Episode 3
DoggoneExpress: Training Dogs, Transforming Lives
Join us for an inspiring conversation with Bill Barse, the heart and soul behind DoggoneExpress. In this episode, Bill shares the incredible story of how DoggoneExpress came to be, driven by a passion to help both dogs and people in need. We delve into the organization's unique programs, including their impactful prison dog training program giving dogs a second chance. Bill also discusses the profound connections forged through their veteran support program, highlighting the therapeutic power of dogs and the healing they bring to those who have served. Hear firsthand about the unwavering dedication that fuels DoggoneExpress's mission to transform lives, one paw at a time. This is a story of hope, second chances, and the powerful bond between humans and animals you won't want to miss.
Learn more about DoggoneExpress, please visit their website : www.doggoneexpress.com
If you are interested in being a guest, please text us at 504-385-8588 or animlapossepodcast@gmail.com
Support the work we do at Unwanted Feline Organization! Visit www.linktr.ee/uforescue to learn how you can contribute.
Transcript
Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the
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:people and rescues making a
difference in the lives of animals.
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:Today's guest is Bill Barse.
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:He is the founder and
director of DoggoneExpress.
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:com.
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:Hi, Bill.
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:How are you today?
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:Bill: Well, I'm fine Dixie
and you happy new year.
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:Dixie: Happy new year to you.
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:I'm great ! Not Looking
forward to this weather though
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:Bill: it'll come and it'll go
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:Dixie: so can you give us
a brief bio on yourself?
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:Bill: Sure I was born and raised for
the most part in Massachusetts In New
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:England and went to college in Ohio.
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:I was studying pre med to be a
veterinarian, and then I had an
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:accident playing ice hockey which
eliminated my career as a veterinarian,
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:and I lived in the Washington, D.
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:C.
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:area up until the year after Katrina hit
down here, and during Katrina and Rita
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:My brother and his family and all their
pets came to stay with me in Maryland,
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:and they tried to convince me to leave
what I had up there and where I'd lived
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:for 22 years to come to Louisiana and be a
real estate commercial industrial broker.
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:That was my background, and I
agreed eventually to do that, and
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:I came down here one year to the
day after Katrina and Rita hit.
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:Yeah.
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:And worked as a commercial industrial
real estate broker, primarily for
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:offshore companies with heavy industrial
land and some commercial strip
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:shopping centers that we're trying to
rebuild and reestablish themselves.
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:But during that time, I also.
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:continued my work with shelters, animal
shelters and befriended and got very close
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:to helping the Humane Society of Louisiana
as an investigator for situations that
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:may not be very desirable for animals.
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:And somehow, some way, I found out
that there was so many dogs primarily
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:canines here, struggling after Katrina,
and there weren't enough adoptions,
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:and many of the rescues really needed
a way to get the dogs up north where
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:they could be adopted, so I took
some of my earnings and bought five,
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:four, five double tandem wheel homes.
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:enclosed trailers and had them retrofitted
with insulation and air conditioning
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:and I lent them to different rescues
that would drive anywhere from 15 maybe
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:to 20 25 dogs up north to be adopted.
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:I did not do the transports.
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:But I lent out the equipment
and the generators and they
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:just had to bring back.
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:The trailers cleaned out and
gas and the generator and I just
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:provided that equipment for free.
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:And to make a long story short, at
one adoption event, I was introduced
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:to a woman's daughter who was like
13 or 14 as the man who transported
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:all these dogs up north for adoption.
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:And I said, well, that's
not actually what I do.
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:I provide the equipment and the
young girl said, well, what's
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:the name of your business?
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:And I said, well, my business is
I'm a real estate broker, but I
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:just do the transport equipment.
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:For those organizations and need it.
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:And she said, well, you don't have a name.
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:And I said, no, I just do
what they know who to call.
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:And she goes, oh, okay,
well, I'll get you a name.
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:And I said, okay.
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:And I didn't pay too much attention to it.
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:But about three to four months
later, I'm at another adoption event
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:on the West Bank of New Orleans.
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:And the mother of that child saw me.
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:And she says, oh my gosh, I
gotta get my daughter Catherine.
