Dextra's Denied Access Adventure at Pizza Hut

On February 11, 2012, I was denied access at the Pizza Hut in Suffolk, VA, because of my Seeing Eye Dog, Dextra, a female yellow Labrador Retriever. 

My family and I entered the Pizza Hut and I was immediately told that my dog was not welcome and I'd have to leave.   We tried to calmly explain to them that she was allowed and the hostess argued for a few minutes, before saying she'd go talk to her manager.

My kids got upset, so Gordon, my husband, took them out, while I tried to educate the hostess and manager.    I called to them, several times, that my dog was allowed and what they were doing was against the law.  When I heard no reply, I warned them that the police could be called on them for doing this.   Still no response, so I stepped outside and stood on the
sidewalk, while I called the police.   I actually called 911, and the operator
told me that all she had to do was tell the officer that a lady with a Seeing
Eye Dog was being denied access and he said "I'm on my way!"

While waiting outside for the officer,  The hostess poked her head out of the
door and  I was first told I had to show paperwork proving she was a guide
dog, no I don't, Asking to see any kind of paperwork proving that a dog is a guide dog is actually also against the law.   The only question they are legally allowed to ask is "What is the dog used for?"   My dog wears an official Seeing Eye, Inc. harness and is extremely well behaved, along with being very clean.  There was nothing my dog or I did to warrant this treatment, in fact, the whole time I was standing outside with her, she sat calmly beside me, never getting up, even as people passed by us.

A few more minutes passed and then she poked her head out of the door again and I was told I could come in, but they'd make
me sit near the door, in case people were afraid of my dog.  Told them that
was also descrimination.  Never once did the manager come to talk to me, during all of this exchange.  I was just told that they had called the regional manager, by the hostess.

Then the Officer showed up and I told him what had happened and he was
quite upset and went in to inform them of the laws they were breaking.  Shortly
after, the Regional Manager showed up, she was very nice, when she stopped to talk to me for a few seconds, before she headed inside to talked to her employees and the Officer. 

A few minutes later the Officer and Regional Manager came back outside and told me that it was straightened out and we had an offer of a free lunch. 

We did decide to go ahead and go in and show them how Dextra behaved.  The Regional Manager made the manager wait on our table, personally, and the Regional Manager came over and made sure we were doing alright, after we had ordered.  She told us she had gone over the laws, state and federal, with her employees and would be sure that the other employees were better educated in the future.   We thanked her for this as I believe education is so key in this and avoiding situations like this.   If the public was better educated people with service dogs wouldn't get harrassed as much as we do.

One of the odd things is, I've been here several times before with my guides and this is the first time I've had an issue, at this particular Pizza Hut.   I've had minor issues at another one in another nearby town, but was never denied access, it was more the other customers making rude comments.

I wasn't about to let these people get away with descrimination.   This is
the first time I've actually called the police, though I have filed
complaints and done some other actions to this kind of thing before, but it was
definitely my first time involving a police officer and I was happy to have one
that was apparently aware of the laws and wasn't going to let me be
descrminated against.  I've actually heard of cases where other guide dog users have called the police for being denied access and have the police officers side with the establishment.   Guide dogs are not a new thing and there are laws in every state and at the federal level protecting our rights to take them with us where ever we go.   It is amazing how much education still needs to be done.

I've lived in this area for almost 10 years and I still get asked, on a regular basis about my dog being in a store, restaurant, etc, jus tlike this Pizza Hut, places I go on a regular basis, and it is very annoying.   About 3 years ago, I did have to call our local Wal-Mart and talk to a manager about the harrassment I was getting from the employees every time I went in the store.   I told him I was getting really tired of it, as I was a very regular customer.   It must have worked, because now when I go in there, I rarely get asked about my Seeing Eye Dog, anymore.

Education, Education, Education!


So, thought I'd share with you all Dextra's Denied Access Adventure, doing my part for educating the public!

Thankful Day After Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving we headed up to visit my in-laws in northern Virginia.  Along with visiting family we had plans to visit our 2 year old gelding, Marq Your Bible aka "Marcus", who we own in partnership with my mother-in-law and 5 others.  He is taking a short break, as he has grown so much that we decided it was in his best interest to give him a breather so he'd be all ready for a 3 year old campaign, with our first big goal of a first start in March and then head him to Colonial Downs this June and July, for the VA-bred races, hoping he will be stakes quality.

