(light music) >> Announcer: This week on friends and neighbors.

>> Rachel: It's nice to have a training center where everybody comes.

We train here, we train here in the winter, when it rains.

And then we also go out into the public and train too, but only after the dogs have enough manners to where I know they're gonna behave in public.

>> Linda: So you may see a great picture of one of the cats we post on Facebook and fall in love with them.

But when you come in there may be a different cat that tends to come to you and bond with you and that just kind of fits your lifestyle better.

So that's what cat cafes allow people to see is what would this cat in a real life situation look like.

>> Rafi: A body of water like Lake Michigan that's over 300 miles long it really produces a natural migration path.

And they get to the bottom of the lake and whether or not you're gonna start going north or coming south, they like to rest there.

But because of industry and because of Chicago they'll push over to us.

It is perfect for birds both to live here year round but also on their migration.

>> ?

: It's one of those things that you can do and come here to relax, as crazy as that sound, getting up on a horse and relaxing.

'Cause a lot of people do.

You can see their whole face their whole demeanor just transform when they get up on that horse.

(uplifting music) >> Announcer: Doing as much as you can as quickly as you can is important to me.

Life is short, and the earlier we get started helping our community the better off our community will be.

(upbeat music) >> I have a very strong connection to other students.

Everyone makes an effort to help each other.

I'll remember the feeling of being here, the feeling that I was a part of a family.

>> Announcer: Shopping for fruits and vegetables in the Strack and Van Til produce department is a feast for the senses.

With produce picked at the peak of freshness.

From apples and avocados to pineapples and peppers, treat yourself to the best quality fruits and vegetables.

Find them at your local Strack & Van Til store.

>> Announcer: A long lasting legacy of family ownership dedicated to generations of clients is what sets Centier apart.

Trust the integrity, experience, and personal service of Centier, Indiana's largest private family owned bank.

>> Announcer: Support for programming in Lakeshore PBS comes in part from a generous bequest of the estate of Marjorie A.

Mills, whose remarkable contribution will help us keep viewers like you informed, inspired, and entertained for years to come.

(upbeat acoustic music) >> Announcer: Additional support for Lakeshore PBS is provided by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(light acoustic music) >> We are at Northern Indiana Service Dogs, and this is a program that I started 17 years ago.

And since then we have grown to have a dog walker, my husband.

It's nice to have a training center where everybody comes.

We train here, we train here in the winter, when it rains.

And then we also go out into the public and train too.

But only after the dogs have enough manners to where I know they're gonna behave in public.

A service dog is a dog that has been trained to perform tasks to aid an individual with a need.

Service dogs are to be invisible, especially when you're out in public.

Think of them as an aid, like your wheelchair, a walker, a cane, they're to provide you some type of support to help you with your medical need.

We train dogs for individuals with multiple sclerosis, we do a lot of dogs with individuals with seizures.

That's why we started breeding bigger dogs to help with mobility, balance issues.

Cardiology dogs are that help if you have heart issues that will alert to irregular heartbeats.

And a lot of it has to do with the connection you have with your dog.

And before you have a seizure, heart issue, migraine, your body chemistry changes and the dogs learn your body chemistry and learn to alert to that.

And the bond with your dog is so important for that to happen.

There's a lot of time and training that goes into them.

There's other commands that they have to learn like to ignore people.

When somebody comes up and says (Rachel gasps) "oh your dog is so cute."

They have to learn to ignore that behavior because if they don't, that distraction can take them off from paying attention to their handler owner and they might miss a smell, miss a cue that a seizure's gonna happen.

So it's very important when somebody sees these dogs in public too, that you ignore them.

The dogs have to learn to go in under tables for restaurants and be invisible.

They can't be spooked by something dropping, a toddler running by, being bumped by a cart.

There's so many things that we work on desensitizing them to, that's an important part of their training.

Because they need to be calm around wheelchairs, walkers, they need to be able to handle being around people who are in a hospital bed, very fragile, they can't jump on 'em they've gotta be very gentle, come up and do a visit on a lap.

And they like to work.

I mean they've been bred to work and they have a purpose in life and they know it.

>> I have severe anxiety and another son of mine has seizures.

And Ian also has severe anxiety.

>> Really severe.

>> Karen: So Rachel's really helped.

They're both for anxiety and PTSD.

They're actually learning how to alert.

If I'm anxious Richard will bump me.

Flash will cuddle right up on my chest if I'm having a panic attack.

So they're actually learning what they need to do in that situation to be more helpful to us.

>> Ian: It makes me feel safe and comfortable when the dogs are around me and when I'm having anxiety.

Sometimes like when we're at recess I usually go into the room.

They have this little bean bag chair which I lay on with Richard or Flash, mostly Richard.

Flash is more we go outside and play sometimes.

>> Karen: Ian's teacher will call me and say "he's having a rough day" and I'll bring either one of them.

The teacher has noticed a huge difference in Ian's ability to get through the day when the dogs come in and help him out.

>> Three years ago I had a heart attack and they told me half my heart died and I have problems.

My heart's weak so I can get dizzy, lightheaded.

So sometimes I fall and if I keep my hand rested on something it helps with my balance.

So if I go to fall back, I just hold it.

And then if I go to fall down, I mean, it's like pushing.

And then if I'm on the ground Blake will actually hold so I can get up off the ground.

That's what the main purpose was mobility, then the other things has reached out from there which helps lowered my anxiety, which helped lower my heart rate a little bit which was racing, and then helps with the sleep apnea.

If he licks me I check my numbers like on my watch, my blood pressure, 'cause something could be off 'cause he don't normally lick me but every now and then he does that.

It has helped my confidence and it has helped me to get out more instead of just being a hermit.

And life's not over because I can't move so well.

I went from a wheelchair to a walker, to a cane, and a service dog.

He does like going out, he likes seeing things.

We've been to concerts, we've been games all over.

I went through stuff, I know other people did too.

And it could be depressing and stuff like that.

And then getting help, like I said, Rachel's saving, help saving people four paws at a time.

(upbeat acoustic country music) >> So The Region Cat Cafe is a cafe where we offer coffee and great sandwiches and food, but most importantly we offer adoptable cats.

We've partnered with a foster based rescue called Second Chance for Pets Network.

So that what that means is that all the cats are in homes when they are taken in, when they do intake.

So they're not going into cages, they're going directly to somebody's loving home.

They're growing up and adjusting with families, sometimes families with kids, sometimes families with other pets.

I really loved their policies, I love that they don't do same day adoptions and that they really take into consideration the health and wellbeing of the cats.

And they're they've been wonderful.

We've had 57 cats adopted so far since we've opened our doors on December 21st.

But our mission is to get more cats that need homes into good homes.

So we don't believe in same day adoptions.

So there is an application process.

It could take anywhere from four to seven days to get that application approved.

Once the application is approved people will pick up their cat that they're approved for on a Sunday evening after we close and then the kitty will go home with you.

So nobody comes in here and then walks out with a cat.

So that's sometimes good news for people and sometimes bad news.

(Linda laughs) What we call a cat session, you go into the cat lounge, it's a designated area separated from the food where people can go in and just spend 50 minutes, that's five zero minutes with the cats.

And people just go in and it's kinda designed like a living room so that when you're sitting in there you get a real feel for what a cat that you may potentially adopt would be like.

So you may see a great picture of one of the cats we post on Facebook and fall in love with them.

But when you come in there may be a different cat that tends to come to you and bond with you and that just kind of fits your lifestyle better.

So that's what cat cafes allow people to see is what would this cat in a real life situation look like?

So that's our big goal is for people to really get to know a cat's personality versus just seeing a picture and adopting a cat and then finding out that's not really the kind of cat that you would want.

I would say only about maybe 15% of people that come in are here that are looking to adopt, which is perfectly fine because that other 85% helps with the socialization.

So the more people that come in and sit down and pet cat or just sit and relax with them or play with them, the more likely the cat becomes social.

So it helps in many ways for the kitties that are struggling a little bit.

And we there's situations that we had in mind too.

You have someone in the house that has allergies but the other person loves cats.

Well this gives an opportunity.

Maybe you can't have a cat in your home or you're renting and your landlord doesn't allow cats, you can still come here and get all that love that you need from the cats without having to adopt.

Just watching a room full of sleeping cats lowers your blood pressure and it's very therapeutic.

So it serves many purposes.

We definitely love when people come and just have lunch here.

We decided that if people were going to eat in a cat cafe they probably wanted some quality food.

So we offer sandwiches.

We have a great roast beef sandwich, our chicken salad is out of this world, it's our best seller.

Fantastic desserts.

Our chef is Jason Delgado who's absolutely wonderful.

He's here daily.

Everything's made fresh.

He makes the best churro cheesecake you'll ever have.

So those are some of our most popular that people continue to come back for.

We tried to make it very quaint.

So we designed our upstairs area with we have board games and cards.

And so if you have to wait a little bit or if you wanna spend a little time up here just hanging out with your family or friends we've tried to make that space very quaint and cozy so that you can enjoy that also.