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:And I said, Oh, and I really didn't
remember her or her daughter, but
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:her daughter came out of the Petco
store where we were doing an adoption
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:with the Plaquemines Animal Welfare
Society, and she goes, Oh, my gosh.
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:Oh, my gosh.
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:Stay here.
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:Don't go anywhere.
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:I got something in my car.
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:So she went into the parking lot.
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:She came back.
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:I'm going to call it an artist portfolio.
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:It's like a large, like a leather or maybe
vinyl case where people put the artwork
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:that they carry around all their flats and
nothing framed, but just pieces of paper
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:that, you know, had art or things on it.
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:And she says, I came up with
a name for your business.
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:And I'm going, excuse me,
what are you talking about?
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:She said, Yeah, I told you I'd
come up with a name because you
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:take dogs and you get them sent
quickly up north to be adopted.
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:And I go, Yeah, I do.
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:But I don't do it.
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:My equipment doesn't.
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:She says, Well, the name of your
business should be DoggoneExpress.
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:And in all fairness and all sincerity at
that time, the hair on my arms went up.
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:And I just thought that was a name
that I thought it was pretty unique
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:and clever and so I said, you know
what, I would like to buy that name
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:from you and she said no, it's free.
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:It's free.
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:And she says, Oh look what I drew.
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:And she pulled out a picture of a
dog that didn't have feet but had
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:wheels, which we've now branded
as our logo called speed dog.
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:So I convinced her mother to allow me
to give her a check for 150 for the
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:exclusive rights for dog on express.
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:And speed dog, which we have as
I speak today over the course of
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:being with DoggoneExpress I tried
to find ways to help shelters get
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:more dogs adopted down here along
with dogs being exported up north.
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:And the people I talked to would
say, yeah, I'd love to adopt
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:the dog, but I just don't have
time to train it or whatever.
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:And these were shelter dogs.
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:So we really didn't know their
background or their history.
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:So I guess I went online one night and I
looked up dog training and whatever and
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:I found that there was a Dominican nun
who lived in Wisconsin, Sister Pauline
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:Quinn, who started the first inmate dog
training program for shelter dogs in the
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:state of Washington at a women's prison.
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:And I thought, oh, that's clever.
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:That's a good thing for not only the
dogs, but for the inmates, you know,
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:and the Department of Corrections.
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:So I contacted her and ended up,
she called me back and she said,
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:well, we'll sell you our program.
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:We have it in operations successfully
in five prisons in California
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:and the state of Washington.
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:So I ended up giving them money to
acquire the program called Pathways
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:to Hope, which became our program.
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:And my senior vice president and our
attorney who's on our board, the Honorable
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:Judge Diane Lundeen and I approached
and had a meeting with the Secretary
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:James LeBlanc of the Department of the
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:.
Public safety and corrections in Louisiana and proposed to Secretary LeBlanc free of
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:charge that we would provide some inmate
training for a general obedience for dogs
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:out of shelters and the agreement, which
became the memorandum of understanding
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:that was signed by the Department of
Corrections and by Doggone Express gave us
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:The segue or the lead in to both a women's
prison in Saint Gabriel and into a men's
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:prison and Angie Louisiana called Rayburn.
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:Now, 13 years later, we are starting.
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:Programs in four different prisons
over and beyond the one that's
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:been in existence for 13 years.
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:And we also have along with from
the big house to your house.
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:And that's what we call the inmate
prison programs and dogs that from
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:that are primarily service dogs and
emotional support animals that are
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:needed and utilized by a lot of veterans
and quite a few families where they
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:may have a child who has a spectrum of
autism and for people who have physical
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:challenges, whether they can't bend over,
they may be confined to a wheelchair.
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:And we train dogs That come from shelters
to do specific task, and they do qualify
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:under the American Disabilities Act
section two and three as service dogs.
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:So we've had a great success with that.
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:As of the end of last year, we
had placed over 770 dogs were.
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:in shelters and or pulled from shelters,
which means shelters if they become
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:overpopulated and they have animal control
that normally they just go down a list for
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:the dogs that have been there the longest.
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:And they are euthanized.
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:It's unfortunate.
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:It's a sad commentary on our society.