Our trainer, Diana McClure, is a wonderful woman and not only loves the horses she works with, but also loves children and helping them develop their love of horses.   So, whenever we can make it out to her farm, she offers my two daughters a ride on her pony horse, Brownie, who is quite famous in his own right, for being the lead pony for Big Brown before his Preakness win, among other things.

So, on the day after Thanksgiving, we went to Diana's farm and both my girls got to ride Brownie and Diana also graciously gave pony rides to my two nephews, one of which had never been on a horse.

All the children really enjoyed their rides and my oldest even got to ride twice, because she loves Brownie so much that she talks about him all the time and even brought him some carrots this time.   Diana is showing her how to get into a jockey position, which she also did in July, at our last visit, and a picture of that has gotten a lot of attention on Facebook and on Diana's website.

After our visit with Brownie, we headed over to a friend of Diana's farm to see Marcus.   Diana thought her friend's farm would be a better place for a short break, than her own, because of a nice hill in the pasture and he could be left turned out a lot more, with a few buddies.

When Marcus came up to the fence and realized who was here to visit he was crazing our attention.   I climbed the fence and groomed him a little bit.   He is not what most people would think of when they think of a horse who has been in race training.   He's so sweet, I groomed him while he was totally loose in his pasture, no halter, no lead rope, nothing, he just stood there relishing the attention that I bestowed upon him.

A few times, after I was done grooming, he wandered off, but always came right back for more attention.   The picture above is of Marcus coming over to me and giving me a good sniff and kiss.   He did this all on his own, I did not encourage him to put his nose to my face.   I know he remembers me.   I was there helping him come into this world, a difficult birth and he is lucky to be alive and healthy after such a hard time coming into this world.   I guess he and I will always have a special connection because of that tricky situation.

After he sniffed me over really good he wandered off, but came right back and I was standing by the fence talking to Diana and he came up and put his head over my right shoulder and just stood there with his gorgeous head on my shoulder listening to me talk and letting me rub on him some more.   He is so sweet and such a special boy, I can't wait for him to start racing.

After our visit we went back to my in-laws for a late lunch, tried to get our youngest daughter to take a nap, but she was just too excited, so later in the afternoon we headed out for a walk, as our oldest wanted to go see the stream, she had seen on a walk, the day before, with some other family members.   It was my husband, my two daughters, and I alone, this time.   I had my Seeing Eye Dog Dextra harnessed up and I was following behind my husband as we went down the very steep hill behind my in-law's house.   Our oldest daughter led the way and my husband helped our youngest.   After a little while, we realized it was getting dark very quickly, so we turned around to head back to the house, but our oldest daughter was getting a bit upset that she wasn't going to get to see the stream again.   My husband got me to the bottom of the steep hill, where the path led through the thick woods up to my in-law's house and I took my youngest daughters hand and started back to the house as my husband took our oldest a shortcut to the stream.   I couldn't see hardly anything through the thick woods, I just said, "Dextra, forward!  Let's go back to the house."   And Dextra slowly made her way up the steep incline guiding me and my 2 year old daughter around the thick underbrush, bush branches, etc staying on what felt like the correct path, the several hundered feet up to the clearing where the house stands.   When she got us safely to the front sidewalk I dropped the harness and gave her a huge hug, petted her vigorously, and just told her how proud of her I was and what a super star Seeing Eye Dog she is!

These dogs are not trained to go hiking like that, but many guide dog users do go hiking, we just have to do it slowly and use the training they have to expand on it to train them about trails.   So, she isn't in the first to do this, but it was her first time doing it and she was amazing!

Dextra and I have only been together since April and she is only 2 1/2 years old, but she is proving to be so awesome and I can not praise her enough or thank The Seeing Eye enough for partnering her with me.   I look forward to a lot more adventures with this truly amazing young yellow Labrador from The Seeing Eye.

And, yes, my 2 year old was also adding her praises to Dextra, too.   It was so dark by the time I made it back to the house that all I could see was the outline of the house against the fading light.   I went inside and had my father-in-law turn on the flood lights, so that my husband and oldest daughter could find their way back to the house, which they did about 20 minutes later.

So, the day after Thanksgiving gave me a lot to be thankful for.   I am thankful for my sweet family, my awesome Seeing Eye dog, my horses, and my wodnerful trainer, Diana McClure.

