Farley Schlass became a first-time dog owner in February, just before her 51st birthday. Mazen, a golden retriever, was gentle and affectionate from day one. But on day two, for no apparent reason, he began exhibiting rather odd behavior.

	Alyssa Cwanger, Post-Gazette Certified assistance dog, Fawn, gives money for ice cream to Heidi Marie at Kip's Ice Cream in Moon. Click photo for larger image.

"He wouldn't leave me alone. He pestered me and nudged me and than he went over to my husband and put his paw on him," Schlass said.

Several minutes later, she had a seizure.

Schlass has been having frequent seizures since November 1993, when she suffered severe head trauma in a car accident.

In the past four months, Schlass has had a seizure every seven to 10 days and Mazen has "alerted" every time. Schlass has seven to 15 minutes to get to a safe and private place where she can lie down to avoid bone breaks or other injuries. If she is in her bedroom or office when a seizure occurs, Mazen pushes a "panic button" to summon paramedics.

"Before Mazen, I had maybe 15 seconds advance warning."

Mazen arrived in her Marshall home fully grown, already named and fully trained by Paws With A Cause. The Wayland, Mich.-based nonprofit trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities. The people who raised and trained him named him Mazen, which is short for Amazing.

"Mazen gave me back my life," Schlass said with a touch of awe.

Since the car accident, Schlass has never been able to be alone because of the severity of her seizures. Her husband quit his job as a chemical barge traffic manager so he could accompany her while she continued to work as a lawyer specializing in family law. They also raised their three children, Kurt, Erik and Margaret, who are now 25, 23 and 20, respectively.

When Schlass had a seizure during a jury trial, she thought she would have to quit working. She used the intellect that got her through law school to search for a solution.

In 2001, she put her name on the Paws With a Cause waiting list. Paws is one of the many organizations that train dogs to assist people with disabilities.

Each Paws dog is specially trained to meet the needs of the person it will assist. Some dogs pull wheelchairs. Others alert the deaf when the baby is crying, the smoke alarm is beeping or the doorbell is ringing. They can open doors, pick items up off the floor and retrieve telephones. They can give money or credit cards to store clerks.

Paws does not train dogs to guide the blind. Other organizations do that.

Schlass' accident also caused a severe balance disorder, which is why she originally contacted Paws With A Cause.

"If you saw me walking, you'd think I was drunk. I've broken bones and have knee damage from frequent falls. Mazen braces me and steadies me so that I can walk better." If she does fall, Mazen has been trained to help her get up.

Mazen also is trained as a "seizure response dog."

"We cannot train dogs to alert to seizures," said Deb Davis, national communications coordinator for Paws. "Seizure response dogs provide comfort during a seizure. They can bring a phone to their owner or push a panic button.'

Only a small percentage of assistance dogs, including Mazen, can tell when a seizure is coming. Davis said trainers don't know how the dogs do it.

"We only know that dogs that alert to seizures are incredibly bonded with the people they assist."

Federal and other laws mandate that service and assistance dogs have entree everywhere, including restaurants. Everyone in the Family Division of Common Pleas Court has been accepting and supportive beyond what the law requires, Schlass said.

Schlass no longer needs the constant help of her husband, but she can go nowhere without her dog. That doesn't bother her at all.

"Because of my dependence on him, I have independence."

Last year, Paws placed 149 trained dogs with clients, having received 2,000 requests for assistance dogs. Training is about $18,000 per dog, which is never a direct cost to clients. Costs are funded by donations from individuals and corporations.

In recent years, the organization has stepped up efforts to get more donations, more puppies and more foster families to shorten the waiting time.

Schlass, Mazen and other Paws dogs will be at a July 4 Pirates baseball game for Paws With A Cause Day. The organization will receive $4 for every specially ordered ticket for grandstand seating in left and right field. If you call 1-800-274-2827 to order the tickets, you must mention Paws With A Cause. Paws hopes to sell 3,000 tickets.

Paws has placed 1,700 dogs since its start in 1979. The organization has had trainers and dogs in Pittsburgh since 1991. There are 13 Paws With A Cause dogs working in the Pittsburgh area and 12 puppies in training in the homes of foster families.

Most of the Paws puppies are bred at the Michigan headquarters. Others, including Mazen, are donated by breeders. They come from bloodlines that have proven track records for good temperament and good health, including X-rays that indicate they are free of the crippling joint dysplasia that can drastically shorten their work life. A small percentage of dogs and puppies are rescued from shelters.

Most Paws dogs are Labrador retrievers and golden retrievers. Small dogs, including papillons, are sometimes trained to assist the deaf and hearing impaired.

Paws puppies are put in foster homes when they are 8 weeks old. Families raise them until they are 12 to 15 months old and then send them back to Michigan for six months with staff trainers.

When they are about 2 years old, each is paired with a client. A Paws field instructor works with the dog and client, is available for ongoing advice and assistance and to retest and recertify the dogs every 18 months.

Paws has two field instructors in Pittsburgh, Penny Layne, of Moon and Carol Culp, of Sheriden.

Layne also is the regional liaison for Paws. Her duties include giving talks and demonstrations to schoolchildren, clubs, civic groups and anyone who will listen. She takes Fawn, a black Lab, who demonstrates the kinds of tasks that assistance dogs perform. Layne is always looking for more groups to visit, and there's no charge.

Layne and Culp spent an hour on the Montour Trail in Findlay on Tuesday night with 10 of the puppies-in-training. People fostering the Labrador retriever pups gave them basic obedience commands while bikers, joggers and dog walkers went by.

The point is to teach the future working dogs to obey and serve in all kinds of situations. The puppies did amazingly well, Layne said.

You don't have to be a trainer to be a Paws foster family.

"Most of our foster families are average dog owners," Layne said. "For some, it's their first dog. But they really are special, because they take puppies into their homes, they love them and then they say goodbye."

Those goodbyes are difficult, but many people ease the pain by immediately bringing another foster puppy into their homes

Connie Keith and her family are raising Roscoe in their Lawrence County home. The 5-month-old Lab is their third Paws puppy.

"Roscoe is with me 24 hours a day" and the entire family loves him, Keith said. "Knowing what these dogs do" for their ultimate owner eases the pain of giving them up, she said.

Farley Schlass puts it another way:

"If people could see firsthand what these dogs do, they would say goodbye to foster puppies 50 times over."

For further information visit the Web site www.pawswithacause.org. Contact Penny Layne at 412-264-0366. The national headquarters is 1-800-253-7297.