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:We definitely need to have
more spay and neuter laws.
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:But in the meantime, we pull
as many dogs from shelters.
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:And from rescues who pull from shelters
and run these dogs through our programs.
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:We don't sell the dogs.
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:We ask a recipient and that is somebody
who would get a service dog from our big
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:house to your house program to donate.
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:150.
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:That basically helps us offset
our insurance, our gasoline, our
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:transportation, you know, Our
veterinarian bills and dog food,
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:all of which we have to provide.
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:The Department of Correction
does not provide any of that.
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:So the donation is tax deductible,
and it's not a requirement, but
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:it is something that we need.
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:And, you know, advertises
we're seeking that donation
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:to help continue the program.
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:We have another program called
Companions for Life and Companions
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:for Life is where we offer veterans
who have a DD 214 or discharge papers
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:or sometimes active military who
are being treated for any number of
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:physical as well as psychological.
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:Challenges, whether it be PTSD,
anxiety, depression or they may have
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:some prosthetic devices that encumber
their ability to cope in our society.
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:So we provide some canine
training for these veterans.
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:And it's getting ready to restart
because we had a slowdown due
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:to covid and due to funding.
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:And we also had to have a facility
in Jefferson Parish that was ADA
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:compliant, which has now been completed.
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:So in Harahan, we will.
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:Offer free dog training to any veteran,
male or female, for whatever reason,
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:once a week, and then we will also
provide them a YouTube channel password,
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:where if they can't attend the training
in person, they can actually go to
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:any number of our courses that we
will offer through a YouTube channel.
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:And then once a month, we hope to do live
broadcast for anybody who is involved
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:in the Companions for Life program so
they can watch and possibly interact
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:with their laptops, their computers, or
their smartphones as we are demonstrating
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:a specific skill or training technique
or proper animal care, which includes
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:heartworm prevention, making sure their
nails are not too long, making sure
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:that their ears are cleaned of mites
and basic grooming, all of which are.
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:Very important for proper canine care.
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:So, that's what we've got going on.
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:We are also proposing to construct
some sea container kennels.
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:We don't have a project name for it
other than the sea container kennels.
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:Where we take a 40 foot sea container.
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:And we modify it so we can house up
to 10 dogs in the stainless steel
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:kennels on the inside, climate
controlled, with a 6 foot by 10 foot
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:exterior chain link run, covered.
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:on the outside.
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:And these sea containers can be offered
to shelters that need more space.
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:But they also could be sent to
parishes that have nothing in terms
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:of any type of containment or shelter
for canines and any number of the 30
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:parishes that have absolutely nothing
in the state of Louisiana for canines.
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:So over and beyond that, I personally
am a deputy with the Washington
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:Parish Sheriff's Department
and I handle animal issues.
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:So if there is animals that
have been abandoned, mistreated,
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:abused be it livestock.
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:cattle, horses, goats, pigs,
chickens and or canines and cats.
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:And we've had in one situation a hamster.
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:It's not a happy story, but I did
get a call from a deputy one night.
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:When he did a welfare check on an
individual who had been sick and the
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:individual had passed away within the
last week and nobody knew it, and they
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:didn't know what to do with the hamster
that was in a cage, so I told him, bring
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:it into the station and I would rehome the
hamster, either with a school or we would
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:find a good home for the hamster, so.
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:Doesn't make any difference
what the size is.
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:I don't re home fish and I don't really
get actively involved in wildlife even
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:though I do get calls about coyotes and
Bear sightings because we have those in
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:the Mount Hermon, Washington Parish area.
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:Other than that, I take care of 8
horses, 3 donkeys, 1 pony, 2 cats,
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:and presently where I am at the Humane
Society Sanctuary in Mount Hermon.
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:We have 10 dogs, 5 of which are
being scheduled to go into our prison
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:program as we get other dogs adopted.
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:I don't have any spare time.
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:So that's what I do.
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:Dixie: Well, you're very busy.
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:Some remarkable programs, so
I'd like to ask questions, too.
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:Like about the general program.
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:So when you go to select
the dogs, specific?
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:I know in the shelters we
see a lot of mixed breeds.
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:Is it a specific type of dog that you're
looking for to put into those programs?
