No Simple Task To Replace Service Dog

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Hartford Courant

By Grant Welker

WEST HARTFORD -- Barry Lapp's life improved greatly in 1996 when he got Caesar, a yellow Labrador, from East Coast Assistance Dogs, a Torrington nonprofit group that trains dogs to help people with disabilities.

For 10 years, the dog rarely left the side of his master's wheelchair. Caesar helped open doors, picked things up in the house that Lapp needed and even got food out of the fridge. Caesar was trained to sense if Lapp needed emergency help and could dial 911 on a special phone and open the door by tugging on a string.

On July 29, Caesar died from pneumonia and other complications stemming from breathing problems. A devastated Lapp, 50, who has been confined to a wheelchair since birth because of a degenerative muscular disease, is getting a new service dog, Boomer, from ECAD.

"It's been lonely as hell, and it makes me a little uneasy," he said about being alone, after Caesar became ill and was taken to the vet.

On Friday, Lu and Dale Picard, the founders of ECAD, will bring Boomer, a 2-year-old Lab, to the home of Lapp and his wife, Maureen Duffy, a physical therapist.

The purpose will be to introduce Boomer to Lapp and build a bond. During this and other visits, Lapp may take the dog for a walk or a ride in his van, which he has friends drive, to make sure the dog is comfortable with the van and its wheelchair lift. Lapp may have to wait until late September to get a dog full time, depending on how well they work together.

Lapp's wife said she hopes that a replacement is found quickly because Caesar's presence gave her peace of mind about her husband's safety when she was away from home. Losing Caesar was losing part of their family.

"Caesar always ran out to greet me," she said. "We would play around when he was younger. We used to refer to him as our son."

Lu Picard said ECAD has a list of a dozen people waiting for service dogs. The wait can be as long as a year, but Lapp is getting priority because he's looking for a successor dog. Lapp was ECAD's first client when he was paired with Caesar.

The cost, about $6,500, is usually raised as a joint effort between ECAD and the recipient. For Lapp, that cost is in addition to the nearly $13,000 in medical costs from Caesar's illness.

Lu Picard said she began training dogs for people with physical disabilities after her father had a stroke. ECAD has given more than 100 dogs to nursing homes and recipients who have physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries and autism.

Lapp, who has spinal muscular atrophy, said the course of training with a service dog requires patience and understanding.

"For the first month, no one else can even make eye contact with the dog, can't interact with him or anything," he said. "It can only eat off of my lap, has to know that I'm his primary source. That's a real tough time."

If the dog was distracted during the first stages of the relationship, it wouldn't be able to establish the disabled person as its main priority, Lapp said.

ECAD has more than 100 dogs in training, mostly Labs and golden retrievers, and places 12 to 15 dogs with patients a year. The company teaches about 75 students in Torrington and New York to train dogs, a process that usually lasts more than a year.

In Connecticut, many of the student trainers come to the Picards' training facility in Torrington on weekends to satisfy required volunteer service for their schools.

At some alternative schools in New York, such as The Children's Village in Dobbs Ferry and Green Chimneys in Patterson, many students enroll in the program as an elective.

The students learn to train service dogs and teach as many as 80 basic commands to them. Students are typically between 11 and 15 years old and are referred by counselors. They are chosen for a good mix of different personalities who work well with each other.

"When you can teach a dog to do different tasks and get unconditional love, the kids' self-esteem goes up," Lu Picard said. "They can pick up on tasks quickly, but it takes a while to teach the dogs. It's challenging because it's maybe an 11- or 12-year-old doing it, and you need patience and learn the right tone of voice."

During the weekends, some of the training occurs on the sidewalks of northwest Connecticut towns.

"Kids will socialize the dog in Torrington or downtown Winsted," she said. "And show how to interact with strange dogs. They also groom, and brush the dogs' teeth."

Caesar already knew commands when Lapp began training with him five or six days a week. When Lapp shopped, Caesar would get some food off shelves by a series of commands and help pay the cashier. He could even pick up a gallon of milk.

"We would practice walking in Westfarms mall on Christmas Eve, without a leash, walking right next to him, he seemed to know he was being tested," he said. "We even went to Burger King, dropped food on the floor, and he couldn't eat it. You need to say `leave it.'"

Lapp's mother was told by doctors that he probably wouldn't live past age 5. Spinal muscular atrophy weakens the victim's muscles and limits deep tendon reflexes.

"It was hard to understand how I was different and why I was different," he said. "I've had good days and bad days. I'm lucky to have a good family and friends and a lot of support."