Job 12:7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,”
Lori’s Story
A couple of years ago, we at CSAS received a call from a young woman in her
thirties. Lori had served with the U.S. Army in Desert Storm and had been
exposed to nerve agents. These gases caused her to have several neurological
problems to include uncontrolled seizures of several types.
Lori was married to a man in the Marines who was in Afghanistan. Lori lived
on base with her two year-old son and her three year-old Rottweiler,
“Jasmine”. When she contacted us she told us that she had noticed that
“Jasmine” acted strangely a little while before Lori had a seizure. If Lori
was sitting, “Jasmine” would not let her stand or she would lick Lori’s leg.
After talking for awhile, Lori told us that “Jasmine” had already had
obedience training.
Because, at CSAS, we will work with a pet dog that is showing signs of
alerting before the onset of a seizure, one of our trainers traveled to the
Marine base to evaluate the dog. Upon arrival, our trainer found that the
attention and care that “Jasmine” showed for Lori was fantastic. The trainer
was afforded the opportunity, on several occasions while with “Jasmine” and
Lori, to observe this wonderful animal alert and care for her human before,
during, and after a seizure. All of the work that “Jasmine” was doing for
Lori was instinctual. We, therefore, stayed on base and taught the specific
skills for seizure assist. “Jasmine” was then certified by the State of
North Carolina as a seizure assist dog for Lori. This is just one story of
many of how our dogs have changed the lives of their humans.