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:Bill: Well, that's an excellent question.
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:Here's what I try to train
shelters to watch for.
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:I want a dog that's dog friendly.
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:Number one.
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:I want a dog that preferably
is medium to large size.
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:And it's not that I have anything to eat.
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:With smaller dogs, it's just they
are harder to contain in the prison
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:environment because if they go under
a fence in one of our dog yards,
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:the trainers can't go after it.
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:A correctional officer has to go after it.
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:So all of the dogs we look
for are number one prefer.
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:They can't be dog aggressive.
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:We don't care about the breed.
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:We prefer heartworm negative
only from the standpoint of
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:cost of getting them treated.
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:But that's kind of a rare situation
now is to find dogs that are
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:heartworm negative in a shelter.
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:We look for a dog that can focus.
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:In other words, if I'm doing it myself,
I'll take a treat or something and
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:let the dog in the kennel smell it.
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:And then I'll hold it up to my forehead.
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:And see how long that dog will
focus on that one little treat.
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:And then I'll reward the dog with it.
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:And if a dog can focus, and he's not
off the wall crazy, and you know,
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:pretty stable on all fours, then we'll
consider that dog in our program.
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:They have to be neutered or spayed.
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:That's a requirement by the
Department of Corrections.
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:But other than that, we've had.
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:Everything, every type of dog.
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:You can imagine.
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:We've had some purebreds.
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:We've had a lot of petty mixes.
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:We've had a lot of Labradors, a lot of
shepherds, a lot of golden misbehaviors.
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:That's what I call them.
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:But golden retrievers and, the
trainers have done a wonderful job.
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:They're with the dogs 24 7.
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:The dogs sleep in a kennel under the
inmate trainers bed, caught in a dorm.
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:So they get a lot of attention and they're
trained seven days a week, usually from
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:the hours of 7 30 or so until dusk.
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:When it's dark, the dogs
have to clear the yard.
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:They can't be out in the
dark in the dog yard.
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:Dixie: And then how long do they
normally stay in the program before
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:they're trained and ready for adoption?
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:Bill: Well, that's another good question.
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:Sometimes it'll range maybe
eight weeks since we've got to
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:make sure that they have all of
their general obedience recall.
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:That is, you call their name,
that dog's gonna come to you.
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:That's name recognition recall.
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:Sit, down, stay, leave it.
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:Are all very important.
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:Leash or heel walking.
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:In other words, not pulling on
a leash when they're leashed up.
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:Cause dogs have to be off a
leash, on a leash, excuse me,
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:when they're off their property.
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:That's a state law.
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:Some exceptions to that leash law
are service dogs that are working
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:with somebody who is in a wheelchair,
and then they don't necessarily,
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:by law, have to be on a leash.
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:But any other dog in the state of
Maryland, whether it's a service dog,
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:emotional support dog, a pet, has
to be on a leash off its property.
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:The Training, like I said, can
range from maybe eight weeks or so.
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:We do have a proficiency evaluation
procedure where we evaluate a dog over
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:a couple of weeks to see if it hits
80 percent or higher on various tasks.
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:That not only the trainer has the dog
do, but somebody else has the dog do.
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:So it's not just the trainer
giving the dog the command.
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:It could be another trainer or it could be
someone like me for more advanced training
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:where we train a dog to retrieve by name.
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:In other words, we could tell a
dog get glasses and a dog will
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:go and try to find eyeglasses and
bring them back to the recipient.
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:Get meds.
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:The dog will go into a kitchen
or a bathroom where there may be
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:prescription bottles out on the
counter and bring One prescription
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:bottle at a time to the recipient.
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:We can't train the dog
to read the prescription.
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:So it just continues to get the
bottles until the recipient gets the
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:medication that they're requesting.
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:We also train the dogs to pick up things
that somebody who may have titanium
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:rods in their back or may have back.
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:Or arm issues where they can't bend over
and pick up things, a dog will immediately
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:pick up anything that's dropped and raise
it up so that the recipient can handle
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:that which has been dropped since the
recipient can't bend over and get it and
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:some of the training can last over a year.
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:I'm going to say in the average, probably
90 days to 120 days is probably average.
