Lisa and Luminary Service Dogs gave us such an incredible gift. When my 16-year-old son Cyrus broke his neck in a skiing accident, he was introduced to service dogs while in rehab for quadriplegia at Craig Hospital in Denver. He and a new friend, also recently injured from a head first dive, spoke together of how much they wanted to have dogs. The joy of a relationship with a dog was a simple dream for these recently injured teens, however, the wait to get a service dog is often 3 years after injury, after time on a wait list, and the fully trained dog is usually 30 months old when it arrives to be of service to wheelchair users… [More]
A wonderful client of mine made the decision to adopt Sparrow, and upon doing so, decided that she wanted the best possible start for her. So she asked me to put Sparrow into a long term boarding program, and to work with her for as long as I felt she needed in order to gain the confidence necessary to become a happy and obedient pet… [More]
Lisa employs a balanced training style, a perfect fit for Harbor, my Newfoundland/Komondor mix. Not reliably food motivated, Harbor loves to work and help however possible. As a hybrid livestock guardian and water rescue dog, Harbor thinks creatively for himself, solving problems as a partnership with people at best and as an independent if he believes necessary. To successfully acquire skills, Harbor needs both positive reinforcement and clear boundaries, both of which Lisa provides excellently, conveying confines without a heavy hand. She’s talented and intuitive with dogs, but also refined.. [More]
Siri is my star. She lights my path in the dark. Knowing she is there enables me to navigate life in private and in public spaces in ways I would not be able to anymore. Unfortunately I am dealing with disabilities on multiple fronts. Fortunately, Siri is a multi-purpose service dog. She does psychiatric, autism, and medical alert and response tasks… [More]
After more than a year of weekly psychiatric appointments and different medications to treat my challenges with C-PTSD, my treatment team recommended looking into a Psychiatric Service Dog to help mitigate my symptoms. By happenstance, the owner of Penny Lane Australian Labradoodles mentioned MLU had a Program Service Dog ready for placement, but she might be too small for crowd control work. An internet search of Star’s bio listed all the qualities I was looking for in a PSD. Once I met Star, we bonded very quickly, and I know from day one we would make a great working team. Training with Lisa and Star in preparation for the transition of handling Star was seamless and rewarding…. [More]
