under that program, Bubley trains dogs to help people with numerous physical disorders, from hearing loss to multiple sclerosis. She even trains dogs to handle seizure disorders.
Bubley charges $5,000 for seizure dogs and for assistance dogs.
Becoming a seizure alert dog is the job for which Buzz, a black, short-haired husky-shepherd mix, is being groomed.
Buzz, in fact, is destined to take the place of Hat Trick, a German shepherd-greyhound mix who was so attuned to his owner that he would warn her if an epileptic seizure was even on the horizon.
"He was a genius," Bubley said. "I hold all my other dogs up to the 'Hat Trick standard.' "
Hat Trick died unexpectedly a few months ago of a heart problem. His death left his owner not only devastated but without an assistance dog.
That's where Buzz comes in. He's slated to take over where Hat Trick left off. Buzz is being trained to help his new owner steady herself against his body; retrieve her satchel when medications are needed; and even alert her when a seizure is forthcoming.
"He has a very strong sense of smell and is persistent," Bubley said, recalling the day Buzz took the lid off a garbage can. His keen nose even found a Sweet Tart wrapper between the seats of Bubley's car the day she brought him home.
Those are the very traits that bode well for a seizure dog and just what Bubley looks for when assessing a dog's ability to become one. It's the innate ability to be aware, through smell, that a seizure is going to occur.
"You can't teach that sense of smell," Bubley explained. "But you can teach how to respond to that smell ability."
Bubley also is training other dogs for service. There's Shiner, a 3-year-old golden retriever who will be an assistance dog. Right now, he's learning how to turn the lights on and off.
Shiner was demonstrating his special lighting ability recently, and after a few tries, succeeded. But he also was being distracted by a bevy of other dogs competing for Bubley's attention, as well as the classroom cat that was playing cat and mouse between his feet.
"I use cats, rabbits, hamsters," Bubley said. The dogs "need to learn not to be distracted by anything."
Bubley also trains service dogs living in other locations. One such dog is Hugo, a full-blooded German shepherd belonging to Ann G. Beattie, who lives in Wesley Chapel.
Bubley goes there once a week to work with Beattie and 8-month- old Hugo.
Though still a pup, Hugo already has learned to pick up things off the floor for Beattie, who has multiple sclerosis.
"I don't even have to tell him," Beattie said. "He's normally with me, and if he hears something drop, he automatically gets it."
Hugo also is trained to brace himself against Beattie, whose spasms sometimes cause her to fall out of her wheelchair.
"He'll come over and brace me so I can push on him to get back in my chair," she said.
In addition to Hugo, Beattie also shares her home with a housemate, four other dogs, three cats and a turtle.
"When I go in the computer room, there's no room to move or I'll run over a dog," said Beattie, who makes sure the other dogs don't feel excluded by the amount of attention she lavishes on Hugo.
Then there's Rosie, Buzz's sister. Rosie is being trained by Theresa Mattioli, who lives in Brooksville with her husband, Louis.
Mattioli owns Guardian Angel Pet Service and trains dogs for obedience and for service. She is teaching Rosie to work as a hearing dog, and because Rosie's sense of smell is so keen, a seizure alert dog.
For now, Rosie is part of the family, sharing space with Angel, a service dog for Louis Mattioli, who is partially deaf.
Mattioli, who expects Rosie to be ready for adoption in about 18 months, admits it will be hard to let go when the time comes.
"It will feel like my heart is being yanked out," she said. "But there are quite a few people waiting, and it will be very rewarding to know that she'll be able to do something that so few dogs are able to do."
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[Illustration]
Caption: Angela Bubley works with two new Labrador retriever puppies.; Photo: PHOTO, MIKE PEASE
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
People: Johnson, Marla, Bubley, Angela
Dateline: UNIVERSITY NORTH
Section: NORTH OF TAMPA
Text Word Count 744
