Canine Companions service dog is loyal helper for Petaluma woman

In her 20s, Colette Emanuel was a gal on the go. After working her way through a degree from California Institute for the Arts, she landed her film-industry dream job as an optical special effects technician, working on movies such as “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.”

“I worked 60 to 80 hours a week,” she said recently, “and on days off I went rock climbing and horseback riding. I don’t remember ever feeling tired.”

But at 30, just after moving to the Bay Area for a job with Lucasfilm, Emanuel suddenly developed physical symptoms that included unsteady balance, exhaustion and generalized pain; her vision grew so blurred that she could no longer accomplish the fine-tuned technical film work she had trained for.

“I took part-time jobs when possible,” Emmanuel said, “managing an online bookstore, working for an attorney. But I spent so much time with doctors, trying to determine what was wrong.”

A decade passed before she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. By then, Emanuel’s ability to walk had significantly deteriorated.

“I’d gone from walking to using canes,” she said. Today, at 60, she can move slowly around her apartment by “wall walking,” holding on to a wall or furniture, but she requires an electric wheelchair any time she leaves home.

Despite severely-limited mobility and other physical constraints, Emanuel retains her go-getter personality. “I’m out in the world doing something almost every single day,” she said. “And I try to contribute as much good as I can.”

That’s due to her innately positive nature, and to an affectionate, yellow Labrador retriever service dog named Cate that has been trained to assist her. Cate fetches dish towels and cellphones, deposits cans and bottles in the household recycle bin, and even accompanies Emanuel to Giants home games at AT&T Park.

“Going into the world in a wheelchair can be so isolating,” Emanuel says. “Most people don’t know what to say to you. Putting a dog between me and another person provides a bridge they can cross over to make contact. Cate’s friendly, and people often stop to ask questions about her. Kids are amazed at how she helps me, pressing a crosswalk button, for example.”

Cate was raised and trained by the Santa Rosa-based nonprofit Canine Companions for Independence, at a cost of about $50,000.

“Canine Companions for Independence relies on donations from thousands of generous supporters across the country,” said CEO Paul Mundell. “It is privately funded by donations from individuals, foundations, corporations and organizations. There is no charge for a dog, its training and a lifetime of ongoing follow-up services.”

Mundell adds that, since it began in 1975, the agency “has placed nearly 5,000 service dogs with people who have disabilities. Over 1,500 volunteers commit to spending the first 18 months of a puppy’s life to providing the training and socialization needed for assistance dogs to begin their careers.”

Dogs that make it through the training program are then paired with a human companion. Recipients such as Emanuel are carefully screened, and great effort is made for optimum compatibility between dog and human. Once paired, the team work together in an intensive two-week training course at Canine Companions.

Emanuel loved Cate from the first moment they met. “Her personality is perfect,” she says. “She’s affectionate, but she’s not all over me with big slobbery kisses. She’s got a serious work ethic, but she’s also playful.”

Emanuel and Cate sometimes take speaking engagements on behalf of Canine Companions, passing out the word about service dogs.

“I love to tell groups about these wonderful dogs,” she said. “How they can help with a wide variety of disabilities and needs. I want people to know how Cate opened up my world.”