The DRM Guide to Disability Resources on the Internet: Sponsors

	DISABILITY RESOURCES ONLINE
	Monitoring, Reviewing and Reporting on Resources For Independent Living
	Updated 11/2008
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"Pawsing" To Consider Dogs And Disability

Dogs might be man's – or woman's – best friend, but, for many people with disabilities, dogs serve much more than loving companions. Many disabled individuals rely on working canines to help with daily tasks, travel safely, and alert others when medical care is needed. With this thought in mind, let's take a look at three new resources spotlighting animals and the roles they play in the lives of people with disabilities.
Puppies Behind Bars: Training Puppies To Change Lives
photographs by Christopher Makos and Paul Solberg
Glitterati Incorporated, 2007. Hardcover, 143 pages, $50.00.

To the general public who see guide dogs and their visually impaired human partners on the street, these dogs seem like working wonders. Most of the public, however, know little about how guide dogs and other assistance dogs are trained. One particular training option is the focus of a coffee-table book, Puppies Behind Bars, about the organization that matches potential service dogs with prison inmates for initial training. In this collection of color photography, dogs in training for various types of service and assistance dog careers are captured in moments of work and repose.

Hanni And Beth: Safe & Sound
by Beth Finke
Seedlings Braille Books for Children 2007 transcription of the Blue Marlin print edition. $8.00 (Order from www.seedlings.org)

While the public might not be too aware of how service dogs are trained, I, as a guide dog handler, have often found young children to be very knowledgeable about the ways my guide dog helps me. This is due, in part, to the growing body of disability-related literature aimed at young readers. Hanni And Beth: Safe & Sound by guide dog handler Beth Finke is a welcome addition to the field. In this book for pre-schoolers and early readers, Finke, in age-appropriate text, describes how her dog Hanni and she work together as a team. Although Finke's book is available in a standard edition, we have chosen to feature the combined Braille and print version produced by Seedlings. If you aren't familiar with the Seedlings program that promotes Braille literacy for visually impaired children and provides quality Braille books at astoundingly competitive prices, definitely check Seedlings out at www.seedlings.org.


Saying Goodbye To Your Angel Animals: Finding Comfort After Losing Your Pet
by Allen & Linda Anderson
New World Library, 2008. Softcover, 146 pages, $13.95.
One aspect of living with assistance dogs that receives little press is the grief individuals experience when that special animal dies or retires. Turning to Saying Goodbye To Your Angel Animals by noted animal experts Allen and Linda Anderson might help during times of loss. The Andersons, authors of the popular Angel Animals series of books about the spiritual and emotional bond between humans and their beloved animals, have written an important resource of information and comfort to help people move through the mourning that surrounds pet loss. In addition to the book itself, they sponsor a website that provides information and a forum for support at www.sayinggoodbyetoyourangelanimals.com.

-Reviewed by Sally Rosenthal


About the reviewer: A former college librarian and occupational therapist, Sally Rosenthal is a contributing editor and frequent writer for a number of publications about disability and animals. In addition to her husband, a polio survivor, and his service dog, she lives with her second guide dog and one greatly outnumbered but pampered family cat.