In 2006, a 56-year-old neuroscientist named Joey Ramp had a severe horse-riding accident that resulted in traumatic head injuries. As a result, she went back to studying so she could gain a better understanding of the human brain.
She now has everything she needs because her golden retriever Sampson serves as her laboratory assistant, who helps her go about her busy daily lab work. And in true pandemic fashion, the lovable canine gets to wear his canine PPE during work!
The goggle-wearing, lab-coat donning cutie holds the record for being the first dog to be allowed access at the University of Illinois’ chemistry laboratory. Ramp, a disability advocate from Champagne, Illinois, shares how she can use Sampson as a brace so she can kneel and pick up something she dropped inside her lab. Aside from being an on-call support, her darling tyke is also trained to spot signs for Ramp’s PTSD.
Ramp used to be a horse trainer but had a polo accident that damaged her prefrontal cortex, causing permanent nerve damage on her body’s left side. This also resulted in 23 broken bones. This did not stop her from earning two neuroscience BA degrees, and she is currently working on her Ph.D.—of course, you can always count on Sampson to be by her side.
In an interview with SWNS, she said that she wouldn’t be able to get through her academics or neuroscience program without her dog. Sadly, there was more attention given to her pet than the actual service they provided, so the institution barred a population of students from doing lab work, which led to the STEM field’s failure.
Ramp used this as a motivation to begin her advocacy for service dogs to be authorized inside laboratories, drafting guidelines to make this possible. The guidelines included having dogs wear the same PPE that humans wear, and they always had to be in their handler’s line of sight at all times. It also indicated that they must have a rubber-backed mat where they will be trained to lie on for four hours out of lab traffic’s way and retrieve anything on command.
The dynamic duo is now working with universities worldwide to help them adopt the guidelines and establish more service dogs inside labs.
Ramp said that the advocacy takes the mystery out of the role of a service dog and how they can be accommodated inside a laboratory. She also said that this gives their handlers an idea about the training their dogs need, as learning how to wear goggles takes time in itself. And to help Sampson acclimate in his uniform, Ramp includes his PPE routine in his daily life.
But when he’s not inside the lab, Ramp puts the goggles on, and they’ll go out to play frisbee, where Sampson enjoys running around, too. After all, he’s still a regular canine who loves rolling in mud and playing fetch outside his PPE-wearing life.
And while her beloved pet looks adorable in his front-liner attire, Ramp wants people to note that Sampson has a significant role to do and wishes that the public would be more aware and used to having service dogs inside laboratories.
She said that she wants people to understand that service dogs have high training levels, provide independence, and keep their handlers healthy, happy, and live a life they wouldn’t usually be able to live without them by their side. Ramp says that people with disabilities want to study science and provide a different outlook for people with their condition. She also said that it’s time to make things more accessible to people like them.
We salute you, Joey and Sampson! Good job!
Source: SWNS