Keller & Oliver

Keller & Oliver

Candidate Name: Keller & Oliver
Sponsored by: No Limits Behavioral Services
Species/Breed: Keller: Catahoula mix & Oliver: Pitbull mix
Gender: Keller: Female
Oliver: Male
Age: Keller 1 year & Oliver 1.5 year

Campaign Platform:
Keller: I will help raise awareness for special needs animals in the shelter and show others they have no limits!
Oliver: I will raise awareness for foster care and Doggy Day Out and how vital these programs are to the animals and how one animal can change a life. And help support whatever my girl Keller wants.

History/Biography:
Keller had a less than stellar start to life but was rescued by Animal Control and brought to TCRAS! There she was passed over week by week due to her blindness and the way she looked as a result of that blindness. [See the rest of her story below.]

Oliver. Oliver has saved his human Erin’s life many times over. He was born in foster care with TCRAS. At 8 weeks old Erin asked if she could do a puppy Doggy Day Out to raise awareness of the pups affectionately known as the Nut Pups. Several hours into doggy day out, Erin and Carie knew that Oliver had already found his home.  [See the rest of his story below.]

Fave Activities:
Keller; jumping, eating, listening to the sounds she hears, following Oliver around and helping kids!:
Oliver: napping, helping his human Erin and bidding the entire pack around

Other things you might like to know:
Keller's nickname is Wrecking Ball Keller due to her ability to just jump on a bed or chair and not care who or what is there!

Oliver is a dog who does not like food. You have to beg him to eat. Not kidding.

Both Oliver and Keller are sponsored by No Limits Behavioral Solutions, which provides behavior therapy to children and adults in the El Paso and Teller County region.

SPONSORED BY:

Oliver and Erin

ABOUT THE SPONSOR:
No Limits is thrilled to support Keller and Oliver on their journey to become Mayor of Divide! A little about our company!

No Limits was founded three years after our special needs son Kreed passed away. We have dedicated ourselves to helping those with behavioral challenges no matter what your medical needs are or age. While we serve individuals with autism, we also specialize in individuals with both behavioral and medical needs, including Dravet Syndrome and other seizure disorders, terminal diagnosis, cerebral palsy, Downs Syndrome and many other medical/behavioral disorders. We also specialize in complex communication disorders and those who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).

We provide both in home and in center ABA services. We work with individuals of all ages and diagnosis. Skill areas that may be worked on include: Communication and Language Skills, Social and Group Skills, Cognitive and Academic Skills, Daily Living and Self Help Skills, Caregiver Training, Behavior Management.

We also will never turn any child away for having “severe” behaviors or behaviors that others do not want to work with. Our son Kreed was one of those children that few ever wanted to work with due to being difficult. As he got older, with effective treatment and communication, he became a child everyone wanted to work with. There is no such thing as a child being too severe for treatment. We also work with children and adults that are medically fragile or may have terminal diagnosis. Again, we have seen too many children and adults turned away because of their medical or terminal diagnosis. Again, our son was one of those children. He could not help that he both had severe behaviors and severe medical conditions.

All are welcome at No Limits!

More about Keller:

More about Oliver:

Keller had a less than stellar start to life but was rescued by Animal Control and brought to TCRAS! There she was passed over week by week due to her blindness and the way she looked as a result of that blindness.

Then one day, a well-known Doggy Day Out enthusiast (Erin) came by and asked for a dog for the day. Angie Davis said how about Keller (then Tasha)! Erin gladly took Keller to go hang out with a pack of pups and had fun! That day many pics were taken and so many outfits worn! Afterward there was a lot of interest in Keller but still no one wanted to be her furever home, often, again due to her special needs and not the right fit with other pups. A few days later Erin asked if she could foster Keller for a while to show people how great she was outside the shelter and how well she could navigate her surroundings and also get along with other pups and cats!

Two days later Keller had a new dress and toys, and pretty much everyone realized, Keller was already home. Keller brought life back into the household after the loss of Erin and Carie’s son several years earlier. She is this bright light of sunshine despite her blindness and loved to hop high and enjoy life. Keller’s blindness is but a small part of her life and she has overcome that disability tremendously. Keller also goes five days a week with her human to a therapy center and helps children and adults with disabilities. One child loves to do sit up’s if he gets a kiss from Keller for every sit up and she gladly obliges.

Yes Keller has a disability and lives her life in darkness. But she brings light and love into this world and brings happiness wherever she goes. To Erin and Carie she is the life bringer back to their life.

Keller is running for Mayor of Divide to highlight the amazing animals living with “different abilities” and how they should not be looked over because of them! She also spot lights the amazing Doggy Day Out program that brings awareness to her and other dogs outside the shelter life and helps them get adopted! Keller is also running with her amazing adopted brother Oliver, whose story is tied to hers, plus he’s her seeing eye dog, so where one goes so does the other! Together they showcase everything that is amazing about shelter dogs and the different programs that help these animals find furever homes! They also show the very real effect of mutual rescue. Keller and Oliver were not just rescued dogs, in reality, they rescued their owner Erin in a thousand ways.

Oliver. Oliver has saved his human Erin’s life many times over. He was born in foster care with TCRAS. At 8 weeks old Erin asked if she could do a puppy Doggy Day Out to raise awareness of the pups affectionately known as the Nut Pups. Several hours into doggy day out, Erin and Carie knew that Oliver had already found his home.
A month after Oliver had been home, Erin began bringing him to her work with children and adults with disabilities. A job she was very nearly ready to leave due to her severe PTSD and anxiety working with the same population as her deceased son. After bringing Oliver, she noticed that her PTSD symptoms and depression and anxiety over the loss of her son was greatly decreased and she made the decision to begin his service dog training so that she could continue to help the kids she has been helping the past 15 years of her life already. A year later and Oliver is her right hand man and continues to support her at their therapy center. He saved her life in such a real and tangible way.

And since welcoming Keller into the family, he has also become her protector and seeing eye dog when needed! They are a packaged pair, which is why they are running together as Mayor! Oliver is an amazing dog, with a style sense not even matched by his humans and looks forward to serving the community with his girl Keller and spreading awareness of both the foster program and Doggy Day Out, as well as how shelter dogs can save their humans lives. And that shelter dogs can be service dogs too! Together Keller and Oliver can do so much for the animal community with awareness of the abilities of these amazing animals and the programs so many shelters have to give these animals a great life.