Service Dog Means the Freedom to Live

DREW HARMON | The Edmond Sun Attorney Cynthia Becker and Hanson, her service dog, make their way up the downtown Edmond sidewalk Wednesday evening. Becker has been with Hanson, her 18-month-old yellow Labrador service dog, for less than a month. Drew Harmon/ (Click for larger image)

DREW HARMON | The Edmond Sun Cynthia Becker takes her keys from Hanson, the service dog she acquired through A New Leash on Life. Hanson can pick up items as small as a dime. Drew Harmon/ (Click for larger image)

EDMOND — For Edmond resident Cynthia Becker, a service dog means the freedom to live her life doing what she is educated to do.

Becker, an attorney in downtown Oklahoma City, uses a wheelchair.

“Downtown Oklahoma City is not as flat as people think it is,” Becker said. “Trying to travel through the underground tunnel systems, down sidewalks and across streets had started to become increasingly more difficult.”

Becker was forced to use a manual wheelchair because her motorized one would only allow her to plead her cases from the back of the court room.

“I have been in a wheelchair for 20 years, and I had always thought there was someone who needed a service dog more than I did,” Becker said.

Gill Barnett, one of Edmond’s service dog trainers, talked Becker into trying one.

“My first dog just did not work out,” Becker said, “but Gill talked me into trying another one.”

Her dog, Hanson, is a yellow lab and Becker said he is a wonderful companion.

“He is just an awesome dog,” she said.

Hanson was donated by a breeder in Guthrie who owns North 40 Kennels.

“Hanson pulls me in my wheelchair, picks things up that I drop, and I drop a lot of things,” Becker said. “He can also bring me a phone or go and get someone if I need them.”

Hanson’s journey to his new master went by way of a service dog raiser for a year, then he spent three months being trained with an inmate through a prison program that works with service dogs, and finally, he made a stop at a trainer’s home for a few months before coming to live with Becker.

“I couldn’t be any happier,” Becker said. “I know it is just going to get better and better.”