Bringing you awareness of National Guide/Service Dog Month. September is National Guide Dog Month + National Service Dog Month. FCVC recognizes the hardworking service animals that have many roles in helping humans cope with situations that are not what we would consider “normal”. The “service” dog label has more than just one category. There are also therapy dogs and emotional support animals. We bring you this article from Healthy Paws:
What is a Guide/Service dog?
In some instances, dogs are not only valuable family members, but life-saving aides. Working dogs can be found in military and law enforcement agencies worldwide, but also in hospitals, schools and citizens’ homes as service and therapy dogs. There are several important differences between service dogs, therapy dogs, and emotional support dogs, but all have important jobs that save lives.
Let’s take a moment to not only appreciate these very special animals, but to familiarize yourself with service dog challenges, etiquette and more.
Each Guide/Service Dog Has a Different Job
According to education group Please Don’t Pet Me, “Differentiating between service dogs, therapy dogs and emotional support animals is not a matter of splitting hairs or political correctness. Each of these dogs has a very different job from the others and the terms are not interchangeable.” Many service dogs take on different tasks ranging from a legally recognized service dog to an emotional support animal, however there is a distinct difference: Service dogs assist people with challenges such as hearing or visual impairment, autism, seizures and epilepsy, diabetes, and more. They can be trained to perform an array of tasks including leading their human across busy streets, retrieving objects, opening and closing doors and even getting help. They usually wear a service dog vest, but not always!
Guide dogs, a type of assistance dog, are trained to help people in life with disabilities. Guide dogs truly are the eyes of their handlers, helping them to establish mobility and independence. Also known as seeing-eye dogs, they are specifically trained to lead blind and visually impaired people, helping them navigate situations or obstacles they normally would not be able to. Dogs just don’t become guide dogs overnight; plenty of time is spent socializing and training in various environments until a dog can be matched with a visually-impaired companion.
Maybe You Already Knew It…
- Guide/Service dogs help many different types of people
Each disability requires a unique kind of service dog; the blind have very different assistance needs than those with epilepsy, or those with emotional needs, and so on. Mobility assistance dogs are used by those with mobility restrictions or in wheelchairs; diabetic alert dogs are trained to recognize low insulin levels just through their sense of smell. Certain types of service dogs work with those who have autism and PTSD to help reduce anxiety, depression and improve social development. The health benefits of dogs are pretty amazing! - They’re not always dogs
“Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities,” says the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and since then, this definition has opened up to include miniature horses. “Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task an animal has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.” - The training is intense and expensive
A service animal must have specific training that fits its handler’s disability. Everything from medical alerts to coping mechanisms are trained, and many handlers will train their own service animals. Many volunteers start training the dogs as puppies and place them in volunteer homes to socialize and acclimate the pups to sights, sounds, smells and distractions. The pup is then professionally trained in obedience, retrieval, and handling. The cost for training a service dog can run anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000. It can be deducted from taxes, and there are a few other ways to defray costs. - The service dog vest
Guess what? – it’s a myth that a service dog is required to wear a vest or other identifying garb! While many handlers have their dogs wear vests in order to keep the public from petting and to enter businesses without a hassle, it is not required. - Best Piece of Advice: Ignore a Service Dog
If you see a service dog, whether they are wearing vests, backpacks or harnesses, or you spot a working dog, simply ignore the dog. Do not whistle, pet, or interact with a dog on the job. And if you don’t know if the dog is in service, err on the side of caution and simply move along. It can be a dangerous distraction for service dogs and their humans.
Can you help with a Guide/Service Dog? Get Local
Want to donate or volunteer? Look for a local organization that needs help – they could have an Amazon Smile account or even an Amazon wish list, or perhaps they need dedicated families to help raise some pups.
FCVC welcomes the opportunity to talk to you about the health of your pet and the roles they may play in your life.
Articles you may be interested in – Adopt A Cat (or Dog) and Donkeys Rescued
Attribution – From our friends at HealthyPawsPetInsurance.com
Photo – blind-man-with-seeing-eye-dog_SYrxfgrArj