Marq Your Bible to race, in part, for The Seeing Eye, Inc

It is amazing how God works and the inspirations that come from His faithfulness.

Already, there are three partners in our racehorse that are graduates of The Seeing Eye, myself, included.   On Sunday, I received an unexpected call from yet another Seeing Eye graduate who wishes to join the partnership.  

She has informed me that any of her earnings, past what will go directly back into the partnership, will be donated to The Seeing Eye, in her name.   This has inspired me to do the same with part of my majority interest in him.

I currently own 42% of Marq Your Bible aka "Marcus" and I now wish to also donate at least 2% of my earnings, past what goes back directly to the partnership, to The Seeing Eye.   I have been inspired by this new member and also by the faithfulness God has shown me and I am feeling led to do this.

So, now, Marcus will not only be owned by 4 graduates of The Seeing Eye and 2 other women, who are not blind, but he will be racing for the wonderful organization that we all love, that has provided 4 of us with amazing dog guides, The Seeing Eye Inc of Morristown, NJ.

Marcus will be taking a short break to do some more growing.   He has nothing wrong, but has been growing so much lately, that we just feel it is in his best interest to let him grow.   He will start his vacation next week and be brought back into training Jan. 1st, with a hopeful first race to be around the middle of March.

Become a fan of this wonderful horse that is now going to be racing for such an extraordinarily great cause

You can find his fan page on Facebook and also the farm fan page, Perfect Peace Farm, where you will receive updated news on what he is up to and see pictures of this totally gorgeous boy.

Marcus' fan page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marq-Your-Bible/193529944025899?ref=ts

Perfect Peace Farm fan page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Perfect-Peace-Farm-LLC/173890696024170

Go Marcus, Go!
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A little background on me and my connection to The Seeing Eye.

I am currently working with my 4th Seeing Eye Dog, Dextra, a 2 year old female yellow Labrador Retriever, who I received in April 2011.  

I received my first Seeing Eye Dog, Ginger, a female German Shepherd, in July 1994.   I have been blessed by this organization and the 4 great dogs I have been given.   I received my 2nd guide, Zach, in May 1995, a male black Labrador Retriever, and my 3rd, Nalley, a male Golden Retriever, in April 2002.   Nalley is still with me, at the age of 11, enjoying retirement.

These dogs have guided me at college, through graduation, on various horse farms and other jobs, down the aisle at a friend's wedding, been my ring bearer at my own wedding, guided me on the train trip we took for our Honeymoon to Saratoga Springs for the horse races, at several other race tracks, including to Churchill Downs for the Breeder's Cup in 2006, been with me when I sing solos at church, when I'm in choir, and countless other things, where they help me maintain independence.   I am forever grateful to The Seeing Eye for their dedication to breeding top quality dogs, training the best guides for those seeking a dog guide, and the support they give students while in class and graduates after we return home with our dogs.   It is a wonderful organization that I am pleased to be a part of and hope and pray that I can give back to, in part, with some of the earnings of this racehorse.   I will be combining my love of dogs and horses all in one, it doesn't get much better than that!

Hurricane Irene at Perfect Peace Farm and a few Other Things

As Hurricane Irene approached and the air pressure started to drop on Thursday, it sent our oldest mare, Messenger of Light, aka "Leia", into a gas colic.   She has been sensitive to drops in air pressure, int he past, suffering a gas colic about once a year, for the past 4 years or so.   We gave her some Banamine and she was quickly much better and never had anymore signs of a problem.   We kept a close watch on her for the next few days, but it appears that this episode had been mild, thank goodness, so no vet was needed.

We brought the horses into the barn on Friday evening, as the rain was supposed to start between 3 to 5 AM on Saturday.   We filled up all 3 huge water troughs, knowing we'd lose power, we wanted to make sure we had plenty of water for the horses.   After Hurricane Isabel, we were without power for a full week, actually about 6 hours or so past a full week.   So, I wanted to be ready for the worst.

We had our tub filled with water, I had cleaned out milk jugs and juice containers, and filled them with water, and I had a few big pots of water for the dogs and cat.

We woke up on Saturday morning to strong winds and heavy rain, but still had power.   I started lunch shortly after we finished breakfast, as I wanted to make sure we had something nice to eat before we lost power.   I also had my husband run some of my frozen foods over to a friend's house, as she had space in her chest freezer for them and had a generator, so i wouldn't lose all my food.

