By Roberta Bienenfeld
Special to Alzheimer's Weekly
Week of January 20 - January 26, 2008

From successful businessman to couch potato, Jerry Alexander is being saved by Nyja, an Alzheimer’s Assistance Dog.  Nyja looks a bit like a seal, a small grey-eyed 55 pound black Labrador mix. Now Jerry is willing to travel or go to dinner with friends without a problem - Nyja is there with him.

Jerry Alexander was a successful businessman with a wonderful ability for analyzing transactions, negotiations and management. In the 1960's he and his father owned Royal Citrus, the largest orange packing company in California. In the 1980's, after selling the company, he invested in apartment buildings and other entrepreneurial pursuits.

But then, suddenly, in 2002, things began to change. Instead of taking part in his many organizational activities, Jerry preferred staying home. Exercising stopped. Going sailing every weekend to Catalina with friends and family stopped. Watching CNN became his life. Jerry would "curl up like a snail and do nothing", says his wife Jan. He would refuse to go out to eat lunch in a restaurant or visit San Francisco for a little shopping. All he wanted was his routine and television. On March 11, 2003, the diagnosis came back. After eight hours of testing and interviews, the team of doctors at UCLA told Jerry and Jan that Jerry had Alzheimer’s. He was told that any plans for the future should be accomplished in the next five years.
The future looked bleak for the Alexanders.  Then they heard about Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), through Lorna O'Connor, a woman who worked for CCI as a puppy program manager. CCI is an organization providing assistance dogs to enhance the independence or quality of life of people with developmental or physical disabilities. The dogs, trained to perform physical tasks, reduce the owner's reliance on other people to perform tasks that they have difficulty performing themselves. The Alexanders decided to "give it a shot" although they weren't sure that Jerry would qualify medically.
At the time of their application, Jerry preferred to be a hermit. Jan felt like "a widow with a live husband." Thanks to good medical care and the Alzheimer's drug,Namenda, the progress of his disease was slowed down. Jerry was still capable of dressing himself and taking care of his bodily needs but he slept 14 to 16 hours per day and would no longer go for walks.  He was unable to prepare food for himself or write a check. He was “wobbly” and frightened in social settings with people he did not know.

The process to adopt an assistant dog was far from easy. The application was ten pages long, required a biography, photos and a medical questionnaire. "I was so nervous," says Jan "that I had friends review my answers prior to sending back to CCI."

The next step was a personal interview. This took 3 1/2 hours! Once that hurdle was passed, there was team training. This was a two week process which included a manual two and a half inches thick.

"Team training was grueling," says Jan. "We had lectures every day and I had a test every night." 

During the first week, as the future dog recipients and facilitators sat on the floor, the instructors brought in the dogs. That was when Nyja found Jerry. "Nyja actually came to Jerry and sat on his lap!" remembers Jan. "She picked him."

Jan has nothing but praise for CCI. "CCI really knows what they are doing with regard to the companion/service dogs," she says. "The program is very clear and all personnel are dedicated to dogs and the recipients.  While on the 'waiting list' I researched many other programs – as I was afraid that Jerry would be beyond the point of benefiting from a dog before we would receive one from CCI. There was no other program which compared!" 

Having a dog, even a CCI dog, requires dedication and commitment on the part of the handler. Besides Jerry’s special needs, Jan now has the additional responsibility of taking care of a dog. "In addition to planning for Jerry’s needs," she says, "I must plan for Nyja’s also."

In the Alexander family Jan is the handler and Jerry is the recipient.  Due to his illness, Jerry cannot remember to feed or groom Nyja.  He does not recognize her “toilet” signals.  But he will groom her when reminded and can feed her if Jan stays with him to guide him through the process. 

Throughout Jerry's life he has been a dog owner, caring for them so well that some have lived to the ripe old ages of 15 and 17 years old. "Jerry is a dog person," says Jan. "He recognizes Nyja's need for affection, play and safety.  She will sit for hours on the sofa next to him, watching CNN. He will rub her back and she will roll over for a tummy rub. They communicate."

"The dog has changed MY life," Jan says with a smile. "Now, I can get Jerry to go out. In September we went on a two-week cruise to Alaska.  We have been on many cruises but until recently, Jerry would just stay in our suite – not go to dinner.  But with Nyja, Jerry was ready to go. Jerry wanted to show off his dog – and she was a celebrity!!!" 

In October, Jerry had shoulder surgery. Nyja was allowed in pre-op but after surgery, in post-op, she was barred from entering. Jerry kept calling for Nyja. Finally the post-op nurses let her in. "They arranged for a chair so that she could sit on it and put her front paws on Jerry," says Jan, "and then he calmed down."
 
A few weeks ago Jerry went for a walk with Nyja but he became too tired to continue. He entered a golf club house and asked them to call his wife. Unfortunately, Jerry couldn't remember his phone number and he forgot that he carried that information on his person in a number of places. "So," tells Jan, "the golf pro loaded Nyja and Jerry up in a golf cart and brought them home. Was Jerry worried? No. He had Nyja with him. Jerry told them that Nyja would recognize the house and she did."

One of the duties that the dog performs is to provide Jerry with a social introduction. "We go to church and everyone greets Nyja and Jerry," explains Jan. "We leave a restaurant and people say, 'We did not know a dog was here, tell us about her'.  Nyja has opened up Jerry’s world by just being a well-trained CCI dog."

Does Jan recommend a CCI dog for Alzheimer patients? "ABSOLUTELY!!!" she says, but she does not advise getting a dog as a “general fix” for all Alzheimer’s patients. She feels that a dog will only be beneficial if a patient was previously a dog person and had a special bond with a dog in the past. "And Alzheimer caretakers need to understand," she adds, "that taking care of a dog is an added responsibility to the already harassed Alzheimer caretaker."

Alzheimer's Weekly asked Jan how she would sum up that big gray-eyed black dog's entry into their lives, "I have a life back!" she says.

Related Articles at Alzheimer's Weekly:

Alzheimer's Assistance Dogs

More Information:

Canine Companions for Independence

By:

Roberta Bienenfeld, Alzheimer's Weekly

Copyright:

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