Man’s Best Friend & Then Some

Service Dogs in San Joaquin

compiled by NISSA HALLQUIST | photos by BRENDA HARTSHORN

The bond between humans and canines goes back thousands of years. So deeply rooted is this relationship that it was inevitable for dogs to actually take on tasks previously reserved for human beings: providing services that directly and positively benefit their handlers and community.
       
Apart from herding and hunting, there are three general categories for dogs that work primarily for the benefit of humans: service/guide, public safety, and therapy. The first, guide dogs are most commonly seen assisting the sight or hearing-impaired maneuver safely in public. They can also assist by guiding wheelchairs, carrying heavy objects, detecting the warning signs of an epileptic seizure or diabetic episode, and much more. Public safety dogs are K-9s, guard dogs, and those trained to sniff out drugs or locate missing people. The final group is the comforters, visiting hospitals, schools, retirement homes, and more to help improve morale and confidence. The following are just a few of these helpful dogs (and their humans) who lead, protect, and comfort those in the San Joaquin area.

To Serve and Protect
Officer Jaime Nance and Bian

For three years now, Jaime Nance and his partner Bian, a Belgian Malinois, have been proud members of the Stockton Police Department’s K-9 unit—but they’ve been friends even longer.

Bian is quite literally a dog of the world. Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 2004, he was transported to France shortly thereafter to train for competition and then brought over to Boston in 2006 for the same purpose. That was when Nance discovered and “recruited” him, figuring Bian to be an ideal candidate for the Stockton K-9 unit. After they finally met and Nance brought Bian to California, it became clear to him that he’d not only found an ideal coworker, but another member of the family. Devoted to Nance while on the job, Bian is equally devoted to the entire Nance family when off-duty.

Bian is also a favorite of the K-9 unit in general. Professional and dedicated on the job, he is also very handsome (he’d be the first to admit) and arguably the friendliest dog in the unit. As such, he and Nance are routinely called upon to put on demonstrations at schools and make other public appearances.

In order for the Stockton PD’s K-9 unit to maintain its high level of proficiency, several months of initial training are required for each K-9 team to become certified, and then a minimum of sixteen hours training a month to stay certified. Nance and Bian completed their initial training in September 2006 and have been patrolling the Stockton streets ever since.

When asked what it’s like to have a dog as his partner, Nance states, “I love it. I can tell what he’s thinking. I can tell when he’s bored or excited, and he can sense the same things from me.

Guide to Freedom
Diane Fidanque and Ripken

When Diane Fidanque of Stockton was initially diagnosed with macular degeneration, she wasn’t about to let that stop her from getting around in the world, yet she wasn’t sure about her options to do so.

Like many in her position, she had been under the impression that one has to be completely sightless in order to qualify for a guide dog. Not true. While attending classes at the Orientation Center for the Blind (OCB) in Albany, CA, Fidanque went on a field trip to the San Rafael campus of Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB), where people with sight impairment can be matched up and trained with a certified guide dog at no cost to them. She also learned that she indeed qualified.

Fidanque applied for and was accepted into GDB’s guide dog program, whereby she was matched up with Ripken, a yellow lab. After a month of on-site training to learn how to work together, she came home with her new best friend. She and Ripken have been together for four years now, and Fidanque has found that Ripken does much more for her than merely helping cross the street safely. She can go anywhere. She’s been on cruises and airplanes, goes shopping and out to eat. With Ripken, she’s been able to maintain the freedom she’s always prized.

Having a guide dog has also opened up paths she hadn’t expected: those of communication. The public is sometimes uncomfortable reacting to those with disabilities. But a guide dog tends to soothe that discomfort as a furry, friendly, third party.

“With cane travel, people tend to avoid you,” Fidanque has noticed. “But with Ripken, people come right up to talk.” Although, she’s observed, “They mostly just want to pet him.”

Big Ears, Bigger Hearts
Londa Downing, Solo and Button

A New Mexico resident most of her life, Londa Downing moved to Lodi about four years ago to be closer to her family. After doing so, however, she found she needed something to help occupy her time. Knowing Downing’s love for animals, a friend referred her to Animal Friends Connection Humane Society (AFCHS) in Lodi as a possible therapy dog handler.

The AFCHS therapy dog training program began ten years ago through the efforts of Patricia Sherman, who continues to manage the program today, and Linda Wendorff, who operates her own therapy dog program in Vacaville. Downing and her champion Papillon pooch, Sky, turned out to be a great—and enthusiastic—fit.

Soon, Downing was able to combine her love for her dogs with her previous experience as an English teacher. Along with Sherman, she helped to establish the Dogs and Reading Team (DaRT), in which small groups of children are encouraged to practice their reading skills by reading aloud to the non-judgmental dogs.

Having recently retired the 17 year-old Sky, Downing now uses two more of her Papillons, Solo and Button, to continue on with the DaRT program at Lodi Middle School and the Galt Library, as well as takes them on visits to St. Joseph’s Medical Center’s skilled nursing and pediatrics wings. She often dresses the dogs up in costumes for holidays or special events, both to entertain, and, more practically, to minimize shedding.

While it’s clear Downing loves what she does, it seems like Solo and Button might love it even more. She usually takes turns going out with each dog, and when one goes off to work with Downing, the other is always upset they can’t come along as well. [SJM]

Breed All About It

While there is no hard and fast rule, certain dog breeds show consistent characteristics (like temperament, strength, intelligence, and appearance) that make them ideal for specific tasks.

Service/Guide:
Labrador Retrievers are the number one choice as guide dogs, followed by Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds. These breeds tend to most often meet the Guide Dogs of America standard criteria of health, willingness to work, and mild temperament.  

Public Safety:
Police Dogs
German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, and Rottweilers are typically partnered with police to maintain order due to their intelligence, willingness to work, and imposing appearance. Such characteristics make these breeds, along with Pit Bulls, popular as guard dogs as well.

Trackers:
Bloodhounds were originally bred to track people, their keen sense of smell allowing them to follow a scent over large distances. Beagles and Basset Hounds also have an excellent sense of smell, but it’s their smaller size and non-threatening appearance that really make them ideal for sniffing out drugs or explosives at airports.

Fire Dogs:
Dalmatians were originally used to guide horse-drawn fire carts, guard equipment, and even assist in search and rescue. Today, out of tradition, they are primarily a firehouse pet and mascot.

Therapy:
Again, Labrador and Golden Retrievers top the list. Although almost any dog with a soothing demeanor and calm temperament can be easily trained.  —N.H.