Catalano, who is hearing impaired, obtained Windy through Paws With A Cause, a nonprofit group that trains assistance dogs for people with special needs. Paws provides assistance dogs to its clients free of charge.

Penny Layne is the regional liaison for Paws. She said the organization trains each dog to fit the needs of an individual client.

In Catalano's case, Windy is trained to alert her when the telephone rings, the smoke alarm goes off, the tea kettle whistles or the doorbell rings.

"Windy is now in the process of being certified," Layne said. "Paws gives lifelong training for the dogs and the clients."

The dogs' training begins when they are between 12 and 15 months old. They are placed in foster homes to learn house manners, begin their obedience training and meet children and older adults at playgrounds and senior centers. After foster training, the dogs are taken to the Paws headquarters in Wayland, Mich., for three to six months of additional lessons.

"During this training, the dog is matched with a client based on their personalities and needs," Layne said. "I do a needs assessment at the client's home, so the trainers know what the client is physically capable of doing. Then we work with the dog on the client's particular needs."

While in training, the assistance dog is taken to the client's home two or three times a week, so the pair can work together.

It costs $18,000 to supply a client with a trained dog, and to continue the lifelong training program. Costs are paid by corporate sponsors; Paws does not charge clients for the animals or their training.

Dogs that prove unfit for work with Paws may be placed in homes as family pets or "career changed" to jobs with the U.S. Customs Service or other agencies.

Catalano received Windy in December. She and the dog continue to learn together at the community college near Youngwood.

"I work right beside where the basketballs are stored at the college, so we're training Windy not to go after them," Catalano said with a laugh. "We're also training her so she can notify me if the fire alarm goes off at work."

When Windy hears the fire alarm, doorbell or telephone, she goes to Catalano, paws at her, then leads her to the source of the sound. When Catalano is out in public with Windy, the dog wears a blue-and-orange vest bearing the Paws logo.

"These jackets denote that they are service dogs and should not be approached to be petted," Layne said. "They're working and need to pay attention to their masters."

Pennsylvania law permits service assistance dogs to enter all public buildings, including restaurants, Layne said. Paws specifically trains dogs in public settings such as restaurants, grocery stores and other retail outlets, and on public transportation including buses and airplanes.

Leader dogs have long been used to guide people with visual impairments. But as the Paws Web site notes, "approximately 97 percent of all people with disabilities are not blind; they are physically challenged in some other way."

Paws began by training service dogs to help people with hearing loss, but it soon branched out. Now its dogs may be taught to pull wheelchairs, turn lights on and off for people with physical disabilities, or get help when an epileptic client suffers a seizure.

"Before they are certified as a team, the client and dog must demonstrate working-together skills," Layne said. "These assistance dogs give individuals independence they wouldn't normally have."

Layne and Fawn, a 3-year-old black Labrador who's the official "spokesdog" for the Greater Pittsburgh area Paws, demonstrated those skills last month for members of the Self-Help for Hard of Hearing People support group at Excela Health Frick Hospital. Audiologist Beth Czarnecki started the group in 1997-98. Now 20 members with varying degrees of hearing loss meet once a month to discuss their concerns and learn more.

Members talk about how they cope with communicating -- what works and what doesn't, Czarnecki said.

"People with hearing loss don't think about not hearing the smoke alarm, the telephone or the doorbell after they take out their hearing aids at night," she added. "These are safety issues."

Members said they were impressed by Fawn's skills. The Lab is trained to pick up coins from the floor, retrieve the telephone receiver and help a disabled client get back into a wheelchair.

"Paws has given 1,900 dogs to clients at no cost," Layne said. "Currently we have 20 puppies in training. There are 15 working teams of clients and dogs in Western Pennsylvania and 19 applicants who want service dogs.

"Paws is now looking for Boston terriers and miniature poodles to train," she added. "Not all of our dogs are Labradors. We have golden retrievers, standard poodles, miniature poodles and papillons. We work with both male and female dogs. All of them are spayed or neutered."

Because most of Paws' clients are on Social Security, donations are the lifeblood of the organization. "There is no state, federal or insurance funding for these dogs," Layne said.

Paws expects to hold its second annual Laps for Learning fundraising walk in October at Robert Morris University, Moon Township.

Catalano said she is grateful to have Windy in her life.

"She not only helps me but she's a companion. She's a godsend to me."

For more information about Paws With A Cause, look online at www.pawswithacause.org, or call 412-264-0366. To learn more about the local Self-Help for Hard of Hearing People support group, call 724-547-3445 or the Excela Health call center, 877-771-1234.

By Marjorie Wertz
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/westmoreland/s_451552.html