You can give your animals the care they need, sometimes with a little help. Polo is the author's well-cared-for, black Labrador service dog.

by Jan Blaustone

More often than not, I've found the most faithful of friends, the undeniable givers of unconditional love, are those who walk on four legs. Various studies have shown many positive health benefits that the human-animal bond provides — for example, lowered blood pressure and raised spirits. Nonetheless, it must be a well-thought-out decision to acquire an animal and the responsibility that comes along with doing so.

Before adopting an animal, you should consider which kind is right for you. Ask yourself: "Can I afford an animal? Provide for its health needs? Take care of it properly?"

Some animals require higher maintenance than others: Cats are pretty independent, needing only food, water, a clean litter box and loving respect; birds provide musical accompaniment to the day but need clean cages; fish offer a soothing spectacle in return for a clean tank. As for dogs, well, the care of one's dog — whether it's a pet or a service dog — is demanding, but it needn't be overwhelming.

Some responsibilities are necessarily group efforts for dog owners with neuromuscular diseases. Routine medical maintenance and special conditions require a veterinarian. Grooming and obedience training may require assistance from a friend or family member. However, fresh water (not from your toilet bowl!) and quality foods daily, exercise, love, compassion: Most of us are capable of giving these independently.

All in all, your dog's care is a doable work in progress. And the emotional support, the physical assistance, and the love and companionship dogs provide reward every penny spent, every ache endured and every minute passed in care.

"I had huge reservations about getting Conway," Debbie Brewer of Pickerington, Ohio, says of her decision five years ago to include in her family a service dog for her son Jacob, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Brewer, then pregnant with her third son, was in the middle of an interstate move. She knew of the pressure a dog would add to the household.

The Brewers went ahead with the process, and Debbie accompanied 6-year-old Jacob to training camp at Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) in Delaware, Ohio, for two weeks with Conway, a 2-year-old golden-Labrador retriever mix.

Jacob Brewer calms Conway, while mom Debbie clips the dog's nails.

"The first year was really hard on me," she admits. "It was like having a fourth child." Conway needed two daily feedings, a potty schedule and a lot of planning, and Debbie and Jacob were still working daily with Conway on his service dog skills.

But Conway quickly became an integral family member. He even participated in Jacob's first Holy Communion celebration and received a special blessing.

At 11, Jacob feels as connected to Conway as he was when Conway's lead was first attached to his wheelchair for bonding. "Dogs are really loving animals," Jacob says. "They can tell you if they love you and they're always there for you."

At this point in the progression of his DMD, Jacob isn't as hands-on as he once was with Conway's physical care, but he continues to be involved. CCI and other service dog programs recommend that a person attending the required two-week training course bring a potential caregiver for the dog, who'll learn alongside the graduate about how to care for the dog and reinforce training. Debbie accompanied Jacob and was grateful.

"I am the one who bathes and brushes Conway, cleans his teeth, ears, eyes, clips his nails and the fur in between his toes," Brewer says. "Jacob remains 100 percent involved when I am doing these things by talking to Conway and reassuring him. His loving words complement what I do, and Conway responds beautifully."

Besides the daily assistance Conway provides Jacob, the dog is his best friend. "When Jacob has had a bad day at school," his mother explains, "he may even cry, but after he has poured his heart out in frustration to Conway, he feels much better."

Clearly, all the dog hair and messy baths are well worth it when it comes to healing your child's sad heart. Keeping your dog healthy requires commitment, but after all, isn't that what a loving relationship is all about?

Your dog's medical care, feeding and exercise are all essential to its health and longevity. Sometimes, you just need a little forethought and some extra technique to provide them.

There are many guidebooks and Web sites providing basic information about general dog care. (See "Resources" for a few suggestions.) Armed with this guidance and a good relationship with a veterinarian, you can care for your dog's physical and medical needs.

