Sedona
Professional Service Dog
Areas of Expertise
Task Trained to alert the handler when a special condition is present or active.
BIOGRAPHY
Sedona was born in a cave on a private ranch in southwest Missouri with a birth defect called Megaesophagus. Most dogs with her physical condition are usually destroyed because their owners are either unable or unwilling to accommodate a dog with an esophagus unable to transport food to the stomach after ingestion. Sedona's meals are prepared and served in a special way to rely very little on her esophagus' muscles.
At age 3, it was observed in her personality that she was naturally gifted for performing her type of service dog task. Her handler is a combat-disabled Army veteran on staff at ATU.
Service Dog Training
Sedona and her handler have received over 18 month's of service dog training under
the guidance of a marine veteran, Chris Affolter, of Victory's Service Dog Ranch in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.
Training never ends, however. When Sedona does not follow an instruction properly,
the handler will reset the conditions and repeat until performed properly.
Because Sedona cannot eat food other than her specially prepared meals, she could
not be trained using treats for positive reinforcement. Instead she was trained with
great patience using affection as her reward for proper task performance.
ASL Sign Language
Sedona and her handler share countless verbal commands and over two dozen words and
code words mapped to the American Sign Language (ASL) library. A smaller subset of
these ASL signs can be used in combination for up to 6-sign (6-word) sentences.
The irony of this means that some times, other people talking with her handler while
making hand gestures will accidentally sign a word or phrase that Sedona is familiar.
A fun discussion about which often ensues.
AWARDS & HONORS
Sedona is a good dog.
When Sedona is in uniform, it should be evident at all times from her behavior (and
that of the handler's) that she is a professional service dog who is working and exemplifying
the high-bar standards of professional service dogs.
Sedona receives complements every time she is working in public for maintaining her
service dog bearing while actively attentive to the environmental surroundings.
ADA.gov | Service Dog Information
How “Service Animal” Is Defined
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.
Read More >What does "do work or perform tasks" mean?
According to the ADA, the dog must be trained to take a specific action when needed to assist the person with a disability. For example, a person with diabetes may have a dog that is trained to alert him when his blood sugar reaches high or low levels. A person with depression may have a dog that is trained to remind her to take her medication. Or, a person who has epilepsy may have a dog that is trained to detect the onset of a seizure and then help the person remain safe during the seizure.
Read More >Hobbies
When not on duty, working, or in uniform, Sedona enjoys:
- Frisbee,
- Ball,
- Stick, and
- Visiting Warhorse Ranch in Winslow, Arkansas.