My planning paid off and we lost power right after lunch, at about 1 PM.

We put our youngest daughter, almost 2 years old, down for her nap, hoping she'd sleep throught he storm and she did somewhat.   Her nap was a bit shorter than usual, but you couldn't blame her.

We had an old transister radio, so were able to listen to the news reports as to how bad things were, where the storm was going, etc.

Since we'd lost power I was not going to be able to watch any of the big horse races of this past weekend, but a friend of mine was willing to talk to me ont he phone and relay to me what was happening with the races.   I got to hear about the King's Bishop and Travers as they were happening.   She promised to call me the on Sunday so I could hear the big races from Del Mar.

Then it was time to feed everyone, so my husband went to check on the horses and feed them their dinner as I prepared our dinner in the house.

We got the girls ready for bed a bit earlier than their usual 8:30 bedtime and got them into bed as it got dark.

We had batteries to run the CD player for our youngest daughter, so she'd have her music to fall asleep to, but our oldest, almost 6 years old, was just a bit too scared by the wind and storm, so I laid some blankets on the floor next to my side of the bed and told her she could sleep there.

My two dogs, Nalley, an 11 year old Golden Retriever, my retired Seeing Eye Dog, and Dextra, a 2 year old yellow Labrador Retriever, my current Seeing Eye Dog, laid on the floor on either side of our oldest daughter.

Several times through the night, our youngest daughter woke up crying, so I had to go check on her.  I did try to bring her into bed with us, but she just will not sleep in our bed, prefering to play or talk.   When my husband started snoring she blurted out, at almost full volume, "Daddy, what are you doing?"    I tried to hush her and told her that Daddy was snoring, but she just wouldn't quiet down, so I took her back to her room, put the music back on and rocked her in the glider for a little while.   She did go back to sleep and I was able to get a bit more sleep.

We were then rudely woken up at 6 AM by our oldest daughter, who jumped up and called out, "There is no more storm!"   She was so excited that it was over.

My husband knew I hadn't slept well, due to our youngest, so he took our oldest and let me sleep in a bit more, as our youngest was also still sleeping.

They got dressed and went to feed the horses, let them out of the barn, and survey the damage to our property.

We were pretty lucky, no trees down, but some minor gutter damage and the roof over our patio got ripped off the house and flipped over the back yard fence, almost landing in our pond.   The legs are bent, the roof is bent, so I think it can't be put back up, it will have to be replaced, at some point.   Our mailbox also got damaged, so over all we were very lucky.

Sunday was hot, but there was a wind for mos tof the day.   In the evening we all went out to feed the horses and spend some time with them.

As they ate, Leia started to cough, and I instantly knew she was starting to choke, something else that she does about once a year, like the gas colic.   We were working with the other group of horses, but I kept an ear out for Leia and paid attention to how often she was coughing.

Our oldest daughter really wanted to get on the backs of Myra and Belle, our two ponies, well, Myra is a Half Welsh, Belle is just pony sized, but is an Anglo-Arabian, they are half sisters.   So, I led Myra, while holding our youngest daughter, and my husband held onto our oldest, as she sat on Myra, first.  Myra and Belle have not truly been broke to ride, but have been willing to let us put kids on their backs, so far, but this time, Myra decided she really didn't want our oldest up there, so let out a buck, but since my husband had ahold of our daughter, he was able to get her off and she was not hurt.   She was crying, but I think it was more from being scared.   She quickly stopped crying and I caught Belle and she eagerly got on Belle's back.   Belle was very good and didn't do anything, so that was great to help rebuild her confidence.

I noticed Leia was still coughing, so I said it was time for me to check on Leia more closely.   I handed our youngest daughter to my husband, so I could go into the pasture with Leia and Glory, to see how Leia was doing.   She had some snot coming out of her nose, due to her coughing fromt he choke.   I ran my hands down her neck to see if I could feel anything, but I just felt that all the muscles were super tight.   I then put my hands on either side of her neck and slowly and gently moved them from her throat latch area down towards her chest, trying to follow where her esophagus is.  I did this only twice, not really  knowing if it would help or not, but something just told me to do it, so going with my instincts and gut feeling, I did what just seemed to come naturally to me.   As I did this, I could feel Leia's neck muscles start to relax.   I led her around a few minutes, then turned her lose, when I realized she hadn't coughed even once since I had run my hands down her neck.   We stayed out there another 10 minutes or so and there was no more coughing.   So, the choking incident was also mild, just like her gas colic. 