I think going into this my heart was in the cats and it still is, and I love love love cats as you can obviously if you open a cat cafe you have a love for cats.

I think the biggest surprise is what we're seeing with people.

Now people coming in that they're sitting in the cat room and they start pouring their hearts out to you or the nursing student that comes in that's getting ready to take a test and she's almost in tears because she's so stressed out.

And one of my employees is over the corner hugging her.

And people just coming in looking for that comfort.

And I think that was my biggest surprise 'cause I was so much about the cats that I didn't realize how much this was gonna be so good for people.

That's probably been the biggest surprise just to see the people or hear the stories of people coming in and saying "oh my gosh, "you guys made my day, oh my gosh I needed this so much."

And so we're really starting to feel now what it's also doing for the community.

And that's really heartwarming 'cause I also have a big love for people obviously, but it wasn't what I was thinking when we opened the business.

(soft music) >> So I'm at the Indiana Audubon.

We do a lot of research conservation education all around Indiana.

We are at the Indiana Dune's Birding Festival.

We are timed with the convergence of spring bird migration.

We've got over 350 bird species seen in Indiana Dunes.

We have nearly 1,000 bird Watchers from around the country here this weekend to enjoy this amazing migration.

(birds chirping) We are at a record attendance this year.

And so we are seeing this renewed interest in birds, people are looking to get outside to an outdoor event.

You can go on hourly bird walks and actually build blue bird boxes and crafts.

And so a lot of stuff for beginning birders that are just looking to kinda learn more about it.

>> Indiana Dunes is really a special place and most people just drive by and they don't realize what a truly unique place this is.

Despite only being 15,000 acres, despite being a very urban park with a steel mill in the middle of our park, we're in the top five of the most bio diverse national parks.

And that of course produces every little niche habitat that a bird or other animal would like.

There's a lot of birds that wanna move along the shore, we have that.

There's birds that need very dense forests, we have that.

We have prairies.

Another really important part is that we're right on the Lake Michigan flyway, a body of water like Lake Michigan that's over 300 miles long really produces a natural migration path.

And they get to the bottom of the lake and whether or not they're gonna start going north or coming south, they like to rest there.

But because of industry and because of Chicago they'll push over to us.

That is perfect for birds both to live here year round but also on their migration.

>> A lot of these neo tropical migrants.

So these are Orioles and Tanagers and warblers have been wintering in Costa Rica.

They are now coming back up north and these birds are in their full song, full colors.

Right now I'm hearing an oriole chatter off here in the tree line.

They'll come back in the fall but a lot of times they're more muted, they're not singing as much.

There's actually more birds 'cause they're done nesting and all the young are out, but it's the spring migration that really people love.

It's a return of a promise and that was a promise to return.

So these birds left us and now they're back here in May.

Of that 350 species of birds we see, it's a large diversity.

So out on Lake Michigan we have the loons and ducks, here in the forest areas in the fields like behind me a lot of sparrows, warblers, tanagers, grosbeaks, mentioned the orioles.

There's also gonna be different things like king fishers and hawks and some of 'em our unique birds that you're gonna be able to see whether in the trees or up here in the sky.

For me as a bird watcher, when I originally moved here to Chesterton it was kinda going to a candy store.

Not only does it have the most species, but you get most magnitude of total birds that congregate here.

And so it's just great.

Any kind of habitat in Indiana dunes is hosting more birds than anywhere else.

One signature species we see here is the sand hill crane.

And the eastern population has 100,000 birds that live east of the Mississippi.

For a third of its entire population needs the Indiana Dunes in its flyway.

And so that just shows the importance of this whole region for one species and then all 350 as well.

Birds I think have a really strong interest for a lot of folks.

And partly because of that bright color, because they can fly we kinda look at that wonder of flight.

They're seen as what we call charismatic megafauna.

So there's something that we can really emotionally attach to.

And so in addition to the joy that we get from birds they're great indicators for a lot of things that are going on in the environment.

And for these birds we're seeing a lot of the signs of climate change be affected by them.

And so they are coming up earlier in migration now, they're staying later, they're also being pushed farther north as the warmer air comes in.

And so there they're gonna run into habitat that isn't changing fast enough too for them.

And so there's a lot of risks that these birds are facing not only through human obstacles but through climate change as well.

>> We realize how special it is to have 15 miles of public beach.

I think the number one thing is to try to go beyond the beach.

Definitely go see it, have fun, swim in Lake Michigan, but then go on a hike someplace else, come to right where we're standing and sit for half an hour or do that and sort of experience the other side of Indiana Dunes.

