1999 Beyond Limits™ Award Winners
Five very special, amazing animals were selected as winners of Delta Society's annual Beyond Limits™ Awards for 1999-2000. The winners and their owners were honored at Delta's 18th Annual Conference, "Science and Magic," in Cincinnati October 29-31.
The Beyond Limits Awards recognize companion animals that enrich the lives of the people they touch. The Service Animal of the Year award recognizes animals that are specially trained to help people with disabilities to overcome barriers and achieve greater independence. The Therapy Animal of the Year award recognizes those animals performing exemplary services in their communities, by working through Delta's visiting Pet Partners® program and Animal-Assisted Therapy services. These animals make a difference by sharing their time and the love that results from the human-animal bond.
Regional and local winners were also announced and honored at the conference.
Therapy Animal
Buddy Hayes and Brooke
"She was a gift that was given to me, and I just want to share her with everyone else."
Buddy Hayes believed so strongly in animal-assisted therapy, and just as strongly in her dog, Brooke, that she filled out an employment application for Brooke at the same time that she applied for a job as recreation therapy director at the Virginia Beach Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center. "If they wanted me, they were going to have to take Brooke, too. We were a package deal."
It turned out to be quite a package, indeed. Reflective of that, Brooke is the winner of Delta Society's Beyond Limits Award as Therapy Animal of the Year for 1999.
"Brooke has a real way with people," says Linda Steinhoff, director of nursing at the center. "She touches all of our residents, bringing out smiles and feelings that they wouldn't otherwise project. They communicate with Brooke, even if they can't talk to us."
Brooke, a six-year-old Belgian Tervuren, comes to work with Buddy twice a week in the Traumatic Brain Injury Unit. She makes her rounds, and is considered a member of the staff and a member of the family by everyone she touches.
"We often take our residents on field trips," says Buddy. "And usually, other people in public won't interact with us, because our residents do look a little different. But our residents often ask, 'why don't people come up and speak with us?' and it's hard to answer. We had never taken Brooke on any of these trips, and one day we finally decided to do so.
"And an amazing thing happened," Buddy explains. "People came up and talked to us, and I didn't say a thing, our residents answered all the questions about Brooke: 'Yes, she's our dog, she lives with us… ' She helped make a connection that we never had made before. We couldn't have done it without her, and now we never go anywhere without her."
Brooke is a very well-rounded dog, with two obedience titles, backpacking and versatility titles to go along with her Delta Pet Partner designation. She was also recently the Humane Society dog of the year for her volunteer work for that local agency.
"She's a pretty special dog," says Buddy. "There will never be another like her."
Buddy has been in recreation therapy for ten years. "I wanted to find a job where I could combine my love of dogs with my profession. And thanks to Delta Pet Partners, I've been fortunate to do just that."
People often ask Buddy how they can train their dog to be a therapy dog.
"It's hard and rewarding work," she says. "You can train just about any dog in obedience, but only God gives us therapy dogs."
Teoti Pullie and Cody and Sebastian
A three-legged Labrador retriever, a formerly stray cat, and a woman who wouldn't take no for an answer are Delta Society's Beyond Limits Award winners of the Therapy Animal Team of the Year for 1999.
It wasn't an easy journey for Teoti Pullie. It began seven years ago when she adopted an outgoing, affectionate puppy named Cody from her veterinarian. Cody was a rescue case who had an injured leg amputated to save his life.
Teoti, who had wanted to get involved in animal-assisted therapy for some time, set out with Cody to find a program to join, but discovered that there were none.
So, after completing a home study course, Cody and Teoti became the first Delta Pet Partners in the Carolinas. "When I started going into facilities, they didn't know why we were there, or what we were doing. There were some facilities where they thought that animals had no place in health care. But little by little, with education, I was able to bring a lot of them around. Now agencies that weren't allowing us in before are welcoming us and requesting more visits than we handle."
Help soon came in the form of a gallant, stray cat that showed up in Teoti's yard. "Sebastian" thrived with Teoti, and soon joined the Pet Partners team.
With the three of them making the rounds, the load soon became too much for just one team. So Teoti started recruiting Pet Partner teams from the obedience classes she teaches twice a week. "As people come through obedience and they learn to better communicate with their dogs, they realize that there are other avenues to explore."
She also formed a local Pet Partner group and became a licensed animal handler instructor. Through her efforts, the number of Pet Partner teams grew from that single one (hers) to 24, and now, Teoti and friends are in demand all over South Carolina for Pet Partner work.
"There is a tremendous amount of spiritual meaning when you work with the animals," says Jean Tilley, director of the Lowman Home Lutheran Hospice in White Rock, SC, where Teoti currently volunteers. "It's wonderful to see the interaction between the animals and the patients and their families."
"My animals enjoy it so much, they love the attention, they love interacting with the people," Teoti says. "And I get so much from my involvement in Pet Partners. It's a joy, it's my heart, as we say in the south."
