| Owner, Jack Jones, a disabled Marine Vietnam Vet, purchased Chesty to be a family member, a pet. Chesty has added a number of dimensions to his life that his owner never envisioned when he brought home this ball of energy and personality.
As soon as his shots were completed Jack and his wife, Pam, took Chesty everywhere they could take him. They are big believers in early socialization. It was quickly apparent that Chesty owned whatever room he entered He never met a stranger, but greeted everyone as a long lost friend. He was soon known by 100's of people in Sierra Vista, Arizona and at the Tucson Veterans' Hospital where Jack receives medical care. Jack, who has PTSD and has trouble in crowds of people began to notice that, with Chesty along, much of his anxiety either did not manifest itself or, if he did begin to get anxious, Chesty seemed to notice even before Jack did and would then distract him. At first this distraction seemed like 'acting out'. Chesty, always a clown, would begin to jump and play and not behave in the way that Jack was requesting. It took a while for Jack to catch on to the correlation between his own nervousness, anger or anxiety and Chesty's behavior. Jack says this is another case of the dog being smarter than the owner. During this time, Jack discovered that, as a disabled person, he was entitled to a service dog under The American's with Disabilites Act. The VA, through a Quality of Life Grant, sent Jack to Triple Crown Dog Training Academy in Hutto, Texas. This gave him the skills to begin training Chesty as a true service or assistance dog. Now Chesty can legally go anywhere Jack goes - restaurants, airplanes, grocery stores, doctor's offices, or Marine Corp Balls - if Jack is there, so is Chesty. Chesty is trained to do three specific things for Jack. He watches his back and he helps him to recognize his anxiety before it builds and he helps to relieve it. He also, as a wonderful side effect, helps Jack to come out of his isolation and connect with all the people who are either already friends of Chesty or would like to be. When someone approaches Jack from behind and comes closer than Chesty is comfortable with, Chesty bumps Jack with his nose. He also instantly moves to place himself in between Jack and that person. Because he does this with no aggression, most people are unaware that he's even doing it. This allows Jack to relax as he knows that Chesty 'has his back'. Out in public, when Chesty senses Jack's anxiety, he begins licking his hand. If this isn't enough, he gets more and more demanding of attention until finally he has his front paws on Jack's shoulders looking him in the eyes with his 'chill Jack!' look. Because of Jack's affection and enjoyment of the dog, this is enough to break Jack out of his anger or anxiety and either get control of it or make a deliberate decision to leave the situation. Jack Jones can be reached at Happybuddhacanecorso.com or at 520-456-0038. He is always happy to talk about assistance dogs or about Chesty. One of Chesty's goals in life is to sire more pups like himself. Like any good Marine he is willing to fly anywhere to accomplish his objective. |
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