Heather Bring applied for a service canine full of hope the dog would help change her life. \u201cI became disabled and, when that happened, it was really hard. I didn\u2019t know where my life was going to go,\u201d Heather says.<\/p>\n
The Rhode Island woman battles two debilitating health problems: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), which weakens the connective tissue in her body. And Pseudotumor cerebri, a condition that causes increased pressure on her brain, causing headaches and vision problems.<\/p>\n
Heather needed a service dog to help her bend over and pick things up. Not being able to do that anymore was heartbreaking. Before Heather suffered health problems, one of her favorite things to do was walk the beach and pick up plastic trash, so it didn\u2019t harm marine mammals. When she could no longer do that, she worried animals would become entangled in garbage and suffer.<\/p>\n
Then one day, three years after Heather applied, she finally got good news: a beautiful Golden Retriever mix named Marea was waiting to meet her. The two instantly connected. Heather knew Marea was the perfect fit.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s pretty incredible,\u201d Heather says. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to put that in words.\u201d<\/p>\n
But what Heather didn\u2019t know is Marea was not only about to change her life, but she would also help save the lives of other animals, too. Once Marea got acclimated, Heather brought her to the beach, and Marea soon learned how to help Heather resume her conservation efforts. Marea picks garbage off the shore and brings it to Heather, who bags it and carries it off the beach. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome,\u201d she says. \u201cI feel like she loves it.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mareas-firt-response-April-2019.png\")
<\/p>\nPhoto: Sarah Callan<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Not only does this dynamic duo help keep beaches debris-free, Heather and Marea are also volunteer first responders for Mystic Aquarium\u2019s Animal Rescue Program<\/a>. Marea is the first canine ever to hold the position.<\/p>\n When the aquarium\u2019s hotline gets a report of an animal that may need help, Heather and Marea race out to assess the situation. One of their goals is to keep people and pets away from marine mammals on the beach.<\/p>\n \u201cI call it seal sitting,\u201d Heather says. \u201cWe\u2019ll sit out with a seal on a beach and stay far enough away, so he is not bothered. People will come up to us, instead of the seal. It gives us a way to educate people to stay away from the seal. We also talk about how they can help animals by picking up trash.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo: KenCanning | Getty Image<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the meantime, Heather monitors the seal to see if the animal is entangled in plastic or appears to need help. \u201cSometimes seals are just sunning themselves and not stranded,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Heather also teaches kids, besides being illegal, why it\u2019s crucial people don\u2019t bother seals. \u201cI open Marea\u2019s mouth and say a seal\u2019s teeth are bigger than this!\u201d<\/p>\n The pair are still out on East Coast beaches helping to change the world. Heather is so grateful she has the best partner she could have ever asked for.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is an extension of myself,\u201d she says. \u201cAfter everything I\u2019ve had to endure, having her by my side is giving me more power and confidence to get out there and do what we need to do to help the environment and help other animals.\u201d<\/p>\n Top photograph: Heather Bring<\/em><\/p>\n Read Next: 10 Types of Service Dogs and What They Do<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The post Meet the Service Dog Helping the Mystic Aquarium Save Seals<\/a> by Mary Schwager<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n The post Meet the Service Dog Helping the Mystic Aquarium Save Seals<\/a> by Mary Schwager<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n Heather Bring applied for a service canine full of hope the dog would help change her life. \u201cI became disabled and, when that happened, it was really hard. I didn\u2019t know where my life was going to go,\u201d Heather says.<\/p>\n The Rhode Island woman battles two debilitating health problems: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), which weakens the connective tissue in her body. And Pseudotumor cerebri, a condition that causes increased pressure on her brain, causing headaches and vision problems.<\/p>\n Heather needed a service dog to help her bend over and pick things up. Not being able to do that anymore was heartbreaking. Before Heather suffered health problems, one of her favorite things to do was walk the beach and pick up plastic trash, so it didn\u2019t harm marine mammals. When she could no longer do that, she worried animals would become entangled in garbage and suffer.<\/p>\n Then one day, three years after Heather applied, she finally got good news: a beautiful Golden Retriever mix named Marea was waiting to meet her. The two instantly connected. Heather knew Marea was the perfect fit.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s pretty incredible,\u201d Heather says. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to put that in words.\u201d<\/p>\n But what Heather didn\u2019t know is Marea was not only about to change her life, but she would also help save the lives of other animals, too. Once Marea got acclimated, Heather brought her to the beach, and Marea soon learned how to help Heather resume her conservation efforts. Marea picks garbage off the shore and brings it to Heather, who bags it and carries it off the beach. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome,\u201d she says. \u201cI feel like she loves it.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo: Sarah Callan<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Not only does this dynamic duo help keep beaches debris-free, Heather and Marea are also volunteer first responders for Mystic Aquarium\u2019s Animal Rescue Program<\/a>. Marea is the first canine ever to hold the position.<\/p>\n When the aquarium\u2019s hotline gets a report of an animal that may need help, Heather and Marea race out to assess the situation. One of their goals is to keep people and pets away from marine mammals on the beach.<\/p>\n \u201cI call it seal sitting,\u201d Heather says. \u201cWe\u2019ll sit out with a seal on a beach and stay far enough away, so he is not bothered. People will come up to us, instead of the seal. It gives us a way to educate people to stay away from the seal. We also talk about how they can help animals by picking up trash.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo: KenCanning | Getty Image<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the meantime, Heather monitors the seal to see if the animal is entangled in plastic or appears to need help. \u201cSometimes seals are just sunning themselves and not stranded,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Heather also teaches kids, besides being illegal, why it\u2019s crucial people don\u2019t bother seals. \u201cI open Marea\u2019s mouth and say a seal\u2019s teeth are bigger than this!\u201d<\/p>\n The pair are still out on East Coast beaches helping to change the world. Heather is so grateful she has the best partner she could have ever asked for.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is an extension of myself,\u201d she says. \u201cAfter everything I\u2019ve had to endure, having her by my side is giving me more power and confidence to get out there and do what we need to do to help the environment and help other animals.\u201d<\/p>\n Top photograph: Heather Bring<\/em><\/p>\n Read Next: 10 Types of Service Dogs and What They Do<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The post Meet the Service Dog Helping the Mystic Aquarium Save Seals<\/a> by Mary Schwager<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/NE-Harbor-seal_getty73574692.png\")
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