The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

SIUC students to build dog park for people with disabilities

AVA, IL (KFVS) - Students from Southern Illinois University Carbondale have partnered with an area service dog training center to build a dog park that is disability friendly.

Architecture students with the group “Freedom by Design” will build a 150 by 100 square foot dog park for Ava, Illinois based SIT Service Dogs.

The park will be equipped with handicap accessible ramps and padded walkways.

SIU students have designed the park, have waived labor costs, and plan to build most of the park out of recycled materials.

SIT trains dogs to provide people with disabilities a sense of independence.

SIUC student Nicole Dethrow suffers from muscular dystrophy, a disease the weakens muscles over time.

Dethrow will soon be getting a service dog from SIT.

Dethrow can walk but not for very long distances, she has an extremely limited movement with her arms.

Dethrow said she's excited for the park to be built.

“It's really set up both for the people and for the dogs which I think is really great," Dethrow said.

Program Coordinator and owner of SIT, Lex Dietz, said she's excited about the partnership with SIU.

“Going out to a park with somebody isn't something you can do at a normal dog park,” Dietz said.

SIT dogs provide mobility assistance such as opening and closing doors, turn lights on and off, and can run for help if a person calls for it.

SIT dogs can also be trained for medical alerts such as carrying medical devices, assist people in moving positions, and wake a person during medical emergencies.

Director of Freedom by Design, Katelyn Walker, says she's excited to be working with SIT.

“I liked the service that they provider," Walker said. "They help people fundraiser for their dogs, they help people have a comfortable lifestyle, they give people freedom.”

“There's a lot of pressure on them when they come and visit,” Dietz said. “And we want it to be a comfortable, relaxing, environment.”

Deitz said the park will be great addition to SIT's Ava facility and will provide a rare area for people with disabilities to go to without worry of danger.

“Things that you just don't think about. And a park where you can enjoy yourself outside is not something that you see a lot of,” Deitz said.

Dietz said construction will begin as soon as the cold weather breaks.

Video: http://www.kfvs12.com/clip/11080170/...h-disabilities

[kuhio98]

Army Lt. reunited with dog after 3 months overseas


PHOENIX -- It's been three months since Army Lt. Charles Smith and his dog, Peanut, have seen each other.

“It's been very emotional leading up to this day, so when I walked through those doors and saw him ... I was speechless,” Smith said.

Three months ago, Smith was deployed overseas and didn't know what to do with his dog.

“Thinking that you have to surrender your dog is never a good feeling, so I called and they told me about Project Active Duty," he said. "It was such a relief to know that he would have a home while I was gone."

Project Active Duty is a program put on by the Arizona Humane Society and PetSmart to care for and protect animals of those who are protecting us around the world.

Elizabeth Wells fostered Peanut while Smith was away.

“I definitely wanted to be a part of this program because he is military, and I don't want to have to see anyone have to give up their beloved pet for any reason, especially for serving their country,” Wells said.

“It's definitely good that there are programs like this in place," Smith said. "I'm going to share it with my soldiers and let them know that there is this opportunity. If they have pets they'll be able to take advantage of it."

[kuhio98]

Firefighters 'shovel it forward' for man who suffered cardiac emergency

Some Wisconsin firefighters who helped finish the job for a man who had a cardiac emergency while shoveling snow are now inspiring others in snow-blanketed areas to help out their neighbors.

On Sunday, the Greenfield Fire Department in Greenfield, Wisconsin, responded to a call about a man who had a heart issue while shoveling after a storm that dumped a foot of snow. After transporting him to the hospital, the firefighters returned to the man's driveway and shoveled the rest of it for him, according to a Facebook post by the department.

The Greenfield Fire Department then started a hashtag, #ShovelItForward, encouraging others to pitch in for those who may need help dealing with heavy snow.

[cassiesmom]

Bird watchers and firefighters rescue unusual duck trapped in Fox River
(From the Chicago Tribune)

A group of volunteers and firefighters helped rescue a duck trapped in fishing line in the Fox River over the weekend.

The Harlequin duck, believed to be a juvenile male, was pulled out of the water early morning on Jan. 31 and brought to a local rehabilitation center.

Annette Prince, director of the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, said bird watchers who saw the duck struggling in the water contacted her group for assistance. Prince said people also had reached out to her group weeks earlier because they saw the duck apparently suffering from a leg injury but could not get to him to offer aid.

"Because they can fly, they're not reachable," Prince said. "His wings were fully functioning, so he was able to get to food sources."

Getting entangled in finishing line—a common hazard for birds—ironically gave the concerned volunteers an opening to approach and capture the duck.

"It's almost a good misfortune," Prince said.

Still too far from shore for any of the volunteers to reach him, crews from the Elgin Fire Department were called to the scene to help, Battalion Chief Terry Bruce said. Eventually they were able to use a pike pole, a tool normally used to pull down drywall inside a building to check for hot spots, to hook onto the fishing line and pull the duck to shore. Eric Secker, an Elgin resident who volunteers with the Bird Conservation Network, then brought the duck to the Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn for treatment.

"It was a great cooperative effort," Prince said. "I think a lot of people were invested in making sure nothing bad happened to it."

Harlequins spend most of their time in mountain streams and rivers, and deep dive for fish at or near the bottom of the waterway, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Harlequins typically are found along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts but the species itself is not rare. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources estimates that there are between 190,000 and 380,000 Harlequins worldwide and states that the population trend is increasing.

Jeff Skrentny, a bird watcher and conservationist in Chicago, said Harlequins might be spotted in areas like the Fox River once every five to 10 years.

"This bird was particularly exceptional. Any year that there's a Harlequin duck in northeastern Illinois, I go to see it," Skrentny said. "That particular bird has been there two years in a row. It's not unusual that a bird would find a place a winter and come back to that place again."

Despite the rescue effort, veterinarian Dr. Jen Nevis said the duck may be too ill to be released back into the wild. Her initial examination showed that he was in decent condition despite having badly curled toes, possibly from old fractures that improperly healed, which prevented him from bearing weight on that leg. X-rays later revealed infections in both feet.

Nevis said the duck is on pain medications and antibiotics. She added they were going to work to stretch out his toes in order to loosen up the tendons and ligaments and fit him with orthopedic boots to help stabilize his foot, in an effort to help him stand properly. Without that rehabilitation for his feet, the duck would have a very tough time back in his normal habitat.

"On land, he's going to be a disaster," Nevis said. "If he got up on land, he wouldn't be able to run away."

If the therapy and the medications don't work, his outlook is dim.

"If he's overcome with some of these toe infections, then he either would have to euthanized or potentially placed, but he definitely would be a special needs bird so placement could be difficult," Nevis said.

Though the duck may not survive, Prince said she still was encouraged to see so many people team up to help the duck, which would have died in the water without intervention.

"That's making a positive statement that that bird mattered," Prince said. "It's not just something we would ignore. It shows real respect to nature and the value of animal life. If there's a way to give him some care, we want to give him a chance."