Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/515346
BySueManning The Associated Press LOSANGELES WhenAlyssa Howes was 4, she lost her sight and started having seizures — up to 20 a day. For years, her grand- mother stayed in the girl's room at night, watching for an attack. That ended three years ago when Alyssa got a rare gift for a young child: a service dog named Flint. When the golden re- triever moved in, life changed for Alyssa's Los Angeles-area family. He gives the 11-year-old a more normal life by alerting her family to seizures, guiding her so she doesn't fall and allowing her to have a bit more freedom. "It gives her a companion to enjoy the moments when she is doing things she likes to do," said her mother, Ju- liette Palomaki. "And if she is having a bad day, she will call him and they will just be together." But not enough dogs are being trained for chil- dren with epilepsy, autism and other disabilities, said Karen Shirk, founder of 4 Paws for Ability, a nonprofit that breeds and trains ser- vice dogs. Other agencies train dogs specifically to help people with seizures, but Ohio-based 4 Paws is one of just a few that does not exclude young children. Most require a minor to be 16 so they can handle the dog alone in public. Be- cause a younger child can- not do that, 4 Paws trains at least two adult caregiv- ers, such as parents, teach- ers and baby-sitters. Service dogs allow chil- dren to feel comfortable at the park, school and res- taurants. In Alyssa's case, it means no one has to stand guard at night in case of sei- zures. "Once we got Flint, she said she wanted to start sleeping on her own with him," Palomaki said. Animal behaviorist Bran- don McMillan, the star of "Lucky Dog" on CBS, says it's very easy for a child with disabilities to become a recluse. "Life shouldn't be so com- plicated at 5," said McMil- lan, a spokesman for Mag- nolia Paws for Compassion, which raises awareness that kids can get service dogs. "Take a child who has a condition. Give them a dog. The dog opens up a world for this child. It's important for a child's life." Seizure dogs are costly — taking 4 Paws $22,000 to breed and train, with each family asked to raise $15,000 — but they can alert their companions to seizures before they strike. Scientists say pooches smell a chemical change when a person is about to seize — they just don't agree how dogs do it, Shirk said. At her training center, dogs learn to bark to signal a sei- zure so an adult can give the child medicine. For Shirk, who has a ser- vice dog, Piper, to help her with her muscular dystro- phy, getting that warning allows her to take medicine that keeps her breathing. "Messages don't get through from the brain to the muscles," Shirk said of a seizure. "Without Piper, I barely have time to call 911 before everything shuts down." In Alyssa's case, if Flint detects a seizure, he will lick her, become very atten- tive, lie on her and bark, the girl's mother said. HEALTH Servicedogsthatsniffoutseizuresimprovekids'lives DAMIANDOVARGANES—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS 11-year-old Alyssa Howes and her service dog, Flint, pause for a photo at her home in Lakewood. Alyssa was diagnosed with leukemia at 3, went blind at 4and started having seizures. Three years ago, 4Paws for Ability trained Flint for Alyssa, whose leukemia is in remission. The Associated Press MERCED Two Northern California men charged with tying a dog to a fire hydrant, slashing it with machetes and leaving it for dead were ordered to stand trial. The Merced Sun-Star reports Wednesday that the Merced County Dis- trict Attorney had charged 46-year-old Myron L. Pattillo and 29-year-old Aaron W. Carney for bran- dishing machetes to take the dog from a man who was walking it. Pattillo pleaded guilty to a felony count of animal cruelty in connection with the May 1 attack. Pattillo has pleaded not guilty to a felony count of robbery. Pattillo's wife said he wants to take responsi- bility for the incident and "knows what he did was wrong." Carney's attorney asked the judge to re- duce his client's $170,000 bail, arguing that Carney has no criminal history. The request was denied. Pattillo is also jailed on $170,000 bail. MACHETES Men head to trial for slashing dog Washington 60/53 New York 64/52 Miami 91/76 Atlanta 79/57 Detroit 66/46 Houston 82/70 Chicago 67/46 Minneapolis 71/47 Kansas City 66/46 El Paso 82/59 Denver 60/47 Billings 67/45 Los Angeles 70/57 San Francisco 66/56 Seattle 76/54 AIRQUALITYFORECAST Whatitmeans: 0-50:Good; 51-100:Moderate; 