On September 8, 2010 at 8:00 ET/ 7:oo PM CT, PBS will be airing a documentary called Through a Dog’s Eyes. The documentary is sponsored by Milk-Bone.
This documentary is based upon the book by the same name written by Jennifer Arnold. Jennifer is the founder and executive director of Canine Assistants, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to providing service dogs for people with disabilities.
Through a Dogs Eyes gives the viewer a glimpse into the very special bond between human being and canines. As a dog lover and dog owner I know that I have a special bond between my four legged family member. After watching this documentary I have learned even MORE about the special bond between us.
The documentary gives the viewer a detailed view behind the scenes on how a dog is trained to be a canine assistant. They actually start training the dogs the moment they are born! As soon as the puppies come into this world they are handled by a team of experts to get the puppies to used to being around humans.
I knew that training a dog to be a canine assistant would require a lot of work and effort but I never realized just how much is involved. There is so much more to the training the dogs receive from the facility. They also need to received additional training by their new owner.
Throughout the documentary you will meet some of the people who are going to receive their own canine assistant. You’ll meet a young man name Bryson. Bryons survived being over Iraq during the war, only to come home and get into a car accident that left him in a wheel chair.
You will also meet Destiny. On the surface Destiny looks like a normal, happy and healthy young girl. However Destiny suffers from severe epilepsy that has caused her to stop breathing. There has been many documented cases where dogs have picked upon a seizure before they occur. Destiny and her Mom are hopeful that Destiny’s canine assistant dog will help alert her Mom to her seizures before they happen so that Destiny’s life can be saved.
Another young boy you will meet is Aiden. Aiden is a young boy with Cerebral Palsy. He is such a character! He likes to speak his mind and he doesn’t let his disability get the best of him.
I never knew that the dog had to pick the owner, not the other way around. I just assumed that you went to one of these facilities and picked out your dog. That is not how it works. The dog has to pick YOU!
I was also very surprised to learn that not all pairing work out. There are cases where the dog and human are not 100% compatible after all. In that case a new dog is given to the person who needs it and the other dog is returned to be paired up with a new owner.
The documentary was truly eye opening. I learned a lot about the special bond between humans and canines. I was also very touched by the people who came to Canine Assistants to find their “fur-ever friend”.
Through a Dog’s Eyesoriginally aired on April 21, 2010. It was such a popular documentary that PBS is going to air it again on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 8:00 PM ET/ 7:00 PM CT. Please check your local listings for channels and times.
For more information about Through a Dog’s Eyes please visit http://www.PBS.org/Dogs-Eyes. You can also learn more about PBS programming on their official website and on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/PBS.
To learn more about Cannine Assistant dogs please visit http://www.CanineAssistants.org. They also have a Facebook page (CLICK HERE).
Milk-Bone is also helping out Canine Assistants. Every time you buy Milk-Bone dog snacks, a portion of the proceeds goes to help the Canine Assistants organization. To learn more about Milk-Bone you can visit www.MilkBone.com. You can also learn more on their special Facebook page, http://www.Facebook.com/itsgoodtogivemilkbone.
** UPDATE **
Milk-Bone was among one of the companies honored by Ladies’ Home Journal for its philanthropic efforts over the years. Congratulations Milk-Bone for this great honor.
Mark your calendars and be sure to watch Through a Dog’s Eyes.
Kimberly
*I received a free screener copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.