Cecelia Kurland, Kevin Ugan, Margo Gathright-Deitrich and Doug Lee (l-r) let their dogs socialize during training
requires an inordinate amount of patience, time and energy to ready these pups for a life of service — and then they are gone. "It's hard to watch them walk out of your life," Kurland says. "But you take great pride in knowing that your dog will be helping those who can't help themselves."
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evin Ugan, AE 88, MS AE 89, knows the feeling all too well. He recently had to say goodbye to Tom, a 16-month-old golden-Lab mix he had trained since Tom was only a few weeks old. Ugan took a few days off from his Tucker, Ga., software design business and flew with the dog to an advanced training facility on Long Island, N.Y., where Tom will spend several more months in training and be thoroughly evaluated by the CCI staff. After a successful evaluation, he will be matched with a client. 60
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Before they left, Ugan threw a private "graduation party" for Tom, complete with frozen doggie snacks. "I'm missing him already," he says. "He was such a fun guy; he was kind of a party-animal type dog. He really kept things lively." Tom was the fifth puppy Ugan had raised. "It doesn't get any easier to say goodbye," he says. "The only difference is that you know what to expect the second time around. The first time, it's very traumatic for you to lose the dog that you're connected to, but you also feel very proud."
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nly half the dogs in training make it through the entire cycle. The other half are removed for a variety of reasons ranging from temperament problems to fear of their surroundings. That doesn't mean, however, that they can't still assist people.
Melody Moore, MS ICS 88, PhD 98, an assistant professor at Georgia State University, is conducting research in direct brain/computer interfacing with people who are paralyzed. Two of Moore's dogs couldn't meet CCI medical standards and could no longer be certified as service dogs. They were retrained to be therapy dogs and help Moore conduct the research. "An electrode implanted in the brain's cortex intercepts neuro-signals and sends them to a computer allowing the person to control the computer with their brain," Moore explains. "After the electrode is implanted, however, the person must relearn how to generate the brain signals that drive the cursor. Some electrodes are implanted in the motor-cortex area of the brain that controls left-hand movement. Although the person cannot move his left hand, he can think about