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:three to four months.
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:Dixie: Not too bad.
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:I thought it would be a
little bit longer than that.
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:Now, how many dogs have you adopted out
from the program since its inception?
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:Bill: We've placed over 770
dogs as of the close of:
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:Dixie: Wow, that's amazing.
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:Now what is the adoption process like if
somebody was interested in adopting a dog?
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:Bill: Well, we do have an application.
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:They contact us.
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:We get a lot of referrals from the
VA, the Veterans Administration.
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:Many people search online.
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:And Doggone Express pops up on the
first or second page of Google now.
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:I'm not exactly sure, but if you looked up
service dogs in Louisiana, DoggoneExpress.
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:com would pop up.
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:You could contact us by phone or by email.
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:We send out an application.
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:We review the application.
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:We call the recipient, proposed recipient,
to get a little bit more information.
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:Kind of get a gauge on
their type of lifestyle.
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:Because we're not going to place a
high energy service dog with someone
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:who is basically I am not using this
negatively, but like a couch potato,
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:somebody who's not very active who
just wants something to be next to
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:them and cuddle with them as they watch
TV or knit or whatever they're doing.
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:So we.
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:Kind of do a informal profile of the
recipient so that when we send them
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:videos, which we do, they can see
the videos of the dogs being trained.
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:So, you know, if one of them is
interested in a medium sized dog.
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:Preferably a male, whatever, then we
can send them videos of dogs that may
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:have some of the skills and trained
to meet the needs of the recipient
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:and they can watch the dogs over a
period of time as they go through their
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:training so they can see their process.
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:In some situations, if they get clearance,
in other words, if they don't have any
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:felonies or pending legal situations,
we can actually get clearance for them
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:to actually come into the prison and
meet the trainer and meet the dog.
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:And if there's good chemistry, and
it's usually me who makes the ultimate
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:decision, like, yeah, it's a go, or
I don't think this is the right fit.
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:Let's just keep working on
another canine or whatever.
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:They can take the dog, the canine, for
a week we'll hold the donation check
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:if necessary for a week to make sure
it's a good fit, and they can take
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:all the medical information we have
on the dog to their vet to have the
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:dog checked out, and then after that
one week, We call it a test drive.
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:If everything's working out,
then it's a formal adoption.
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:We send them the microchip
information, the rabies tags,
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:and we consider the dog adopted.
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:Dixie: I do have another question,
too, about the adoption process.
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:So, as far as the dogs that are
available, do you have a list of the
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:dogs that are available or are you
the one that does more of the matching?
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:And then the other question is, if
somebody is in another state, do you
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:adopt out of state or you primarily do
with the adoptions within Louisiana?
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:Bill: The first question is, we have in
the past on our website, DogOnExpress.
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:com, have on the very first page,
a place where you can see dogs
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:that are available for adoption.
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:And you go all the way down to the bottom
of the first page of Doggone Express.
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:And unfortunately, we're working on this.
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:Most of the dogs that you can
see there now have been adopted.
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:We're getting ready to take more dogs in.
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:I'm taking two in tomorrow that
will start being on our website as
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:Marley and Otis as adoptable dogs.
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:These two dogs will primarily be trained
for brace and stability, because I
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:have two veterans right now who need
a stability dog because they're having
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:problems maintaining their equilibrium.
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:And their balance and also when they fall,
they need some kind of dog that's trained
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:to brace so they can actually put their
hands on their vest and hold collar as we
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:call it and Get back up off the ground.
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:Now these air stability brace dogs and
I have two large dogs that are going
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:in after a vet appointment tomorrow at
10 30 into Rayburn prison for training.
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:Now the second part of the question.
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:And I kind of forgot what that was.
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:Dixie: That was, if you do adoptions
primarily to, residents of Louisiana,
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:or do you do out of state adoptions?
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:And then I guess if you do the
out of state adoptions, would you
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:do like a transport or do they
have to come pick up the dog?
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:Bill: They have to come pick up the dog.
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:We do not ship dogs.
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:We will not ship dogs.
