What's the First Step?

TBI Seizure Alert and Recovery GIANTS

Founders: Ara, Gary, Ara Joleen Carbonneau

Contact: 4472 31st Street Grantville, KS 66429

Email: kimosavie@yahoo.com

Facebook: Seizure Alert and Recovery Giants

Website:https://sites.google.com/site/seizurealertgiants

PAWS UP!!!!

Greetings from TBI Seizure Alert and Recovery GIANTS! We recently received your inquiry about the possibility of applying for a trained service dog. We currently train Great Pyrenees, Great Danes, Newfoundlands and few other selective Giant breeds. We would like to give you a quick overview of who we are and who we serve.

We are a service dog training agency that matches our trained service dogs with those who have traumatic brain injury that revolves around health issues such as epilepsy and related conditions. We work primarily in teaching seizure awareness, alert and tasks associated with these needs. We on occasion offer cross training for mobility such as bracing, blocking and guidance in walking to a safe location to avoid injury due to a brain injury episode. We give priority to service connected military veterans and those who are underserved in Native American communities, those especially we target are children over the age of 10.

All of our applicants regardless of their situation must be at least 10 years of age and be able to care for their service dog or a dedicated caregiver that can assist in those duties. All of our clients must be able in some fashion to be able to communicate with their dog. This is a broad area and one we can work with as we know many people with brain injury have differing or limited ways in which to communicate. We also ask our clients to be willing to assist in finding a local community partner who would be interested in assisting with any related vet costs or if the client is able to show that they are financially able to care for the service dog. Usually, we like to see a fund set aside that is initially $500 and the dog must (if eligible) have dog health insurance.

We are located in Eastern Kansas on an 11 acre training ranch that also includes our horses. We choose our pups and match them to applicants based both on the dog’s abilities and the applicants needs. We typically start their training after they pass an initial screening that starts at approximately 12 weeks. From there they are entered into 3 levels of AKC approved Canine Good Citizen. If the dog is to be placed with a child, we also include Therapy Dog certification. It is at this time, we reevaluate the dog and determine its suitability for service dog training. If the dog passes the evaluation, then the dog goes on to advanced public access, task orientation and various other service dog training. We also begin to look at this point for potential handlers that can be matched with our service dogs in training. Training continues usually close to the 2 year mark, with continuous testing and determination for suitability. We also include specific training for the needs of the prospective handler. It is usually at this stage, we make a “meet and greet” between the prospective handler and the service dog in training. It is important to understand that anytime in the training, there is always a possibility that a dog may no longer be suitable for the program. Understand we keep all our service dogs in training that do not pass the program as members of our ranch and community for life. We also retain that right with handlers that if for any reason, the handler is not able to care for the service dog, TBI Seizure Alert and Recovery GIANTS retains full right to custody of the service dog.

We require medical documentation from your physician recommending the use of a service dog and how it can mitigate your health condition. For example: if a client has seizures, the physician might say that a dog that can sense a seizure coming would be beneficial. We also do both on paper and in person interviews and review potential clients' living environments. This is case by case and each applicant is reviewed by our board individually. Some factors we consider are the number of pets in the home, space availability for a service dog and possibly a vet recommendation if you have pets currently or in the recent past.

Before we go any further into detail about our program, we invite you to fill out the attached intake questionnaire to better understand your needs and how we can best serve them. By knowing the applicants needs we can more quickly and efficiently match them with a service dog. Through generous donors, we can offer much of our services for very low cost that makes service dog training truly affordable for those in need. Please also be aware that service dog training does take time and can be up to 18 months before the dog can be permanently placed but handlers often meet their dogs within the year. Once again, thank you for contacting us and we look forward to receiving your intake questionnaire soon!

Best in health!!

PAWS UP!!

TBI Seizure Alert and Recovery GIANTS