Of all your dog's medications, three are critical: rabies vaccinations, parvovirus/ distemper virus vaccinations and heartworm medicine. Kent Bruner, managing director and staff veterinarian of Canine Assistants, a nonprofit service dog organization in Alpharetta, Ga., also recommends that dog owners give monthly palpation exams — feeling all around the dog's body for any unusual lumps or swelling.

"Have your dog jump up to a level that is comfortable for you rather than bending over if that is difficult for you," Bruner suggests. "If your motor skills prevent you from giving the exam, have the same friend or family member give the exam each month." Your vet will be able to interpret anything unusual you might find.

You should always inform your vet if your dog is a working dog. Question the effects of any medications on your dog's alertness, and choose medications accordingly.

Kent Bruner, staff veterinarian for Canine Assistants, and his assistant examine a golden retriever for a new service dog recipient.

Many veterinarians offer discounted rates for their services or supplies for assistance animals, but some vets feel that state laws prohibit fee reductions for any specified segment of the population. Most service dog providers are nonprofit organizations, which can't afford to provide veterinary services or supplies to their graduates.

Your service dog provider may, however, be able to recommend a veterinarian in your area who offers discounted service. Your local veterinary medical association can also offer helpful information. The International Association of Assistance Dog Partners posts a detailed listing of the 17 state-funded veterinary teaching hospitals that offer discounted services for assistance animals.

In addition to good medical care, food quality and quantity are central to your dog's health. "In general," Bruner says, "you get what you pay for." Find a food with quality ingredients that your dog will benefit from and stick to it — and no table scraps or bones! Some bones can perforate a dog's intestines, while other human food, such as chocolate or onion, can prove fatal.

"Feed your dog twice a day, and do not overfeed your dog," he warns. "My biggest challenge in veterinary medicine is not with the dogs, it's with their caregivers who kill them with kindness, literally." Bruner recommends that you balance the amount your dog eats with the amount of its exercise. If you can no longer feel the dog's ribs, it's eating too much.

If you find the task of reaching into the bottom of a 40-pound bag of dog chow difficult, you're not alone. Pam Townsend of Nashville, Tenn., who has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, uses a sturdy, upright, Rubbermaid-type of container to hold Astro's chow.

"I have a friend or family member transfer his food from the original sack into this huge tub with an airtight lid," she says. "This way the sack doesn't fall over, it keeps bugs out, and I can reach into it more easily, plus it's wide enough for me to hold onto for balance." Townsend and I both use plastic jugs of water filled halfway when replenishing our dogs' water bowls (a never-ending task!) to eliminate setting down (and spilling) a full water bowl.

Exercise is as important to your dog's health as eating right. Charge up your wheelchair batteries and get into a regular walking routine with your dog. Begin with short walks (or "rolls") around the block and build up to brisk adventures through the park. Remember to bring water and a collapsible bowl for the dog.

If you're concerned about wheelchair use around your dog, consider the advice of Doris Dressler, a trainer for Canine Assistants. "Some dogs are a bit unnerved at first by a wheelchair and will try to stay as far away from the wheelchair or scooter as possible," she says, "but most dogs don't seem to mind it."

For those that do, Dressler uses several techniques to calm the dogs and accustom them to the wheelchairs. She'll entice a dog with treats to approach and invite it up on her lap; while using the wheelchair, she has the dog practice heeling.

"Our puppy trainers provide the initial exposure to wheelchairs and, yes, we do occasionally run over the dogs' toes, but that's part of the learning process," she adds. Most dogs figure things out.

Sara Castelli of Palm Bay, Fla., agrees: "Dogs are adaptable. They just take it in as part of life." She relied on her golden retriever service dog, Bennie, as a "pulling dog" when she used a manual wheelchair. "Having Bennie pull my wheelchair was one of my life's great experiences. I was paralyzed when I was 3 years old, so I don't remember running."

When Castelli switched to a power chair, Bennie was so accustomed to pulling the wheelchair that she continued to try. "After several times of my telling her, "easy,' she relaxed and caught on that all she had to do was walk beside me."