I have never done that technique on a choking horse before and I just had a strong urge to do it.   The only thing I can tell you is that God was telling me what to do to help her, and because I listened she was healed and again, no vet was needed.

Let's just say my husband is so happy that in the two incidents with Leia, in the last week, that I'd saved us, easily, over $600 in emergency vet costs.

All I know is God has given me a gift to just know things about horses, what is wrong with them, how good they are going to be as race horses, if they are a nice spiritted horse or a mean horse, and so on.  I just have this sense and I want to try to use it more, share my gift.  I don't know how I will do this, but maybe some door will open for me to share this with others and not just use it on my own small herd or share experiences I've had with horses I've worked with int he past on this blog.

Sunday night was very hot and uncomfortable, as there was no wind and the humidity was up, but we managed to get a little sleep.

On Monday, a friend of mine offered to take my kids and I to her sister's house so we could all get cleaned up.   It was a nice break.

While we were gone my husband went for more ice and some milk.

Thankfully, at 9:30 PM on Monday, the power came back on, but since we were already in bed, the only enjoyment we got from it was that we turned on the fans.

Home phone is still not working, internet is super slow, but at least we have power now.   I've been trying to catch up on some new sin the world and some racing news and when I found out what Uncle Mo's owner said about finishing 2nd in the King's Bishop it has annoyed me greatly.    He said it was the "lowest of lows".   No, sir, sorry, finishing 2nd in a major Grade 1 stakes race is not a low of any kind.   When your beautiful 3 year old filly, who has the heart of a champion, is improving with each race, looks like she is going to finish a clear cut second, suddenly fades and is eased, then requires the horse ambulance to come get her to take her back to her stall, that is the "lowest of lows".   Being told she may not survive, because one of her sesamoids is totally shattered, that's a low.   So, please do not say finishing 2nd in that race was "the lowest of lows.", you have no idea.   I foaled that filly out, helped her come into this world, and it was a very difficult delivery, I halter trained her, loved her, played with her, etc, the heart ache of her injury was more than I can put into words.   Luckily, and praise God, she beat all the odds and is standing out in my pasture right now, and will hopefully be bred next year.   The jockey said it as a soft spot in the track that she found, it happens in racing, it's hard to deal with, loving horses the way I do, but it could have happened in the field, I've had horses get hurt in stalls, fields, etc, so I will keep racing, loving my horses, and taking care of them the best I can.

Her half brother is gearing up to make his first start this fall.   So, watch out for Marq Your Bible!

So, Hurricane Irene is gone, leaving some with more damage than we got and I know some lives were lost.  My thoughts and prayers are with those who's lives have been devistated by this storm.   I pray lives can get back to some kind of normal as quickly as possible.

Sunday Morning Nightmare

This is not about a horse, but it is about my new Seeing Eye Dog, Dextra, my 4th guide.  I wrote it and thought it was very important to share it, to help the awareness of this particular problem that a lot of guide dog users face.  This article is about to be published in Paw Tracks, as well.  

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SUNDAY MORNING NIGHTMARE
by: Lisa Calhoun

A Sunday morning walk in Morristown, NJ started out so nice, the cool spring morning energizing my new Seeing Eye Dog, Dextra, and I, as we smoothly made our way through town, crossing streets, weaving around pedestrians,quickly passing by people sitting in café’s with no distractions.   My instructor following me, just behind my right shoulder, explaining the new route for me, as key landmarks approached or if I needed any further details on our new path.  We talked casually as we made our way through this new route and as we were nearing the end, suddenly things went from a peaceful morning walk to a nightmare.

We were two blocks from completing the new route when my instructor informed me that there was a dog up ahead, but that the people were backing it up into a doorway.  Dextra, a very small female yellow Labrador Retriever, walked calmly up the sidewalk as we approached the dog.   Suddenly from my far left, I heard a deep growling sound and then instantly it lunged and was on top of my poor little girl.   She quickly turned to the right, trying to avoid the attack, but the dog was unrelenting and kept on top of her.  She got me to the curb, I swear she tried to stop to tell me it was there, before she continued into the street, taking me between two parked cars.   My instructor helped me, to make sure I didn’t fall, but luckily I have very good balance and I was fine, so he then quickly turned to helping my poor defenseless dog, who was still suffering a brutal attack in silence.   He was able to get the aggresser off of her and almost got bitten himself.  He then took my arm and we quickly made our way down the sidewalk and away from the mean dog, I heeled my poor dog at my left side, as I kept calling out, “Oh, God, no!”  I just repeated it over and over again, not able to get any other words out, asI fought back tears.  I was trying to stay brave for my dog, so she wouldn’t distress any further and get more upset by the whole horrific situation.

