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Dog Helps Master to Breathe
By: unknown author
Yomiuri Newspaper, July 8, 2002
A new kind of care-dog started to work in Hokkaido,
Japan. It is a 22-month-old male Labrador retriever named Ben. He was
trained for a year by a professional dog trainer, and now carries an
oxygen cylinder for his owner.
Ben is called an "oxy dog" and pulls a cart carrying a cylinder
that weighs about two kilograms for his Master.
Patients suffering from respiratory difficulties, such as pulmonary
emphysema, cannot lead normal lives without the aid of oxygen. They need
to take a tank of oxygen with them wherever they go.
It is difficult for those with respiratory problems to carry heavy
cylinders, especially when walking in crowds or along bumpy roads. It
eventually forces many patients to stay at home rather than go out.
Mr. Toyama's organization, wants to make oxygen dogs as popular as guide
dogs, so that they can provide help for the 200,000 people in Japan who
have breathing problems across the nation.
Ben, a pioneer in this field, started his new life helping a 70-year-old
man with respiratory difficulties.
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