Help Healing Companions with Chino’s training

Tracy has a history of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. She has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Her present “Healing Companions” trained service dog “Finola” is in her beginning stages of retirement. She is slowing down her service work. Tracy is in the beginning stages of training “Chino” her service dog in training. Chino was trained at the Grafton Correctional Institution in Grafton, Ohio where Jane Miller “Healing Companions” taught Chino’s basic cues and Canine Life and Social Skills (C.L.A.S.S.) to the inmates so they could help train potential Healing Companion dogs.

Chino will be trained by Jane Miller (H.C.) the same tasks Finola was trained to help Tracy. Tracy suffers from severe anxiety and panic attacks. Tracy is severely limited in her ability to function.

Chino, Jane and Tracy have started Public Access Training (P.A.T.). They will follow up with specific trained tasks Tracy will need to help her navigate her way through the world. Chino will be trained to nudge and paw Tracy when she is entering a panic attack. This helps remind her to breathe and orient herself. Tracy starts to panic when she is at the grocery store deli counter. Chino’s trained tasks of nudging and pawing will help Tracy finish ordering her food from the deli counter. Chino will also be trained to lead Tracy out of a store when she has trouble breathing or feels trapped. Tracy was physically and emotionally abused at a deli counter at a very young age. She fears the grocery store so much that if she didn’t have a service dog she wouldn’t go. She likes to eat healthy food but her disability has prevented her from grocery shopping. She frequents fast food drives to be fed. Chino will be task trained to jump up and place paws and body across Tracy’s legs when she’s making a phone call. Tracy was traumatized when making phone calls by her mother. She was not permitted to talk with friends on the phone unless her mother was on the other end listening. Tracy’s mother would yell and scream while she was on the phone with her friends. Making a phone call to Tracy is not an easy task. Chino will be task trained to stand beside, front, or behind Tracy when Tracy feels crowded or hypervigilant in lines at stores. Chino will be trained by Jane Miller to find Tracy’s car in a parking lot. When Tracy dissociates she forgets where she has parked her car. Chino will be trained to lean against Tracy when she is talking to strangers. Chino will be trained to assist Tracy in her daily activities of living. Tracy struggles with showering, brushing hair, and brushing her teeth. Chino will be trained to lie in front of the bathroom door to block any of her history from creeping in. Tracy will feel safe enough to shower. Tracy was molested in a bathroom when she was an infant. Any activity in the bathroom is a big struggle for her.

Training a Psychiatric Service Dog (P.S.D.) can be a very long process and a financial burden. Tracy is committed 100% to the process. She states that the process is therapeutic and that she has learned to communicate as a result. These trained service dogs give Tracy freedom and the ability to function at a higher level. She feels part of society now. She doesn’t feel so alone anymore.

Tracy was able to share her story with the Grafton Prison inmates. “I felt so at home when sharing my story. I felt like I have been imprisoned all my life.” “I sometimes still do feel imprisoned but my trained service dog helps me get out of my prison and into the world.”

Please donate to Chino and Tracy’s training. Any and all donations will be greatly appreciated. Help Chino so he can help Tracy continue to live a productive life and share her story about the healing power of a “Healing Companion” P.S.D.