Teoti and her friends touch many people.
"We talk as Pet Partners, that there are things that happen to us that are miracles," she says. "And it's true - I've had miracles happen to me, but I believe that even one smile is a miracle because you've made somebody's day."
Service Animal
Debi Davis and Peekaboo
"He doesn't know he's a little guy," says Debi Davis proudly of her Papillon, Peekaboo. "He thinks he's a big dog. Even though he's very tiny, he's very mighty."
This nine-pound canine, whose ancestors were bred for centuries to serve as companions and lap dogs, is helping Debi to pioneer the role of toy dogs as service animals. In fact, Peekaboo has done his job so well, that he has been selected as the Beyond Limits Award winner as Delta Society's 1999 Service Animal of the Year.
Peekaboo began his life much the same as his relatives, as a companion for Debi's mother. His love of senior citizens and children led Debi to train him as a Delta Pet Partner and to get involved in animal-assisted therapy.
But when vascular disease began to take away Debi's mobility, she needed more help than a wheelchair could give. "I knew that I would need a service dog," Debi said. "I've been training dogs for 30 years, and I thought that Peekie could provide the assistance I needed. The question became whether I could train him."
Debi enrolled in a positive motivation clicker training course, and it quickly became evident that Peekaboo could do most of the things that the traditional-type, larger service dogs do, and sometimes more.
During the course of the day, Peekie fetches the phone, helps make the bed, opens and shuts cabinets and drawers, and retrieves dropped objects from the floor. And he even climbs into the clothes dryer to help pull out the laundry, something a larger dog would find challenging, to say the least.
"I love clicker training, and so did he," said Debi. "But the most important thing that I came to realize was that clicker training is perfect for people with disabilities who would like to train their own dogs. It doesn't require strength and mobility on the part of the trainer. The clicker does it all. It gives us back our own empowerment."
Debi and Peekaboo also continue to do Pet Partner therapy work. "I love doing outreach work," says Debi. "I want people to understand just how these animals make our lives better in so many ways. I have such independence because of this little guy."
"He's my secretary, and my butler and my maid and my elevator operator… he's always there no matter what. He's there when I need help of a physical nature, and he's there when I'm just having a bad day. And of course, he's also my best friend."
Peekaboo is indeed, one little dog that's more than just a toy.
Mike Lingenfelter and Dakota
Five years ago, Mike Lingenfelter had given up on life. After two heart attacks and other major health problems, he couldn't work, he couldn't write his name, and he didn't care.
But then, Mike says, "an angel entered my life" - a 98-pound, long-haired, reddish-golden angel named Dakota - and turned things around.
Dakota changed Mike's life, performing therapy dog duties as part of his mental and physical rehabilitation. But after a little more than a year, Dakota also started saving Mike's life. He developed the ability to know when Mike was about to experience a cardio-pulmonary attack. He alerts Mike, who can then take his medication in time to avert major problems, something that has happened three times in the past five years.
Dakota thus "graduated" from therapy animal to service animal. "Dakota is my best friend, the emotional support that keeps me getting better," says Mike. And for his efforts, Dakota is the 1999 winner of Delta Society's Beyond Limits Award as Service Animal of the Year.
And Mike also helped to save Dakota's life: dying from heartworm, in pain from a broken hip, Dakota came to Mike from Golden Retriever Rescue of Houston. Their lives connected in a partnership that has worked out quite well for both of them.
As Mike wrote in a letter to a friend: "No one will ever know how many times I have had Dakota come lay next to me and push on my chest with his back when I was having major chest pains. How I would just plain hold on to him until the pain had passed. He taught me to pick up his breathing rate to prevent me from hyperventilating when the pain is beyond my ability to tolerate. He is truly my guardian angel."
Mike is back at work for Dallas Area Rapid Transit. DART welcomes disabled customers every day and has similarly embraced Mike and Dakota in the workplace.
"DART is all about helping people," says Roger Snoble, executive director for DART. "Mike is an important employee, and Dakota helps him be productive, so it all works out. Besides, Dakota's a big hit in the building with all the other employees."
To say the least: amazingly, Dakota has also alerted on two of Mike's co-workers recently, warning them of imminent heart problems.
Dakota and Mike are very involved in animal-assisted therapy, visiting schools and hospitals in the Dallas area. "I've learned that my problems are pretty small, compared to some that I've seen," says Mike.
Because Mike's disability isn't obvious, he is occasionally questioned over the issue of accessibility for his service dog. So he has made it his mission to pave the way for others. "The little girl with epileptic seizures, who looks completely normal, but has a service dog -- I want to spend the rest of my life making sure that people like her can go through each day without being challenged about her service animal."
Learn more about Mike and Dakota's story by reading his new book, The Angel by My Side, available from Delta Society.
