Human Interest Human interest Companion dog becomes service dog: the story of Tex
Companion dog becomes service dog: the story of Tex
| Human interest |
By LeRae Haynes
Colin Rolston and Tex have taken ‘dog as man’s best friend’ to an all-new level. When he first brought Tex home, it was so that the 18-month old Papillon could be a companion dog. Diagnosed with macular degeneration and steadily losing his eyesight, Colin faced enormous adjustments and challenges and struggled with depression.
(Tex is pictured here in his professional uniform as a service dog.)
Colin said that it all started with his ability to read about 15 years ago, explaining that he had two heart bypass surgeries, and that the second surgery brought on the condition. “I didn’t know what it was; I just thought I needed different glasses,” he said.
In this condition the cells randomly go dormant, according to Colin. “With the ‘wet’ type of this condition, you can curb it from spreading if you catch it earlier enough, but I have a ‘dry’ type of macular degeneration,” he noted. “My eyesight was affected when it came to golfing and seeing small details and driving.
“This progressive condition makes it so that you can’t see in the middle—only the periphery. When you lose your eyesight, it diminishes until you’re legally blind, but not ‘black blind.’ I refer to myself as ‘very low vision.’ I can still manoeuvre, but can only see on the edges.”
He said that sometimes the public just doesn’t ‘get’ eye conditions. “People who have low vision that is a true impairment can still function somewhat, but people think they’re cheating or putting it on. Sometimes people are so ignorant.
“It just compounds the vision loss. It’s a huge struggle to be able to use the cane. You don’t want to go outside. You isolate yourself mentally and physically: you deny that you have a problem.
“The huge loss of freedom and independence is losing your right to drive. If you lost your ability to drive as a result of drinking and driving or a traffic violation, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. For us, it’s for life,” he continued.
“It’s difficult to ask for rides. I challenge you: give me your keys right now and live with no transportation for a month.”
He said that when it came to finding the perfect dog to be a companion and service dog, he owes his success to his daughter. “Both my girls were leaving to go to university and I was going to be on my own. My daughter, who is really good with animals, saw the need and started doing research. She said that I needed a small dog—they were easier to manage and would be easier to take when I travel,” he continued. “She seemed to think that the Papillon would work for me."
He said that the breed is sometimes used for hearing dogs, adding that Papillon dogs bond to, and attach themselves to, one person very well. “It’s perfect if you need that—it’s a ‘marriage.’”
Colin was worried in the beginning about stepping on, or tripping over a dog. “One great trait of these dogs is that if you go to step near them, they ‘shout’ to warn you. It’s an alarm to both of you,” he noted. “They automatically watch for feet and for the cane. I don’t have to worry about him getting in the way.”
Part of the problem with dealing with loss of sight is that you become afraid of social or public settings and you become deeply depressed, according to Colin. “These dogs know when you’re worried about something or when you’re sick,” he said. “Tex changed my life. He lifted me from depression.”
He said that they bought Tex from a local breeder when he was about a year and a half old. “He had been a show dog, and in the beginning it never crossed my mind that he would be a service dog,” Colin continued.
“I noticed that he was very agile and aware, and that self-preservation was his nature. He got used to knowing that I use a cane and came in on my left, he let me go first through doorways and was adaptive and perceptive to my quirks,” he added. “He accommodated me, and it became apparent that he would be a perfect service dog.”
Colin explained that after finding the right dog, it was a matter of getting Tex trained to meet the standards of service dogs. “I researched and found out what is expected of Canadian Service and Assistance dogs and what qualifies them, and trained Tex,” he said.
(Colin is pictured here with Tex and a friend, Finley.)
He said that he can’t speak highly enough of Bill Thornton from BC Guide Dog Services. “They’ve put so much work into this, and so much advocacy,” Colin explained. “Bill was an immense help to me. He gave me the impetus to carry on with this for myself and for others. He really kept up my courage and my resolve.”
Bill Thornton co-founded British Columbia Guide Dog Services in 1996, then launched Alberta Guide Dog Services as a division of BC Guide Dog Services in 2002. In partnership with BC Guide Dog Services, Bill has taken a leading role in the founding of Autism Support Dogs, working with autistic children aged four to 10.
What’s being lobbied for right now by a committee lead by Bill Thompson from BC Guide Dogs, is the right for people to have their own dog trained professionally to meet the provincial criteria, according to Colin, who added that these dogs would be tested and certified.
“The owner would be able to purchase public access ID for their service dogs, and the expectations of service dog behaviour would be standardized in order to least disrupt the public when these dogs are around.
“Right now in BC the laws that govern service and assistance dogs are non-existence—there are only guide dogs. Guide dogs are specifically for the blind. Dogs for people with autism, hearing loss, epilepsy, and therapy dogs, are ignored.
“I think that as long as there are some public obedience standards that are met, and as long as there are regulations in place, these dogs should be allowed,” he continued.
“When he wears his service jacket, I take Tex with me to stores, restaurants, and medical appointments—I have not been hindered taking him anywhere in Williams Lake. He said that people express surprise when they see Tex in his service dog jacket. ‘I didn’t know those dogs used for guide dogs,’ they’ll say. I pretend to be shocked and say, ‘Oh my god—they gave me the wrong dog!’”
When Colin takes Tex places with him, he said that the dog is respected. “People see that he is a professionally-trained working dog. I take him to doctor’s offices and they forget he’s even there: he’s quiet and unobtrusive. Sometimes they’re pretty surprised when I go to leave and Tex walks out from under a chair,” he said. “I take him with me to visit friends in the hospital: he cheers everybody up.”
Another great local connection with BC Guide Dogs and Autism Support Dogs is the Order of the Eastern Star in Williams Lake. Known for many years for commitment to raising money for charity, the group is now collaborating with BC Guide Dogs and Autism Support Dogs to change the lives of the blind, the partially sighed and families with autistic children throughout BC—all by sponsoring a puppy for as little as $5 a month.
Colin said it’s absolutely wonderful that Eastern Star has taken on the ‘Sponsor a Puppy’ program through BC Guide Dogs.
“I would say that anyone with a definitive ailment like autism or epilepsy should go through their support groups to get more information about service and assistance dogs. There should be a consortium of groups that will speak with a louder voice for a common goal,” he said.
“I’m a living example of what this means.”
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