A dog can be much more than simply the family pet.  For many people, their dog is a necessity for daily living – from navigating to retrieving items to sensing that blood sugar levels are dropping.

Michele Laine, nurse practitioner director for the USF Health Diabetes Home, with Hershey, a Labrador/Husky mix specially trained to detect fluctuations in blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes. Photo by Eric Younghans.

Called service dogs and canine companions, these unique animals take roles as people’s eyes, hands, legs and more.

To help raise funds and awareness for these dogs, USF Health is hosting the Tampa DogFest 2015 Walk ‘n Roll Nov. 8 to benefit the Canine Companions for Independence program (more details below).

Photo courtesy of CCI.org

The USF Health event will include a walk, silent auction, bake sale, dog photography, a kids’ activity table and, of course, visiting service dogs.

There are several ways to help. Donations can be made directly to the Tampa effort by visiting the Canine Companions website. You can also narrow your donation on that page to a USF Health team that will be walking Nov. 8 at the USF Health event, or start your own team and begin collecting sponsorships and donations. You can also provide items and services that can be included in the gift baskets that will be auctioned off for funds.

Gracie provides some de-stressing pet therapy for USF Health students at the Shimberg Health Sciences Library. Photo courtesy of the Shimberg Library.

You can also donate at the event, which is where you can meet some of the many folks benefiting from these service dogs, as well as those who help raise and train canine companions.

There are challenges people with disabilities face every day and canine companion assistance dogs are highly trained to help children, adults and veterans live more independently, said Karen Burdash, associate executive director of the USF Physicians Group and associate dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

“Vets have served us, so it’s the least we can do for them,” Burdash said. “Wounded vets who might not have the ability to lead a full life can turn to a canine companion for help.”

Photo courtesy of CCI.org

Canine Companions for Independence provides highly trained assistance dogs to children and adults with disabilities, including veterans with physical disabilities. There is no charge to the recipient for the dog but training and on-going follow-up services ends up costing at least $50,000 per dog. Training a dog to be a service dog takes months. Following the intensive training, dogs are matched with a recipient, who has also undergone evaluation. Then, when a match is made, both dog and recipient undergo six weeks of training together.

The USF Health DogFest Walk ‘n Roll is aiming to raise at least that $50,000 to help a local veteran get matched to a dog, Burdash said.

“One of our main goals for this DogFest walk is to be able to say that USF Health was able to help raise enough to sponsor a dog to help someone,” she said.

As a longtime proponent for rescuing and training therapy dogs, Burdash said she can tell pretty quickly whether a dog has the temperament to be a therapy or service dog.

Karen Burdash with pet therapy dog Eric. Photo courtesy of Karen Burdash.

“Some dogs just show an affinity for helping,” she said. “It’s truly rewarding to me. The look on people’s faces when there is a good match is wonderful. And when a dog is really enhancing the quality of life for someone, that’s magical. That’s making someone’s life better.”

Details:

Tampa DogFest 2015 Walk ‘n Roll

Sunday, Nov. 8, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

At USF Health, east side of CMS building on the corner of Bruce B. Downs and USF Holly

The free event is open to the community. Donate or register a team at cci.org/dogfesttampa

Photo courtesy of CCI.org

Staff dog Snitch (note his ID card) also offers pet therapy to USF Health students at the Shimberg Library. Photo by Eric Younghans.

USF Health’s newest employee recently joined the Shimberg Health Sciences Library and wasted no time before starting her duties as Ambassador.

Please meet Snitch.

“Hired” to be a liaison between the Shimberg Library and USF Health students, Snitch began her job Aug. 27 when she attended the Morsani College of Medicine Student Organization Fair, a showcase of available student organizations and resources. With an official USF identification card on a USF Health branded lanyard around her neck, Snitch eagerly greeted dozens of students who stopped by the table representing the Shimberg Library.

“Snitch had a great first day on the job and the students were really glad to see her,” said Jill Baker, Shimberg Library fiscal and business specialist in the USF Morsani COM Business Office. Baker is Snitch’s “direct supervisor” and owner.

The idea for hiring Snitch came after several successful library events for students that included pet therapy dogs, said Rose L. Bland, MA, MPA, AHIP, director of the Shimberg Health Sciences Library. Seeing the happy and sometimes emotional reaction the students had when they encountered the dogs helped the library staff know that continuing the effort would be well received, she said.

“At our previous events, students would see the dogs and say ‘Aw, I have dogs at home and wish they were with me,’ while petting and embracing our pet therapy dog the entire time,” Bland said. “Many were moved to tears, either because of missing their own pets or just because of the happy break in their stressful lives. They seemed to truly find comfort.”

Finding Snitch to fill the job was part purposeful and part serendipity, Bland said.

“Golden Retrievers are known to be loyal, and we want our patrons at USF Health to know they can count on the Shimberg Library for their academic and research needs,” Bland said. “She also just happened to be trained as a pet therapy dog and also happened to be available through Jill. We feel really lucky to have her.”

“She seemed thrilled with all of the attention,” Baker said of Snitch’s first day.

“I love my dog but it’s so nice to see how much everyone else appreciates her, too.”

 Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Office of Communications

Sadie, a rescue dog from Project PUP, makes friends with Matt June, a patient of the USF ALS Center.

Patients visiting the USF ALS Center on April 5 were greeted with a wagging tail and soulful eyes begging for attention.

Sadie, a senior rescue dog from PROJECT PUP (Pets Uplifting People), was on hand to spend some time with patients while they waited and even during their clinical time with doctors and staff at the multidisciplinary clinic.

The Center plans to make Sadie, and possibly other canine friends, part of a pet therapy program at its monthly clinic housed within the USF Health Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare, said Brittany Harvey, staff assistant and research support specialist for the ALS Center.

Sadie’s owner Christine Hamacher, a volunteer with Project PUP, said research has shown that interaction with good-tempered pets like Sadie can help calm the anxiety of patients and their families, who spend quite a bit of time being assessed by healthcare team members during their clinic appointments. “Just having her (Sadie) in the same room helps them to speak more comfortably and freely with doctors and staff,” Hamacher said.

Sadie may not know she’s doing all that.  Waiting in an exam room with patient Matt June and his wife Jackie, she appeared more than content to solicit hugs, get scratched behind her silky ears and dole out doggie kisses.

Matt and wife Jackie June with Sadie

The USF ALS Center, directed by Dr. Tuan Vu, opened in October 2010 as the first multidisciplinary university clinic of its kind in Tampa Bay and all of Central and West Florida.

About 200 patients a year visit the clinic, which is dedicated to developing new and effective therapies for ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Also, known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, the neurodegenerative disease progressively paralyzes the individual, attacking nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord.  The USF ALS Center belongs to the world’s largest ALS research network, the Northeastern ALS Alliance.

Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications