Rev. Josef Engle & Bebe

Rev. Joe has been disabled for 18 years since a near fatal scuba diving accident.

As his health outlook took on new challenges it became clear to him that he needed constant companionship. For many years he has had personal attendants who help with daily living. When he was diagnosed with epilepsy no one was able to predict when the seizures would occur. With the help of his mother, Dr. Beverlee Engle, he explored Service Dog programs that provided Seizure Alert Dogs. All of the avenues open to him required massive funding or the use of a breed of dog to which his many allergies would react.

Rev. Joe and Dr. Bev collaborated to conduct research among her many Standard Poodles to find one that would alert for seizures. They didn't have to look very far. Bebe was the first dog Rev. Joe worked with and he immediately responded by "nose-nudging" Rev. Joe when a seizure was imminent.  At first he had only a few minutes warning. With time and work, that progressed to up to a 45 minute warning.  His alert remained constant and his response to the seizure was to get help by physically finding Rev. Joe's attendant and bringing the attendant to him.

Several years later, Rev. Joe lost most of his sight and became "legally blind". It was clear that Bebe would have to be trained to support that disability too. Hard work and constant reinforcement paid off. Today Rev. Joe and Bebe are a Certified Service Team addressing many areas of disability support.

Rev. Joe currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for The Jasmine Charitable Trust. He mentors other Teams and continues to train and serve with his Service Dog, Bebe.  Rev. Joe has been a champion of the disabled in areas of access and citizens rights.