Service Dog

[Barb]

I was just reading the new issue of SBAA Insights and the article on service dogs caught my attention. I have been thinking a lot about this lately. So, my question is, if you have one, what types of things does your dog help with? If you are in the US, where did you get your dog? Anyone ever raise one from a puppy themselves?

[lolathechecker]

i have raised and trained dogs my entire life. i have actually certified 2 service dogs. you can train them to do almost anything. they can open doors, turn lights off and on, pick things up off the floor, etc. they do all the things that their owners have a harder time doing. and its really not hard to teach them to do those things. you can search google and find a local company who raises and sells them. alot of times, they raise a dog to your specifications, if not, they will match you with a dog who meets your needs.

[eng188]

I saw that as well. Ignoramus that I apparently am, I thought they were mainly used as icebreakers. It's a fact that at times we are shunned for our wheelchairs, crutches, etc. Maybe some cute dog would do something to bridge that gap. I learned something. Funny how our disability is a lifelong learning experience.

[Barb]

We were laughing about the trained service monkeys and my husband says "C already has three trained monkeys....us!" That is the thing that I was thinking, I don't think we are at a place in life where we need a 'service' dog but more of an emotional service dog---a therapy dog???

[Barb]

We have a new puppy. Our NS gave it to C.Now, the training starts, LOL

You can see a picture of her at the blog in my sig if you want to!

http://bp2.blogger.com/_ASZ78C4TpSk/R-PsekrrX3I/AAAAAAAAAJI/5cderLj19eg/s1600-h/nala+2+1.jpg