MASON CITY — Tag checked out those sitting in the audience and he made eye
contact with one.
You could almost see the light go on in his
eyes: It was time to meet the group.
One by one, Tag, a 4-year-old yellow Labrador,
greeted each person — sniffing hands, looking into faces — attending the talk
by his owner, Staff Sgt. Dianne Raymond of the Iowa Army National Guard, also a
volunteer for the Des Moines-based group, Paws and Effect.
Raymond was on hand to talk about the program’s
efforts at the annual Fall Festival Fundraiser for the Humane Society of North
Iowa held Sunday at the Mason City National Guard Armory.
Raymond is a puppy-raiser for the program and
the owner of Tag, who came through the program. Tag at one time was a service
dog for a man with multiple sclerosis but had to withdraw when he showed signs
of claustrophobia.
Today, Tag is a “facility dog” who spends his
days with Raymond at her job as Medical Services Board non-commissioned officer
at Camp Dodge in Johnston. Tag is also a bit of a publicity hound — literally —
for the organization.
The group trains leader dogs largely for the
military veterans coping with permanent disabilities, as well as the
hearing-impaired and autistic children.
After they are raised to 18 months, dogs spend
two weeks with a handler before being matched with a veteran, she said.
“It’s interesting to see all those dogs pick
their owners — they go right to a veteran and sit down right in front of them,”
she said.
Tag is so in tune with Raymond, a diabetic,
that he can sense when her blood sugar is dropping.
“He begins to run in circles, every time,” she
said. “It was awhile before even I knew what he was doing.”
The dogs provide a valuable service, from
opening doors and retrieving items to “putting themselves between their master
and danger,” she said.