The transition from a manual wheelchair to a power wheelchair can have rewards for dog and person alike. Debbie Brewer says of Jacob's recent switch, "They can do even more together without me now. Jacob hooks Conway's leash onto his chair and off they go!

"It's given Jacob so much more freedom, and Conway is getting a lot more exercise than when Jacob was using the manual chair. Jacob can get him going at a fast walk or trot where I just walked him before. They both come back with their tongues hanging out."

Lisa Kus of Alpharetta, Ga., has come up with a novel approach to exercise. She regularly takes her golden retriever service dog, Polo, to the park to play or to a river or a nearby lake for swimming. "Polo gets 30 minutes of exercise every day, something I feel is essential for his overall health," Kus says. She imaginatively combines exercise with Polo's grooming routine since a swim also works as a bath.

Everyone agrees that a clean dog is a welcomed dog.

Long ago, I discovered that I no longer had the arm strength to wrestle with my 70-pound Labrador-golden mixed breed at bath time. Nor did I have the strength and mobility to scrub the bathroom afterward.

Fortunately, along came enterprising mobile groomers who bring their facility on wheels to your home, as well as accessible stores like PETsMART, which offer complete grooming services while you wait.

Mobile groomers who come to your home can make dog care easier.

Kus used the services of a mobile groomer until she moved into an apartment, and now she takes Polo to a regular groomer.

"I find it too difficult to bathe Polo because of my limb-girdle muscular dystrophy," she says, "so I use the same groomer monthly."

Lisa Kus says caring for her Polo's well-being is good for her.

Kus sometimes hires neighborhood children or asks the help of a friend to accomplish grooming tasks. "But I love being responsible for Polo. It gets me out of my own head. Caring for another's well-being is good for me."

Having a cooperative, well-trained dog at bath time is what separates my own service dog (also named Polo) from my two pet pooches. Service dogs are trained to assist people with disabilities in numerous ways, and learning to help you groom them is part of their curriculum, Renee Baker, Southeast region development director of Canine Companions for Independence, explains.

Service dogs are trained to jump onto a raised table as well as to "roll" to permit graduates to perform grooming within their range of motion. This training ultimately serves both the graduates and their dogs.

During the summer months I bathe my dogs outdoors with the garden hose. But I learned that if I didn't keep them on a short lead tied to a stable fixture (which I'm not), I was dead meat. On a longer lead, they'd wrap themselves around trees, bird baths, picnic tables, my wheelchair ... you name it.

A portable arm and noose that can be purchased from pet suppliers will attach to any grooming surface, and it also works in a bathtub to keep your dog in place. I also use a choker collar worn high — just under the chin and behind their ears — to keep them from lunging. Without being "high-collared," they would slip out of their collars in an instant, leaving me to follow a trail of soap suds through the neighborhood.

Another lesson I've learned about bathing my dogs is to transfer into my manual chair before I turn on the faucet. It only takes a split second for water to fry your electronics, the most costly components on your power wheelchair — a very expensive bath indeed!

Townsend avoids putting her electronics at risk by bathing Astro in the shower with her. It's imperative to place a rubber mat in your tub or shower when bathing your dog in the bathroom. A mat not only prevents your dog (and you) from slipping in soapy water, it provides a feeling of security and calms its nerves.

You can minimize skin dryness while reducing the work of bathing by diluting your dog's shampoo to a 1:10 ratio with warm water. Diluting the shampoo not only creates a milder soap, it's much easier to disperse on your dog than the creamy concentrate found in most dog shampoos — especially true when your motor skills have diminished.

A rubber-tipped pad that you can slip your palm into is a great device for soaping and massaging your dog's skin, and it's handy when your motor skills aren't what they used to be.

In the summertime Townsend also bathes Astro outdoors with a garden hose. "Some people use wet wipes on very small dogs, but on a large, long-haired dog like Astro, they would be too impractical," she says. Weekly brushings keep Astro clean enough to limit his baths to once a month. If you're unable to grasp a brush handle, a glove brush may help get the job done.