'Cause all of those habitats, we have trails and other programs.

Go to Pinhook Bog in the summer when we offer a tour and see insect eating plants and orchids.

One third of Indiana's rare or endangered plants have populations in this little bog that's only a hundred acres.

It's just a phenomenal super special place.

The irony is it's right on the Indiana tow road, millions of people drive by it and never even know that there's such a cool little place there.

Go to the beach, but then find out what really makes this place unique.

(upbeat acoustic music) >> When I was a child my mother said I was born loving horses and I acted like a horse all the time in the house instead of a little girl.

(Virginia laughs) However mine struck a deal and said they would get me a riding lesson once a week if I would act like a little girl.

Now I remember having to think about that 'cause I couldn't be a horse for seven days, I could only ride one for an hour a week, but I did that and I started riding when I was about nine.

When I was 16 I bought my first horse and paid his board.

When I went to college my parents paid my way to college and I paid my horse's way to college.

I have more horses, I still teach.

95% of the time I love my job.

And I'm still happy to come to work every day and I've been in this building since 1977.

There's another side, the kids that come out here to ride them and how it helps them and builds their self-esteem.

It's amazing.

Seeing the kids grow not necessarily in their riding but they always do get better there, but watching 'em grow in school and be more self-confident and start doing things on their own.

And yeah I just like the kids.

They come they stop and see me all the time.

I have three generations that ride now in the barn at the same time.

They're wonderful.

(Virginia laughs) And who has it said the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.

Winston Churchill said that yeah and it's so true.

There is lots of sayings, you could go on and on.

(upbeat acoustic music) >> Well we provide a number of services.

Riding lessons, summer camp, pony 101 classes, girl scout programs, a two hour girl scout program.

We also do open barns where you can come and ride the ponies and check out the place, see what we offer.

I would say that it's something you definitely have to experience.

A lot of people fall into two categories, they either love it or they don't.

There are some in betweens that keep coming back and they eventually end up in that love it category, but most people they know pretty much right away.

It's one of those things that you can do and come here to relax as crazy as that sound, getting up on a horse and relaxing 'cause a lot of people do.

You can see their whole face their whole demeanor just transform when they get up on that horse or the pony, whichever the case may be.

I think it helps a lot of people, a lot more than other people realize.

People with depression, people with anxiety.

It does it like I said it just transforms their whole demeanor.

Their body language is different, their face lights up.

It just, it is it's very transformative.

I guess just seeing the people happy when they come in.

The kids they know me by name and I'm mostly in the office kinda thing.

And one girl, her mom called she couldn't come to riding lessons and she wanted to make sure that her mother told me that she was coming back next week to make sure I knew that.

(Carrie laughs) which I thought was so sweet.

It's definitely teaching them responsibility.

They have that compassion and just an overall bond with the animal.

They genuinely have great respect for each other.

It goes both ways.

It's not just the person having respect for the horse, the horse has respect for the person as well.

>> The people around here seem to really appreciate it.

They didn't know for years what we even did until my gals who work in the office started having open barns and it's like oh we didn't know you did this.

And I'd go out and deliver a pony.

Oh yeah we watch you on Facebook, we'll be at the next open barn and so on and so forth.

So I think everybody enjoys it and it's fun to see the people enjoy the horses.

Because that's the only thing that's going to keep the horses going.

The one thing I always say when I get really really tired after we put up a thousand bales of hay or something, it's for the love of a horse.

(uplifting music) >> Announcer: Doing as much as you can as quickly as you can is important to me.

Life is short, and the earlier we get started helping our community the better off our community will be.

>> Almost every single professor I've had I'm on a first name basis.

By building that relationship with faculty I was able to get involved with research.

It's one thing to read about an idea in a book versus physically doing it and seeing results.

>> Announcer: Strack & Van Til is your wedding planning partner.

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Plan a memorable meal for your reception from our delicious catering menu, and let our bakery artisans design the wedding cake of your dreams.

Visit Strack & Van Til dot com for details.

>> Announcer: A long lasting legacy of family ownership dedicated to generations of clients is what sets Centier apart.

Trust the integrity, experience, and personal service of Centier, Indiana's largest private family owned bank.

>> Announcer: Support for programming in Lakeshore PBS comes in part from a generous bequest of the estate of Marjorie A.

Mills whose remarkable contribution will help us keep viewers like you informed, inspired, and entertained for years to come.

(upbeat acoustic music) >> Announcer: Additional support for Lakeshore PBS is provided by viewers like you.

Thank you.

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