Lindsay Cochran, daughter of GEHS history teacher Walt Cochran, recently received her service dog, Tackle. Lindsay went to St. Louis for two and a half weeks to train and meet Tackle.

Lindsay has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) which her affects motor nerve skills in the spinal cord. This affects her ability to eat, roll over, and sit up. Lindsay has SMA type two which means she can sit up on her own, but will need help sitting down and walking. She will need a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

“She has the physical arm strength of about a two year old,” Walt said.

The service dog programs works by being on the waiting list for two to five years, then when a dog becomes available for the participant, they must travel to the dog (in this case St. Louis). The service dog will then meet all of the participants and imprint on what owner that they would like to help; the service dog chooses their owner. After each service dog has picked their owner, they will spend the next two and a half weeks training and bonding together.

“The dog can do everything for opening doors, picking things up, getting a book off of the book shelf, and providing loyal companionship,” Walt said. “Also, if her head falls down and she cannot lift it up, Tackle is trained to push her head back up.”

Before Lindsay had her service dog, she had her older brother, Trenton, to assist her daily. Trenton won the Unsung Hero award, the video of him and his sister went viral. This video shows how much Trenton cares for Lindsay. Currently, it has 1.5 million hits. Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PM6uX4yGp4

Lindsay has returned home from receiving Tackle and is getting used to her life with a service dog.