Meet Paprika and Amy!

This is Amy and her service dog, Paprika.

Paprika is a 1 yr old (in 2002), female Border Collie, who had a rough start. She originally came from a puppy mill, but has thrived in her new job as Amy's Service Dog.

Amy is 16 yrs old and has several disabilities: Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) type I and/or IV of moderate severity (a disease that causes her bones to break very easily), hearing loss, mild scoliosis, multiple joint contractures, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Amy is not confined to a wheel chair, but she cannot walk very well without help from Paprika. Paprika does many things for Amy.

(See below for more info and pictures...)

Paprika helps Amy walk by providing counter balance; she helps if Amy breaks a bone; Paprika knows how to open and close doors; and she can even help by pressing Enter on Amy's computer.

And like a seizure dog, Paprika even warns Amy when her bone collagen levels are too low by doing things to get her attention!

Many people think that a Border Collie won't make a good service dog, because they are characteristically very active, but Paprika has proved them wrong! She is very calm and mellow.

Paprika has also recently been certified by Therapy Dogs International as a registered therapy dog.