101-150:Unhealthyforsensitivepeople; 151+:Unhealthyforall. Source: Airnow.gov City Today'sairquality City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W CALIFORNIA CITIES National and world forecast s-sunny,pc-partly cloudy,c-cloudy,sh-showers,t-thunderstorms,r-rain,sf-snow flurries,sn-snow,i-ice City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Summary National Extremes World Extremes North and South America Asia, Australia Africa CarsonCity Hawthorne Reno Herlong Lovelock Sacramento Yuba City Napa Ukiah Chico Corning Lakeview Alturas Susanville Redding Red Bluff Laytonville Fort Bragg Point Arena Eureka Redway Mount Shasta Yreka Crescent City Ashland Shown is today's weather. Temperatures are today's highs and tonight's lows. Shown are today's noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. ALMANAC Precipitation Temperatures ALLERGY REPORT Pollenlevels Source: National Allergy Bureau TODAY'S UV INDEX (The higher the number, the faster skin damage will occur.) Extreme Very high High Moderate Low SUN SETTINGS, MOON PHASES Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset Hoursofsunlight River Levels SacramentoRiver Flood 7a.m. 24-hr Stage yest. chg. Lake Levels Elevation Yesterday Storage (acre-feet) Percent Capacity Q: A: FRIDAY 78° 56° SATURDAY 83° 57° Times of clouds and sun Clouds and sunshine SUNDAY 85° 58° Mostly sunn y MONDAY 86° 58° Mostly sunn y TODAY 80° 56° Mostly cloudy. A t‑storm in spots early; otherwise, mostly cloudy tonight. High ....................................................................... 78° Low ........................................................................ 57° Normal high ......................................................... 82° Normal low ........................................................... 55° Record high ........................................... 104° in 1947 Record low .............................................. 42° in 1992 Humidity noon today ........................................ 45% 24 hours through 2 p.m. yesterday ................. 0.00" Month to date ................................................... 0.14" Normal month to date ..................................... 0.86" Season to date ................................................ 19.81" Normal season to date .................................. 23.68" Red Bluff through 2 p.m. yesterday Chico .................................................................. Good Napa ................................................................... Good Red Bluff .............................................. Not available Redding ............................................... Not available Yuba City ............................................. Not available Allergy, dust and dander today: Beneficial Grass ............. Moderate Mold .........................Low Trees ....................... Low Weeds ..................... Low 6 Highest at 12 p.m. Today 5:49 a.m. 8:23 p.m. 9:13 a.m. 11:42 p.m. Friday 5:48 a.m. 8:24 p.m. 10:10 a.m. none 14 hr., 34 min. May25 First Jun2 Full Last Jun9 New Jun16 aboveBendBridge......................27 ...........2.90 ......+0.10 atHamiltonCity.........................148 ......129.37 ......+0.10 atOrdFerry................................114 ........96.90 ......+0.10 atRedBluffDiversionDam.......253 ......238.80 ......+0.10 atTehamaBridge ......................213 ......201.50 ......+0.10 atVinaWoodsonBridge............183 ......167.36 ......+0.07 BlackButte ....................455.37..............68,798 .....47.9% LakeOroville..................744.44.........1,626,248 .....43.5% LakeShasta ...................984.56.........2,506,126 .....55.1% LakeTrinity..................2262.28.........1,065,067 .....40.2% Whiskeytown...............1208.97............237,800 .....98.6% Weather Trivia ™ What are 1/100 to 1/4 of an inch in diameter? Raindrops. Today Friday Anaheim 68/54/pc 69/55/pc Bakersfield 73/55/pc 69/57/c Chula Vista 66/56/pc 66/56/c Crescent City 58/50/c 58/48/pc Death Valley 86/62/pc 83/61/c Eureka 60/51/c 59/49/c Fremont 67/57/pc 66/57/c Fresno 73/56/pc 71/55/c Glendale 67/54/pc 67/56/pc Huntington Beach 66/58/pc 66/58/pc Irvine 65/58/pc 67/59/pc Lake Tahoe 54/38/t 53/37/t Long Beach 69/57/pc 69/58/pc Los Angeles 70/57/pc 68/57/pc Mammoth Mountain 53/35/t 53/35/t Modesto 74/54/pc 74/53/c Monterey 62/55/pc 62/54/c Moreno Valley 67/49/pc 65/49/c Napa 67/51/pc 66/50/c Needles 87/64/pc 82/63/t Oakland 63/55/pc 62/54/c Oxnard 66/54/pc 66/54/pc Redding 81/58/c 79/58/c Riverside 66/52/pc 64/52/c Sacramento 72/55/pc 72/54/c San Bernardino 