ALMetro360 Magazine

Service Dogs Who Make a Difference B Y H ENRIETTA M AC G UIRE P HOTOGRAPHY BY D I A NNA P AULK M ANY YEARS AGO , DESTINY DECIDED THAT F RANCES M C G OWIN SHOULD BE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF S ERVICE D OGS A LABAMA . S HE ’ S TYPE - CAST FOR THE ROLE , EXUDING WARMTH WITH HER WELCOMING SMILE AND HAVING ALL THE FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT HER ANIMALS READY TO INFORM YOU . e care for and train right now 50 dogs, between 20 and 30 of whom will be placed in needy homes,” she says. “These dogs have gone far beyond just servicing the blind; now they help autistic children, take care of diabetics, watch over people with PTSD — I constantly hear the refrain, this wonderful dog saved my life.” Slim and elegant, McGowinmoves rapidly around the large living room, assembling photos for you to see, looking for the videos you’ve asked for, answering the phone just for a second. She keeps informing you of how extraordinary her animals are and if you follow what she’s saying you’ll probably hear her explain that her dogs will do everything you need except sing you to sleep. Visitors see this organization’s mission statement on all published material: Service Dogs Alabama is dedicated to providing medical and psychological assistance dogs to children, adults and veterans with disabilities without cost, etc. After that, visitors almost always ask the same question, “How do you select dogs to train?” “Mainly we breed our own so we have better information to work with,” she says. “The animals go through a series of rigorous exams, physical, emotional, psychological, general, and you can imagine how carefully we evaluate. Because we’re investing two years in training, the 50 dogs we are working with now are keeping us really busy.” McGowin does not believe in the cookie-cutter school of training. Experience has taught her that every animal is a distinct individual with different skills, talents and personality, and that one-size-fits-all will not work. “We try to suit most of our training to the special gifts each dog has been endowed with, so by strengthening and encouraging those unique behavior patterns 44 AL/ Metro 360 www.almetro360.com GOOD DEEDS .................................................................................................................................. “W the animal will reach its own potential more quickly.” Any group visiting this installation creates a problem because the puppies and dogs are so beguiling people want to stay for hours and ask an endless stream of questions. But gracious as always, McGowin soldiers on to explain a little about the priceless asset a dog has in its nose. “That nose is several thousand times more sensitive than ours,” she explains, “so with help from several other sources that nose can tell a diabetic when the blood sugar level is up or down, with certain nerve patients when a fainting spell may happen, with an autistic child when a behavior crisis is about to erupt.” The second most frequently asked question is, “How do you