For many, a dog is a companion, a friend, sometimes a protector, and sometimes a nuisance. But Jenny Esquivel’s dog, Brioche, is more than a pet—she is an essential key to living a full life. Esquivel is on a long road to recovery from Guillain-Barrè Syndrome, an inflammatory disease that attacks a person’s peripheral nervous system (those nerves outside the brain and spinal cord) causing weakness that affects the arms and upper body. When it increases in intensity, the patient is almost totally paralyzed, as was the case with Esquivel, when she contracted the disease after recovering from the measles at age 24.
Brioche helps her balance while walking. When she drops something, the dog picks it up. She even closes doors and is always there to attend to Esquivel’s needs.
Once a computer systems analyst and all-around athlete who enjoyed playing high school basketball, running, and horseback riding, Esquivel wanted to regain her independence. But before life with Brioche, complete independence seemed far-fetched as she lacked the ability to perform seemingly basic tasks.
Then inspiration hit while watching television—a show featured a program in the United States where dogs helped people with disabilities. Soon after, Esquivel founded a similar Costa Rica-based program. “It took a lot of effort and a lot of work,” Esquivel said. “There was nothing like it in Costa Rica.”
Through determination and support from family and friends, she started the group called the Association to Improve the Quality of Life, JIREH (the final word of the organization—Jireh—comes from Genesis 22:14 and means the Lord provides).
“Disabled people see themselves as isolated, and a dog, especially a helping one, provides spiritual and physical motivation,” said Esquivel’s sister, Ingrid.
Esquivel, a self-proclaimed animal lover, started her quest by researching a variety of dog breeds and backgrounds. She decided on Labrador Retrievers because of the dogs’ intelligence and temperament. Choosing the type of breed was the easy part. Training them is a different story.
These helper dogs need very special care and training from a young age. In fact, Brioche was only two months old when she was chosen for the program.
The initial training takes nine months. During this time, the dogs live in foster homes where the family must help with basic training such as housebreaking, eating habits, simple obedience commands (in English), and socializing the dogs to become more people-oriented. The dog becomes a member of the family, and so the dog is constantly in training, according to Esquivel.
When the dogs are about seven months old, they start receiving veterinary care and special training where they learn to respond to the specific needs and living conditions of their new owners, according to Captain Leonardo Rojas of the Roj-Pol training school. He helps train police dogs and the helper dogs in Esquivel’s organization.
“This training pertains to their future lives,” Rojas said. “Will they live in the city or the country? What tasks will be expected of them?”
In some cases, the dog may have to learn to walk at a slow pace, wait at steps and doors, fetch things, and perform other tasks. “They cannot run off after a bird or a cat and leave their owners helpless,” said Esquivel, whose dog calmly tolerates her two-year-old nephew’s tugging and patting.
Training isn’t limited to the dogs. Prospective owners must also learn new skills—including the adjustment to living with dogs that can weigh up to 150 pounds (which can be difficult when the owner has physical impairments) and meeting the basic needs of the animal.
Esquivel bathes Brioche herself. She does so while sitting on a bench near the bathing pool—a big basin in the patio of the apartment they share. Being a water dog, Brioche enjoys her bath time (another plus for Labradors), although Esquivel admits they both end up getting wet.
Esquivel has recently taken a new step toward her quest for independence. She moved to a new apartment with Brioche in La Trinidad de Alajuela, close to the homes of her sister and niece. The move left them both nervous for a few days as they learned to adjust to their new surroundings. “Brioche barked at everything,” Esquivel said.
Esquivel is even using a computer again—only this time to extend the work of the JIREH Association.
Five other people like Esquivel have requested helper dogs from her association. Enough dogs are available for the five people, but there are not enough foster homes available to help train the animals.
In fact, one puppy had to be removed from its foster home because of an illness in the family. The other puppies are just waiting for placement in a foster family.
The foster families don’t even need to provide food, just care, as the program counts on support from several companies, including Pfizer and Induvet, makers of Eukanuba pet food, as well as the University of San Jose (USJ) and other organizations and individual sponsors.
“One of the goals of the university is to help those with problems in continuing their education and to support projects in this area. People with handicaps can develop as people through education. They too have dreams of advancement,” said Ingrid Esquivel from USJ, who helped arrange the program’s sponsorship.
Andrea Gómez, a 20-year-old student with Spina Bifida—an illness where the spinal cord failed to form, causing a disturbance in the nervous system—who lives with her family in Hatillo, is eagerly waiting for the arrival of her dog, Caled, who is almost ready to work. Gómez also wants to be more independent and be able to go out on her own.
Another part of the association’s work is to create awareness in Costa Rica of the problems faced by people with physical disabilities, including businesses that do not have easy access or transportation that does not accommodate the handicapped.
“There are laws that cover dogs for the blind in public places and transportation, but not for helping dogs,” Esquivel said.
One time, a cab driver refused to take her and Brioche in his car, and in another instance, a security guard would not let her into an office building.
“Once I explained that Brioche is not ‘just a pet,’ they were very nice and accommodating, but it shows how much educating we have to do,” she said.
Esquivel has plans to expand the organization to find activities for the disabled. Horseback riding is one that she personally enjoys and finds therapeutic for both her muscles and her spirit.
The most urgent need of the organization is finding foster homes for young dogs in training. The association provides food, veterinary care, and specialized training.