67/52/pc 63/51/c San Diego 67/60/pc 67/60/c San Francisco 66/56/pc 64/55/c San Jose 66/56/pc 65/55/c San Luis Obispo 65/51/pc 66/51/pc Santa Ana 67/57/pc 68/58/pc Santa Barbara 66/52/pc 67/52/pc Santa Clarita 66/51/pc 65/52/pc Stockton 72/54/pc 73/52/c Ventura 64/54/pc 66/55/pc Yosemite Valley 62/48/t 62/46/t Today Friday Albuquerque 68/50/t 75/48/s Atlanta 79/57/pc 79/61/s Baltimore 56/47/r 77/46/s Boston 66/50/pc 69/47/c Buffalo 63/46/pc 58/36/pc Chicago 67/46/pc 62/44/s Cincinnati 62/43/pc 72/47/s Dallas 68/61/t 74/65/t Denver 60/47/t 62/44/c Detroit 66/46/pc 64/40/pc El Paso 82/59/c 88/62/s Fargo 70/41/s 75/47/pc Honolulu 83/69/pc 83/69/pc Houston 82/70/pc 82/72/t Indianapolis 61/46/pc 72/49/s Kansas City 66/46/pc 67/51/t Las Vegas 78/59/pc 73/58/c Louisville 65/47/pc 75/56/s Miami 91/76/t 91/77/t Minneapolis 71/47/s 73/52/s New Orleans 88/74/c 85/73/t New York City 64/52/c 74/49/pc Oklahoma City 68/53/c 64/57/r An area of low pressure moving off the Carolina coast today will produce a cloudy, cool and soggy day for portions of the mid-Atlantic. Dry weather will prevail across much of New England, with temperatures running near seasonal levels. Thunderstorms will be found across parts of the Southeast, with afternoon highs in the 90s from South Carolina to Florida. A large area of high pressure will continue to move southward through the Plains, driving cool air deep into the southern Plains. Showers and thunderstorms will develop farther south across Texas. High ............................. 96° in Presidio, TX Low ............................ 21° in Brimson, MN High ........................ 117° in Sibi, Pakistan Low ... -21° in Summit Station, Greenland Bogota 67/49/t 66/48/r Buenos Aires 80/65/pc 78/58/pc Caracas 85/74/t 86/75/t Ensenada 62/49/pc 62/49/pc Mexico City 79/56/t 76/56/t Montreal 68/43/pc 57/35/c Rio de Janeiro 78/68/s 79/66/s Tijuana 66/55/pc 66/56/pc Toronto 66/40/s 56/34/pc Vancouver 72/55/s 65/54/pc Orlando 93/74/t 93/73/t Philadelphia 60/51/c 75/49/pc Phoenix 89/66/pc 82/63/s Pittsburgh 61/45/r 66/38/pc Portland, ME 68/48/s 67/42/c Portland, OR 76/56/c 71/53/c St. Louis 65/50/pc 74/57/pc Salt Lake City 70/52/c 63/50/c Seattle 76/54/pc 65/51/c Tucson 87/58/s 83/56/s Washington, DC 60/53/r 77/53/s Cairo 86/65/s 89/69/s Casablanca 80/61/s 82/59/s Johannesburg 75/50/s 75/47/pc Kinshasa 88/73/t 91/72/t Lagos 88/77/t 88/75/t Nairobi 78/59/t 78/59/t Tripoli 94/62/c 73/58/s Baghdad 110/80/s 111/76/pc Beijing 87/59/pc 89/62/pc Hong Kong 86/77/t 83/79/t Jerusalem 82/55/s 80/56/s Kabul 85/53/c 83/52/pc Manila 94/81/t 94/81/t Melbourne 56/47/sh 58/46/c New Delhi 106/79/pc 107/79/pc Seoul 75/52/pc 76/52/s Singapore 89/80/t 89/80/t Sydney 68/56/sh 63/55/r Tehran 87/68/s 88/70/s Tokyo 75/63/pc 75/63/pc Amsterdam 60/50/c 65/52/pc Athens 82/66/pc 80/66/pc Belgrade 81/59/t 79/61/t Berlin 63/44/c 65/47/c Budapest 70/55/t 68/55/t Dublin 60/50/pc 61/44/c London 66/47/pc 68/52/t Madrid 72/44/s 73/47/s Moscow 72/56/c 77/57/t Paris 63/45/c 66/49/c Rome 71/51/pc 70/56/sh Stockholm 61/43/sh 61/47/pc Vienna 61/53/r 62/53/sh Zurich 56/43/sh 62/45/c 61/43 64/46 66/51 65/48 68/47 72/55 76/56 67/51 73/53 77/56 78/56 62/44 63/48 64/46 81/58 80/56 71/51 61/52 64/52 60/51 69/50 69/49 72/49 58/50 70/51 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015 RUNNINGS ROOFING SheetMetalRoofing ResidentialCommercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane Ownerisonsiteoneveryjob ServingTehamaCounty 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 NoMoney Down! "NoJobTooSteep" " No Job Too Flat" FREE ESTIMATES CA. LIC#829089 STOVEJUNCTION The TheNorthState'spremiersupplierofstoves 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Over 25 years of experience Tues-Sat9am-5pm• ClosedSun&Mon Now Carrying! GreenMountainGrills & Accessories Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties FURNITUREDEPOT 235So.MainSt.,RedBluff 527-1657 MON.-FRI.9:00-6:00 SAT. 9:00-5:00 • SUN. 11:00-5:00 TakeAn EXTRA 20% OFF EVERYTHING IN STOCK Pre SALE SALE Smog Check (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. starting at $ 29 95 + $ 8 25 certificate SERVICESATLOWERPRICES All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K MembersWelcome CANNED FOOD DRIVE *Validonly at H & R Block 1315 Solano St, Corning Call 530-824-7999 for a appointment Bring in 4 cans of food when you come in to get your taxes done, and get $15.00 off your tax preparation fees.* Allcannedfoodswillbedonatedto CorningChristianAssistanceFoodBank. | WEATHER | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015 8 B