- See this entire gallery at full size
PORT ORCHARD —
Multiple sclerosis has weakened 30-year-old Steve Ellison’s body to the point that he can’t pick up the TV remote, go after the phone, or grab his own shoes.
To perform the smallest of tasks, Ellison turns to his dog Crocker. With the simple command of “Crocker, shoe,” the lab mix eagerly retrieves the item and brings it to his wheelchair-using master, who then puts it on with his one strong arm.
Crocker has gone through years of training to become a mobility service dog and a partner to Ellison, who has had MS for seven years. The foundation of that training took place with Donna Vaquer, a Port Orchard resident who is a volunteer dog trainer with Summit Assistance Dogs, an Anacortes-based organization that trains mobility, hearing and professional therapy dogs for people living with disabilities.
Vaquer began training Crocker to become a service dog when he was a puppy, and he became the first — and only — dog she’s trained to graduate from the Summit program. She has trained eight dogs since becoming a volunteer for Summit in 2004. Another dog she has trained is currently in the advanced program.
“If we have to train multiple dogs to only get one or two through the program, then that’s what we do,” Vaquer said.
The concept of service dogs has changed since the establishment of guide dogs for the blind in the early 1900s. Since 1975, dogs have been trained to serve as helpers to people with a wide range of disabilities, physical and developmental.
Vaquer became involved with Summit through her time as a member of Delta Society, an organization that provides people and their dogs with certification to visit patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and mental institutions. During this time she also wanted to find another volunteer opportunity.
“After a while I was looking for other fun ideas,” Vaquer said.
When she heard about the Summit Assistance Dogs program she quickly jumped on board and began classes at Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound in Tacoma. The nonprofit organization provides training for service dog volunteers, caregivers, and owners.
As a trainer, Vaquer believes every dog has potential. But the training is not easy for the dogs. She focuses on the required basics: sit, stay, wait. She trains her dogs how to greet people calmly, stay attentive and leave things alone. She also trains them to walk loosely on a leash. The dogs also learn to withstand distractions: loud noises, curious objects and the biggest: other people.
“These dogs can’t be afraid of miscellaneous things,” Vaquer said. “The more we do with them the more we realize what is important.”
In the advanced stages dogs learn to do things that cater to their specific partners. Grabbing a phone, pushing open doors, and grabbing other objects are the most common tasks.
Not all dogs are up to the task of becoming a mobility service dog.
“We don’t ever want a dog to not like their job,” Vaquer said.
When dogs are unable to perform the required tasks, they see a career change. Many of the dogs end up becoming drug-sniffing dogs or family pets.
Part of the training for Vaquer’s dogs takes place in the classroom. Every Friday, Vaquer brings the service dog she is training to South Colby Elementary to interact with students in Sarah Simmons’ second-grade class for an hour. Vaquer and Simmons work to create learning opportunities for both the service dogs and students.
Simmons said that since partnering with Vaquer, she’s incorporated classroom management techniques that encompass ideas from dog training. The students respond well to it, she said.
“It’s fascinating that dogs and humans alike function very well through positive reinforcement,” she said.
The students in Simmons’ class came to know Crocker well, and so it was appropriate that a birthday party for the 3-year-old dog was thrown at the school last month with the students, Ellison and Vaquer.
Ellison is grateful for what Vaquer has done and still keeps in regular contact with her. He also reaches out to community groups to share how he’s been able to live more independently with a mobility service dog.
“I feel like I’ve become a great spokesman for Summit,” Ellison said. “It allows me to give back from what I’ve gained.”
Vaquer gets joy seeing the relationship between Crocker and Ellison. It keeps her training dogs, regardless of whether they graduate from the assistance dog program.
“Seeing the dogs with their person is the greatest selling point,” she said. “You really can’t understand until you see it in person.”
