Vet Tails Excerpt – A Tribute to Tana, a Very Special Rescue Dog – Part 1

Vet Tails Excerpt – A Tribute to Tana, a Very Special Rescue Dog – Part 1

We have so many remarkable and special patients but a while ago Dr Tara, Super Sue and our fabulous team had the privilege of looking after a precious and amazing rescue dog named Tana (short for Montana) and his inspiring and devoted owner Belinda.

Tana came from the Montana Women’s Prison in the USA where rescue dogs are trained to become Assistance Dogs. Through this incredible programme the dogs and inmates help to train and rehabilitate each other, both getting a second chance in life. Tana was a real character and full of fun but he also had a big heart. His trainer said that because of Tana, for the first time ever she understood the meaning of unconditional love.  Tana never asked her what crime she committed, if she was sorry or what she was going to do to make amends.  He simply loved her unconditionally for who she was which was life-changing for her.

Belinda spent a couple of years working at the Montana Women’s Prison as an Assistance Dog Trainer and Occupational Therapist with her first Assistance Dog, Bradley many years ago. Belinda, who has epilepsy, was given Bradley as a young pup and found that he had some strange behaviour. A dog behaviourist helped her to identify that this strange behaviour was Bradley’s way of alerting her to her imminent epileptic seizures. Belinda then researched and located the Montana facility as the best place to help develop Bradley’s ability and train him in the necessary tasks to become a certified Assistance Dog. The pair spent ten years together until Bradley died of bone cancer.

Belinda then adopted another Assistance Dog, Theo who sadly had a bad reaction to a blood transfusion following an accident and needed to be put to sleep at only one year of age. After this heartache and the immense expense of obtaining another assistance dog, Belinda was left without an Assistance Dog until she was sponsored to go back to Montana where Tana had been singled out for her as an ideal companion.

Belinda and Tana had been inseparable companions for six years. Tana helped to alert Belinda to her epileptic seizures and when this happens in a public area he has guided her to places that are a bit quieter so she wouldn’t hurt herself or concern passers-by who would potentially be afraid and not know what to do. During a seizure, which lasts about thirty seconds, Belinda becomes unconscious and collapses after which she slowly recovers but she can be a bit disoriented and weak. Following her seizure Tana would then help her by taking Belinda her phone if needed and a drink which he would get from the fridge, opening it with a rope tie.

He’s always worked hard to look after Belinda but playtime was also a priority -. running around like a nutter, surfing waves and chasing his ball which he trained humans to fetch! Kids walking past Belinda’s home on their way from school were attracted to this handsome retriever looking longingly at his ball lying just over the fence and they would pick it up and throw it back to him. He would then retrieve the ball and with a swing of his head, launch the ball back over the fence until the next human passed by to play!

Unfortunately, Belinda and Tana were out walking one day when both were hit by a car that had swerved out of control. They both flew through the air and sustained injuries, Tana hurting his back and developing a fear of cars and Belinda a head injury which has left her even more dependent on Tana’s incredible skills like putting the rubbish in the bin, taking the washing out of the machine, opening doors and cupboards, turning lights on and off and so much more. Tana was able to complete more than eighty-five different tasks!

I had the pleasure of meeting Belinda and Tana when on one of her visits to Tauranga she brought him in to see if we could do anything to help his anxiety with cars as both of their lives were heavily impacted by this. After their accident, Tana would shake and be very unsettled in the car and although her local vet had run blood tests and treated his sore back, the next proposed step to help address his anxiety was a drug similar to Prozac and Belinda was keen on other options.

I found Tana still had some tenderness in his back and treated this as well as his anxiety with a number of therapies including neutraceuticals, herbs, homeopathics, NIS therapy and a special Calm Coat kindly donated by The Dog Coat Company. Together with behaviour modification training that Belinda applied, Tana bounced back beautifully.

Tana and Belinda continued their wonderful work that they did all around the world teaching people about the special bond between animals and humans and the mind-blowing work that Disability Assist Dogs do to help so many people. The dynamic pair visited hospitals and special needs facilities and let patients pet and sit with Tana, bringing a different sort of companionship into their world. Tana was even known to get a lady out of bed and eating when she had refused to do so for days.

Belinda and Tana were featured on the Good Morning show, in several magazines and newspapers and in books and their outstanding efforts amongst the community earned them the Queens Diamond Jubilee Medallion for Volunteer Services for Animals in New Zealand.