Recently I met a service dog in training. Miller is preparing to help a woman in another state who is blind. The person training him is a friend of mine. Imagine spending one year developing a bond with a dog, knowing that you will have to give him up to help someone in need. Now THAT’s a gift.
I was doing some research for articles about service dogs. And by the way, service dogs serve in many many areas, not only to help someone with a physical disability. I found one on Susquehanna Service Dog that describes the general characteristics of a service dog. Among them are:
- adaptable
- confident
- polite
These sounds like human characteristics, right?
A service dog meets people in all kinds of environment. Restaurants, hospitals, banks, supermarkets…And when there’s an emergency, he’ll have to put aside his protective instinct, and allow first responders to help his human.
He has to ignore distractions. Even if dogs are chasing each other around him, even if there’s a squirrel dashing right in front of him, he has to remain calm and stay beside his human while he is working.
And when their humans are visiting their friends, a service dog has to respect the space of another. he waits patiently when a door is opened, rather being the first one to dash out the door.
Below this photo is an excerpt from the article.
Dogs must also be able to easily adjust to new people, surroundings and events. No matter what environment they’re in, they must be comfortable and not get excited or nervous.
Service dogs should be quiet and save rough dog play for outside. They should get along with their partner’s pets, whether dogs, cats or other animals.
They must also be well-behaved even when they are not with their partner. They should be able to be left alone, uncrated, for at least two hours without disturbing the house.
CLICK here to read the entire article.
Article source: Susquehanna Service Dog Blog
Image source: Beverly & Pack on Flickr