I put Dextra at sit and my instructor quickly went over her, looking for any signs of a wound.  Her whole neck was wet, on the left side.  At first, he did not see anything, then he made sure I was okay, which I was, just shaken by the experience, as any blind person would be that found themselves in this situation.  Unfortunatley, I had been through this before, with my 2nd dog, Zach, who suffered two attacks from a Chow that my boss had at a horse farm I worked at.   I was lucky, then, as it did not affect my dog’s work, so I prayed and still am praying this experience has not affected my brand new Seeing Eye Dog, as the incidentwas less than 24 hours ago.

As my instructor examined my dog he looked back at where the people had been with the dog, but they had quickly disappeared.

As we walked sighted guide, Dextra happily heeling at my left side, he explained what he had witnessed.   There were two people holding the dog, one holding the leash and one holding the dog by the collar, so he thought they would keep control of it, but when the dog started to growl, the person holding the collar just let go of it, and it happened to be right as I was passing infront of the dog.   Luckily, there was a parking lane, so when my Seeing Eye Dog had bravely taken me into the street, to get away from her attacker, she was still thinking of her job and did not take me into traffic.

When we got about a half block from where The Seeing Eye van was parked, I went ahead and worked Dextra back to the van, to give her a bit of a boost in confidence.   She did a great job.

When we got back to The Seeing Eye, my instructor inspected my dog again and this time, he found a puncture wound on the left side of Dextra's neck.   He took me sighted guide back to my room and there,I had to part with my dog, as she needed to seek medical treatment and be checked over more thoroughly.

It was the longest two hours I have experienced in a very long time, waiting and wondering what was going on with my new partner.   I had been told at lunch that they had called the vet in from home, so that was part of why it was taking so long, but it didn’t help my nerves as I awaited the word on how she truly was doing.

I was also told a Police Report was in the process of being filed and my instructor had driven right back to town to try and track down the people with the dog.   Unfortunately, he didn’t have any luck.

I finally got my girl back and she does have a puncture wound on her neck, but should be fine.  She is getting antibiotics and the wound is being cleaned and cared for properly, alongwith her now wearing a regular nylon collar, instead of the usual training collar.  I let her sleep in her crate, last night, so I could take the collar off, to let even more air get to the wound, to help promote healing.   Tomorrow she will get a Rabies booster, just to be safe, since we have no clue as to the vaccination history of the dog that attacked her.

It is a reminder that things can happen so fast and things can change so suddenly, from that peaceful wonderful Sunday morning walk, to a nightmare in a split second.   I wish people walking their dogs would keep better control of them and if the dog is aggressive in the least, it does not belong in town around people walking, especially where Seeing Eye Dogs and guide dogs are.  Dog attacks are one of the biggest reasons dog guides are retired, as it can damage their confidence and more.   I was lucky with my male black Labrador Retriever, Zach, and I hope I will be lucky with Dextra, this gorgeous perfectlittle female yellow Labrador Retriever, she did not deserve what happened to her, no dog deserves such a thing to happen to it.   Stricter laws are in the works in some states to make it a higher crime for a guide dog to be attacked and I am now going to do what I can to help the cause of getting these laws passed.


UPDATE:   It has been three weeks since the attack and Dextra, my little yellow Lab is doing great.   She has healed physically and seems to have had no lasting mental affects from the attack.   We are now home and she is joyfully working for me, getting along with my retired Seeing Eye Dog, Nalley, and happily interacting with my husband and two young daughters.   She is a great worker and I am thrilled that she is such a mentally solid dog that she was able to overcome what happened to her, less than a week into our partnership.

My father-in-law, a former Virginia General Assembly member, is helping look into what can be done to make the laws stricter here in Virginia, as when he was in office, he was the sponsor of the Vicious Dog Act, so this is one of his causes and he will help me do what we can, here in the state of Virginia.