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:We've placed dogs in Michigan,
we've placed dogs in New Mexico,
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:we've placed dogs in Texas, we've
placed dogs in Florida, and in all
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:situations the people either had to
fly in and then rent a car and take
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:the dog out, but we will not ship.
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:We will not put any dog on any plane.
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:Dixie: You said too that
you had Marley and Otis.
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:You're training those to
be like stability dogs?
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:Yes.
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:So if, what if somebody contacts you
and they say, Hey, we're looking for
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:a particular type of service dog.
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:Would you be able to potentially
put a dog in the program to make a
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:service dog as requested, I guess?
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:Bill: For some situations, we can't
train a dog to do a specific thing.
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:For instance, we get a lot of
calls from people say, can you
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:train a dog for epileptic seizures?
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:And we say politely, no, because
that requires the dog to be
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:trained with the individual.
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:And we can't have individuals
coming into the prison for training.
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:We don't do diabetic alert dogs
because the diabetic alert is based
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:on a specific smell that comes from a
cotton swab of somebody who's having
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:a low blood sugar situation and that's
a specific smell for that person.
400
:So we don't do epileptic
or seizure alert dogs.
401
:We don't do diabetic alert dogs.
402
:We don't do seeing eye dogs.
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:But we do cover people
who've had hearing issues.
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:We've actually trained at Rayburn
Prison in Angie, Louisiana, deaf
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:dogs for people who had no hearing.
406
:Who then, also the recipient.
407
:Was had a loss of hearing, and we had a
trainer who would train the dog, believe
408
:it or not, an American sign language
so that the person who received the dog
409
:could use American sign language and the
dog would respond by, you know, coming.
410
:whatever.
411
:And the way that we had somebody
who was hard of hearing or
412
:couldn't hear and also was mute.
413
:The question was, well, how do you train
a dog to come when that person wants them?
414
:So we trained the dog with
just a vibrating collar.
415
:That's all it did is vibrate.
416
:So if you pushed a little sending unit
The collar would vibrate and the dog was
417
:trained to look for whoever's giving them
the come signal with their hand, which
418
:is the palm facing out and then bringing
it back towards your face, like, come
419
:here, but there's no sound or whatever.
420
:It's just the dog following
the hand signal to come.
421
:Dixie: Wow.
422
:That way the dog That's amazing.
423
:Bill: Well, sometimes the dog's in another
part of the house or maybe in the yard.
424
:And, you know, you can't stomp
your floor in the house and have a
425
:dog out in the yard here, but this
little vibrating collar, which is
426
:rechargeable, and all it does is vibrate.
427
:There's no shock.
428
:There's no sound.
429
:It just vibrates.
430
:And the dog's trained to look
for whoever is signaling to come.
431
:And the dog would go to that person.
432
:Dixie: You got the idea from the
program, that was already, in Well,
433
:Bill: actually, it was, it's, I didn't
mean to interrupt, but it was actually
434
:started by a Dominican nun, Sister Pauline
Quinn, and the first, very first inmate
435
:training program was at a women's prison
in the state of Washington in:
436
:Now, there's probably 30 states
that have some kind of jail or
437
:prison dog training programs.
438
:And they're actually working in some
situations with cats that are being
439
:pulled from shelters to work with
some of the inmates who have some
440
:emotional or psychological problems.
441
:As a companion animal and the cats
are getting a lot of attention and
442
:the inmates are getting some kind
of emotional support, which can
443
:be used to modify their behavior.
444
:In other words, if you want to have a
cat or you're going to train a service
445
:dog, you can't have any write ups.
446
:You can't get in trouble.
447
:You can't be a problem inmate.
448
:Or you lose that privilege.
449
:So prisons use it as a
behavior modifier, too.
450
:Which I have no problem with.
451
:But a lot of people have asked,
Well, would you give somebody who's
452
:a murderer a service dog to train?
453
:And I go I don't.
454
:have any control over someone's
past, whatever they've done.
455
:And our judicial system has said, you need
to be incarcerated for a period of time.
456
:That's already done.
457
:The only ones I will not allow in our
training programs at any time is someone
458
:who's been charged with Animal abuse,
not convicted of charged with if they've
459
:been charged with that, they're not in
our program can't be in our program.
460
:But . We've had people
who have stolen have.
