SSD Midge Gives Thanks for our Wonderful Vet!

Most of our dogs-in-training agree that going to the vet is not nearly as scary as it seems. We are very lucky to have wonderful veterinarians at the Palmyra Animal Clinic to take care of our service dogs-in-training. Everyone is so friendly, and they always let the dogs know how much they love them. Thank you for everything you do for us!

This holiday season, SSD Midge is especially thankful for veterinarian services. She went into heat in the middle of November, and she went to a vet in the Philadelphia area today to be bred. She was the mother of the Rock and Roll Stars litter, born in May 2010, and if everything goes well, she could become a mother again! This means that she'll be making lots of trips to the vet. Before she was bred, she went to the vet every day for tests to figure out the best time to breed her.

Several weeks after she's bred, she'll return to the vet for an ultrasound to see if she's pregnant. Then when her puppies are born, the vet will take care of them, too, giving them their shots and making sure they're healthy. With so many vet visits, Midge appreciates the loving and gentle care she gets.

Midge asks you to consider donating to SSD so she and her future puppies can get the proper veterinary care. Your $10 donation will help Midge and her future puppies live long, healthy lives as service dogs.

Donate now to care for Midge and her future puppies.

Thank you for your continued support for SSD Midge, her future puppies and the rest of us at SSD! We will keep you posted about Midge and her puppies. If she's pregnant, you will be one of the first to know!

Visiting the Eye Clinic

Once a year, we take all of our breeding dogs to the eye clinic to have their eyes examined. We always to go to a visiting eye clinic to see Dr. Riis, a veterinary ophthalmologist who is extremely knowledgeable and understands assistance dogs. It's very important that service dogs be in top physical condition, including their eyes, and Dr. Riis is able to tell us whether any eye conditions will affect the dogs' careers as working dogs.

This year, we took our breeding dogs as well as our new puppies and a few of the dogs-in-training that needed to be rechecked. SSD Pearl, Midge, Dixie, Fire, Rio, Aspen, Rusty, Onyx, Slate, Shamrock and Cabo had their eyes checked.

When the dogs first arrived at the eye clinic, which was held at the Dauphin Dog Training Club over PawsAbilities weekend, they had their eyes dilated. Dr. Riis then examined each dog.

If an eye condition is discovered, we ask several important questions. First, we want to know how it will affect the dog's health. How will the condition affect the dog's ability to work as a service dog? How will the eye condition affect the dog's partner once they're matched? (Meaning, will the dog's eye condition worsen at some point in the future, requiring the partner to bring the dog in for additional veterinary care or even causing the dog's early retirement?) Finally, if the dog is a breeding dog, we ask if the dog can be bred without passing on any eye conditions.
Our goal is to make sure all of our breeding dogs and potential service dogs are healthy. When we place service dogs with partners, our hope is that the dogs will be able to work with their partner for 8-10 years.


We have good news! All of our dogs passed their exam!

Thank you so much to Dr. Riis and everyone who helped at the eye clinic!