Alaska, an Australian Shepherd-Border Collie mix, is always present during her owner’s orchestra performances. She doesn’t have a special privilege. Instead, her presence is necessary. The two-year-old canine is a therapy dog for the owner, Paulina Gurevich, a French Horn player.
Alaska manages to be discreet under her owner’s chair during performances. It’s somewhat ironic, considering how Alaska’s former owners abandoned her for being too energetic. Now, the wonderful dog lives a happy and fulfilling life with her new owner.
Paulina, who has epilepsy and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, trained Alaska to alert her during the onset of her symptoms. Alaska also does deep pressure therapy by putting her body weight on Paulina to stabilize her.
Alaska helps Paulina become more independent. She used to stay at home a lot because it was difficult for her to manage her symptoms whenever she was outside. But with Alaska by her side, she can travel and live fully.
However, life with a service dog can be challenging. For instance, Paulina encountered numerous situations where restaurant owners asked her to leave since pets are prohibited.
Paulina also settled a discrimination lawsuit with a landlord in Laramie, Wyoming. The Landlord refused to rent to her because they weren’t keen on having a dog on their property.
Paulina’s struggles show that despite the existing Americans with Disabilities Act, where all public places must allow service dogs, there is still a lot of discrimination and a lack of awareness regarding service dogs.
Paulina emphasizes that service dogs are not merely pets. They facilitate independence. Therefore, they deserve respect from everyone.
Fortunately, the people in Paulina’s orchestra understood her needs very well. Paulina allowed Alaska to acclimate to the environment by urging Alaska to sit beneath her chair as she practiced playing the French horn at home. After several weeks of training, Alaska joined the orchestra during an actual rehearsal. The dog instantly knew what to do.
Aside from taking Alaska to rehearsals, Paulina also takes Alaska to public locations. She also meets with other service dog handlers to practice group training tasks. Her most recent training objective is to teach Alaska how to find exits so she can lead her out of a room right at the onset of her symptoms.
Beyond Alaska’s essential function as a service dog, Paulina appreciates her dog’s company because she serves as a motivation to live her life to the fullest.
Learn more about the beauty of service dogs like Alaska by watching this video:
Source: Herald and News via YouTube and Paulina Gurevich via Facebook