461
:Burglarized received stolen
property, sold drugs.
462
:Yes, that runs across the whole spectrum.
463
:Other than anyone who's ever
been charged with animal abuse.
464
:Dixie: Do you ever have people from
other areas reach out to you to ask
465
:you about starting a program or how
they can start a program like this?
466
:Bill: Oh, yes.
467
:Oh, yes.
468
:We'd be more than willing.
469
:We invite them to come visit our program.
470
:I get people from different
correctional facilities who
471
:want to come see how we do it.
472
:And as long as they pass the clearance
test, the security evaluation by the
473
:Department of Corrections and the
ward and say, yeah, they're fine.
474
:They can come in.
475
:We set up a time where they come
visit and we'll give them, you
476
:know, all of the forms that we use.
477
:And they can model their program
after hours, or like I said, there's
478
:probably 30 states now who have some
variation of a program like we have,
479
:we just happen to be the largest in
the state of Louisiana, the women's.
480
:Prison program is being run by one of
my contract trainers, Brooke Defoe.
481
:She owns the Dog School of New Orleans,
and she's worked with me and had been
482
:in our prison program as a trainer,
and she's running the women's program.
483
:So, we got the prisons covered.
484
:Dixie: Now I'd like to hear more
about the training for veterans,
485
:too, in Harahan, Louisiana
486
:Bill: yes.
487
:Harahan, St.
488
:Tammany Parish, and Washington Parish.
489
:Three parishes.
490
:Dixie: How would somebody sign
up for that, if that's something
491
:that they were interested in?
492
:Bill: Contact me at my email address,
or go to Doggone Express, and
493
:there's phone numbers and email,
and that's all they have to do.
494
:One of our trainers will
call them and set up a time.
495
:We do try to keep the
classes less than 10 people.
496
:Only because we need to also do
group as well as individual training.
497
:These classes are once a week, they
can come as long as they want to
498
:come, there's no certain time frame.
499
:It's not like a 6 week course or a
10 week course, they can come, we've
500
:had some come for several years.
501
:because they like the camaraderie.
502
:They met other veterans who became their
friends and their dogs got along and
503
:they look forward to it once a week.
504
:Dixie: And so everybody has at
your website, it's DoggoneExpress.
505
:com.
506
:Is that correct?
507
:Bill: That is correct, Dixie.
508
:Yes.
509
:Dixie: And would you like to give
everybody to your email address?
510
:Sure.
511
:Bill: It's the letter
L, like in Louisiana.
512
:And my first name, William, W I L I A M.
513
:Last name is Bars, B as in boy, A R S E.
514
:It's all run together.
515
:You don't have to have
caps or anything like that.
516
:It's LWilliamBars at A O L dot com.
517
:Dixie: I want to thank you for
taking the time to speak with me.
518
:I really enjoyed learning about
all these wonderful programs
519
:Bill: Well, this has been the
best podcast I've had all year.
520
:Dixie: I hope so.
521
:Bill: Oh, by far.
522
:And great questions.
523
:And if any of your listeners have
questions, and they want to contact
524
:you certainly, I think I know you,
and your co work, and the co hosts of
525
:your program, podcast, well enough to,
you know, you can refer them to me,
526
:or you can give them my phone number.
527
:Dixie: I certainly can.
528
:And I'll make sure I put all of your
information too in the, description , so
529
:that way everybody will have your, email
address as well as the doggone express.
530
:com link.
531
:Bill: That'll be great.
532
:That'll be great.
533
:Dixie: All right.
534
:Well, thank you so much.
535
:Bill: Well, thank you.
536
:I hope you have a great 2025 to
you and your co host and maybe
537
:sometime if you ever come up to
where I live up in Mount Hermon.
538
:If you do come up sometime, maybe
we can go out and have dinner.
539
:Dixie: That sounds like a plan.
540
:Bill: Thank you.
541
:Dixie: And that's all the time
we have for today's episode.
542
:If you are in animal rescue, or if
you know someone that has a story that
543
:should be told, please contact us.
544
:We would love to have
you or them on the show
545
:.
Thanks for listening, and please join us next week as we continue to
546
:explore the world of animal rescue.