A Girl’s Best Friend

By Ashlee Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

A hidden disability had robbed her of a normal teenager’s life, but this summer Hedley’s Kortney Burton gained a new found independence and a best friend with which to share it.

For about eight years, Kortney has suffered from seizures. She had her first one when she was eight and was later diagnosed as having epilepsy when she was ten. Kortney was given medication which helped with the seizures, but her condition is progressive, and that medication might become less effective.

The 16-year-old faced a lot of uncertainty for a girl who, like most teenagers, just wanted to do her own thing without being the center of anyone’s concerns. But that has all changed in the last several months.

The journey Kortney came home from school one day last year and her mom, Tanya, asked her what she would think of getting a seizure alert dog.

“She told me we could send in an application and see what happens.”

“I just wondered if there are seizure alert dogs,” Tanya said. “That thought just popped into my head. That thought wouldn’t leave me – it was a God thing.”

About the same time, Kortney visited her sister and attended church and saw a man with a dog, later finding out that the canine was a seizure alert dog.

So the Burtons set off on a search for more answers and possible sources. Each application included a fee and with the expenses adding up, Tanya prepared six packets and told Kortney to pick one.

“Kortney picked CPL (Canine Partners for Life) at random, and we sent it in,” Tanya said.

Two weeks later the organization called to setup an interview.

The Burtons traveled to Pennsylvania to meet with CPL in January 2013.

While there they were told the wait for a match could be anywhere from two to two and a half years, so they returned home to wait.

“Two months to the day (after the interview) they called her and said they had a match,” Tanya said.

So this past June, Kortney and her mom made the journey back to Pennsylvania where she was matched with CorKey, a two-year old English Black Lab. She spent three weeks training with CorKey day and night.

“We spent the first week just talking about how to take care of them and walked around in heel position,” Kortney said.

CPL’s training including teaching CorKey to do tasks such as open doors and pay checks at restaurants. The training class also went on several field trips out to eat, to a baseball game, the zoo, and a train ride to a mall in Philadelphia.

It wasn’t all fun and games though – Kortney had a daily journal, read several books, and watched numerous videos.

“She had homework every night,” Tanya said.

Each owner also had to teach their dog a trick, and CorKey had to learn to roll over through clicker training.

“It took about three days,” Kortney said. “At first he was confused at why I was trying to tell him what to do. He gave me the hardest time.”

On July 9, Kortney returned home to Hedley with her new best friend.

Support

While the Burtons weren’t responsible for paying a fee for CorKey, they did raise funds to support CPL’s ongoing mission and their traveling expenses, and the Burtons’ friends and neighbors from Hedley and the surrounding area came together as Team Kortney.

“We didn’t have to raise a certain amount; we just raised as much as we could,” Tanya said. “CPL goes off of donations. We wouldn’t have been able to get him without the help of everyone around.”

“I tried to keep up with everyone who gave,” she continued. “It’s impossible for me to thank everyone. Without everyone around here we wouldn’t have him.”

Donations were made by people all over the Panhandle and as far away as Washington state; and through the Team Kortney Facebook Page, the Burtons have been supported by people they don’t even know.

Darlene Sullivan, the director of CPL, flew out to Texas and attended Kortney’s first two days of school in August to help orient the students on CorKey. No one is allowed to pet CorKey except for Kortney, and understandably that is a hard concept for youngsters to grasp.

“Most kids have been really good about him,” Kortney said. “He doesn’t like school at all. He wants to come home and play Frisbee.”

“He plays in the backyard,” Tanya said, “and he can interact with our other dogs.”

Regardless of whether he wants to be there, CorKey does have school spirit.

“He won a spirit award,” Kortney said. “It was nerd day and he wore nerd glasses.”

In addition to the outpouring of support, the Burtons received a big gift from Pet Partners that will take care of CorKey for years to come – medical insurance for life.

“They wanted to help a child with an invisible disability, so CPL gave them Kortney’s name and phone number,” Tanya said. “It will cover any emergencies, any sickness, anything.”

CorKey’s gift

Seizure alert dogs are able to sense chemicals and behavioral changes in their owners and then alert through means such as focused attention or continuous physical contact.

CPL trains seizure alert dogs which work with a man with seizures who lives near their training facilities. He helps CPL detect which dogs have the ability to alert, and CorKey did.

Since being paired up with Kortney, CorKey’s alert time has decreased from two hours down to about 45 minutes.

“We’re still learning how he alerts,” Kortney said.

“They say it takes about a year for them to get into a groove,” Tanya said.

CorKey’s alert signals give Kortney time to get to a safe place – usually the floor – and wait out what might be coming.

When asked how her life has changed, Kortney joked “I basically have a kid. It’s a huge responsibility.”

But one that she wouldn’t trade.

“I feel more secure and better about going different places,” she said.

Tanya said that Kortney got to a point where she wouldn’t leave the house or go anywhere.

“Now she’ll go with friends without me,” Tanya said.

In addition to security, CorKey has helped the Burton family find their way through a difficult time.

“Having CorKey is a huge relief for us,” Tanya said. “I quit my job a year ago to stay home with Kortney. It was scary for her and for us.”

A bright future

Alert dogs are usually retired after eight to ten years of service, and the decision to retire CorKey will be up to CorKey, Kortney, and CPL.

She will have the option to keep him as a pet after he retires, and both Kortney and Tanya couldn’t imagine life without him as part of their family.

Kortney trains with CorKey every day, and she must recertify her training with CPL once a year until she turns 18.

When Kortney suits up for the Lady Owls this season, CorKey will be seen sitting courtside – possibly a bit excited.

“He likes basketball, and I play basketball,” Kortney said.

CorKey provides more than just seizure alert duties for Kortney, too.

“It is scientifically proven that if I get stressed, if I put my hands on the dog, the stress will go away,” Kortney said.

According to her mom, Kortney has grown through this entire process.

“She never talked about going to college before she got him and now she’s talking about it,” Tanya said. “It’s been good for her; she opened up a lot at training.”

Kortney sums up her feelings about CorKey simply.

“He’s definitely been a big blessing.”