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The Tuscaloosa Chapter |
The Tuscaloosa Chapter of ALRID currently meets once a month for a short business meeting followed by a Silent Dinner with the Deaf Community. TRID members together with members of Tuscaloosa AAD have formed a team and joined a bowling league. The bowling alley has becoming a gathering place for practicing signers and deaf visitors. We have a great time every Thursday night. Visitors are welcomed at the bowling alley but only league members may bowl on league nights.
Our current officers are: Lisa Williams, President/Treasurer, Tammi Rundles Vice-president/Secretary, Mindy Norton, Parliamentarian.
Check the Events page for information on our next Silent Dinner/AAD Party. For more information about the Tuscaloosa Chapter, contact Lisa Mixon at tuscaloosa@alrid.org.
The photo above is Moose - The Blind Therapy Dog
Moose was born sighted and ran free on the farm with her doggie friends. But, on March 5, 2003, at the age of 2 years, 10 months, Moose lost her sight within a matter of hours. Moose had contracted a fungal infection called Blastomycosis.
Blasto, for short, is a fungus that grows in wet, acidic soil, and very common throughout Alabama. When this fungus is disturbed, it releases spores into the air which are then inhaled into the lungs. Though dogs and other low-to-the-ground animals are the most likely to inhale these spores, people can also become infected if they inhale spores.
The fungus then spreads throughout the body to involve many organs. The most common symptoms are fever, loss of appetite and weight loss, coughing (pneumonia), sudden blindness in one or both eyes, and open draining sores. It can also involve the bones, brain, spinal cord, lymph system, genitourinary tract. Eyes which have been invaded by the fungus must be surgically removed.
Disseminated blasto is a life-threatening infection which is fatal without treatment. Treatment for blasto is long, expensive and the recurrence rate is high. If the fungus itself doesn't kill the dog, the anti-fungal drugs used to kill the fungus often do, and many owners opt for euthanasia.
Moose underwent three weeks of three-times-a-week IV anti-fungal treatment, and 6 months of on oral medication. In order to maintain her quality of life, Moose then underwent training and is now a certified therapy dog. Moose is an avid automobile traveler and enthusiastic crotch-sniffer. She currently visits hospice patients, nursing homes, a school with special needs children, and attends every deaf event she can get in to!
Therapy Dogs International, Inc. is the oldest registry for therapy dogs in the United States. It was founded in 1976 by Elaine Smith, an American registered nurse. While working in England, she observed therapy dogs being used successfully in patient settings in that country. Upon returning to the United States, Smith organized TDI so that dogs could be registered, certified, and insured here in the States as well.
It has been clinically proven that by petting an animal, a person's blood pressure is lowered, stress is relieved and depression is eased. People who own pets typically live longer, healthier lives than those who do not own pets.
To become a certified therapy dog, the dog and handler must pass a temperament examination given by specially trained and certified evaluators. The primary objective of the TDI dog and handler is to provide comfort and companionship to patients in hospitals, nursing homes or wherever the therapy dog is needed.
TDI is a non-profit organization, and there is no charge for visitations. To arrange for Moose to visit you, your facility or group, call (205) 698-8098. www.geocities.com/blinddogmoose/index.html.
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