Lee Blaustone gives Polo a bath at home.

While some may opt for groomer services when outdoor bathing isn't possible because of inclement weather, Debbie Brewer has found a local feed store that charges her $5 to use its raised grooming table for bathing Conway during the winter months.

Get your children (or anyone's children) involved at bath time — it's worth a few bucks. With the progression of my own limb-girdle MD, I've become the "official rinser" of our dogs while my young son handles all the scrubbing. This really is the best bargain in town.

If bathing and brushing still remain too daunting, you may want to consider the benefits of a small dog. Judy Brauch of Eastpointe, Mich., knew she needed a smaller dog when her cocker spaniel of 14 years died in January. So she was excited to find a Jack Russell terrier at a local shelter.

Judy Brauch says she wouldn't give up Jack for all the tea in China.

Jack, as Brauch calls him, loves to ride in her lap on her power scooter. "He puts his front paws on the handles and it looks like he's driving.

"But the biggest perk of a smaller dog," Brauch says, "is that Jack can be bathed in the sink and he dries in no time. I don't do it because of the progression of my myotonic muscular dystrophy, but I have a friend bathe him and it only takes a couple of minutes."

Some dogs appear active and well at 13 years of age or older, while others can be considered geriatric at age 7. After years of wear and tear on hard-working joints, arthritis, among other ailments, is likely to make its appearance in your dog.

When stairs become a problem, invest in a wheelchair ramp if you don't already have one and cover it in a material with friction, such as indoor-outdoor carpeting. Whenever possible, allow your dog to use your wheelchair lift or ramp to enter your van.

Another practice that can assist an older dog is a raised pet dish. Try putting the food and water bowls up off the floor on a firm box and see if your dog isn't happier.

You can invest in a pet bowl stand if you prefer a nicer look, but the main idea is to eliminate your dog's having to bend, which alleviates the stress on its stiff neck. The raised bowls also benefit you by eliminating your need to bend down, an essential accommodation for some owners.

If your dog is a working service dog, there comes a time after years of faithful service when you must consider its retirement. Most service dog recipients know their dogs well enough to tell instinctively when the time has come. Castelli chose to retire Bennie last year when she was 11 years old.

"As I watched Bennie's energy level change, it became apparent that her retirement was near," she recalls. "So, nearly a year before I thought she'd retire, I told CCI that she would be retiring during the following summer to fall. That was a major step, but it was made easier by my talking about it.

"When Bennie had worked for approximately seven years, I began mentioning in presentations that in the next several years she would retire. Hearing those words spoken in public was the first step of our transition. I believe that having a plan well in advance, along with a positive attitude, is what made Bennie's retirement work for us," she adds.

"Life is good. Bennie did her time and now she gets to kick back."

Bennie is "not upset in the least" that Castelli's new 2-year-old service dog, London, is doing the work that Bennie once did. "In fact," Castelli says, "Bennie will no longer open doors, but she waits for London to open the door and then she goes in first!"

If you can no longer care for your retired service dog, your service dog provider has options that include returning the retiring dog to its original "puppy raisers" or "foster family." It's a personal decision for everyone, different — and possibly difficult.

If dogs are the animals that best suit your personality and circumstances, caring for them can sometimes require all the energy and creativity you can muster. Ultimately, though, I wouldn't trade my relationship with my dogs for anything, and I have no regrets.

Judy Brauch feels the same way. She recently fell from a chair and couldn't get up.

"For 40 hours (yes, hours!) Jack wouldn't leave my side except to relieve himself in the mud room. Jack and I live alone and we take care of each other. I could be living in a brand-new hospice, but I turned it down because they do not allow dogs. I wouldn't give this dog up for all the tea in China!"  

A very special thanks to Kent Bruner of Canine Assistants for his help with this story.