For many, a dog is a companion, a friend, sometimes a protector, and sometimes a nuisance. But Jenny Esquivel’s dog, Brioche, is more than a pet—she is an essential key to living a full life.
Esquivel is on a long road to recovery from Guillain-Barrè Syndrome, an inflammatory disease that attacks a person’s peripheral nervous system (those nerves outside the brain and spinal cord) causing weakness that affects the arms and upper body. When it increases in intensity, the patient is almost totally paralyzed, as was the case with Esquivel, when she contracted the disease after recovering from the measles at age 24.
Brioche helps her balance while walking. When she drops something, the dog picks it up. She even closes doors and is always there to attend to Esquivel’s needs.
Once a computer systems analyst and all-around athlete who enjoyed playing high school basketball, running, and horseback riding, Esquivel wanted to regain her independence. But before life with Brioche, complete independence seemed far-fetched as she lacked the ability to perform seemingly basic tasks.
Then inspiration hit while watching television—a show featured a program in the United States where dogs helped people with disabilities. Soon after, Esquivel founded a similar Costa Rica-based program.
“It took a lot of effort and a lot of work,” Esquivel said. “There was nothing like it in Costa Rica.”
Through determination and support from family and friends, she started the group called the Association to Improve the Quality of Life, JIREH (the final word of the organization—Jireh—comes from Genesis 22:14 and means the Lord provides).
“Disabled people see themselves as isolated, and a dog, especially a helping one, provides spiritual and physical motivation,” said Esquivel’s sister, Ingrid.
Esquivel, a self-proclaimed animal lover, started her quest by researching a variety of dog breeds and backgrounds. She decided on Labrador Retrievers because of the dogs’ intelligence and temperament.
Choosing the type of breed was the easy part. Training them is a different story.
These helper dogs need very special care and training from a young age. In fact, Brioche was only two months old when she was chosen for the program.
The initial training takes nine months. During this time, the dogs live in foster homes where the family must help with basic training such as housebreaking, eating habits, simple obedience commands (in English), and socializing the dogs to become more people-oriented. The dog becomes a member of the family, and so the dog is constantly in training, according to Esquivel.
When the dogs are about seven months old, they start receiving veterinary care and special training where they learn to respond to the specific needs and living conditions of their new owners, according to Captain Leonardo Rojas of the Roj-Pol training school. He helps train police dogs and the helper dogs in Esquivel’s organization.
“This training pertains to their future lives,” Rojas said. “Will they live in the city or the country? What tasks will be expected of them?”
In some cases, the dog may have to learn to walk at a slow pace, wait at steps and doors, fetch things, and perform other tasks. “They cannot run off after a bird or a cat and leave their owners helpless,” said Esquivel, whose dog calmly tolerates her two-year-old nephew’s tugging and patting.
Training isn’t limited to the dogs. Prospective owners must also learn new skills—including the adjustment to living with dogs that can weigh up to 150 pounds (which can be difficult when the owner has physical impairments) and meeting the basic needs of the animal.
Esquivel bathes Brioche herself. She does so while sitting on a bench near the bathing pool—a big basin in the patio of the apartment they share. Being a water dog, Brioche enjoys her bath time (another plus for Labradors), although Esquivel admits they both end up getting wet.
Esquivel has recently taken a new step toward her quest for independence. She moved to a new apartment with Brioche in La Trinidad de Alajuela, close to the homes of her sister and niece. The move left them both nervous for a few days as they learned to adjust to their new surroundings. “Brioche barked at everything,” Esquivel said.
Esquivel is even using a computer again—only this time to extend the work of the JIREH Association.
Five other people like Esquivel have requested helper dogs from her association. Enough dogs are available for the five people, but there are not enough foster homes available to help train the animals.
In fact, one puppy had to be removed from its foster home because of an illness in the family. The other puppies are just waiting for placement in a foster family.
The foster families don’t even need to provide food, just care, as the program counts on support from several companies, including Pfizer and Induvet, makers of Eukanuba pet food, as well as the University of San Jose (USJ) and other organizations and individual sponsors.
“One of the goals of the university is to help those with problems in continuing their education and to support projects in this area. People with handicaps can develop as people through education. They too have dreams of advancement,” said Ingrid Esquivel from USJ, who helped arrange the program’s sponsorship.
Andrea Gómez, a 20-year-old student with Spina Bifida—an illness where the spinal cord failed to form, causing a disturbance in the nervous system—who lives with her family in Hatillo, is eagerly waiting for the arrival of her dog, Caled, who is almost ready to work. Gómez also wants to be more independent and be able to go out on her own.
Another part of the association’s work is to create awareness in Costa Rica of the problems faced by people with physical disabilities, including businesses that do not have easy access or transportation that does not accommodate the handicapped.
“There are laws that cover dogs for the blind in public places and transportation, but not for helping dogs,” Esquivel said.
One time, a cab driver refused to take her and Brioche in his car, and in another instance, a security guard would not let her into an office building.
“Once I explained that Brioche is not ‘just a pet,’ they were very nice and accommodating, but it shows how much educating we have to do,” she said.
Esquivel has plans to expand the organization to find activities for the disabled. Horseback riding is one that she personally enjoys and finds therapeutic for both her muscles and her spirit.
The most urgent need of the organization is finding foster homes for young dogs in training. The association provides food, veterinary care, and specialized training.
