(VICT) Assistance Dogs: Service Not Servitude
- From: "Shelley L. Rhodes" <juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Alumni Association Board Members" <AlumniAssociationBoard@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <gdblounge@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <gdbgrads@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <gdum-l@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2008 18:12:20 -0500
This is a great article. it is amazing how many kids and adults are shocked
to find out that my dog does take off her harness when she goes home and
relaxes like any dog, which means snoozing right now on her bed.
Assistance Dogs: Service, Not Servitude
By Amanda Napier
"That poor dog!"exclaimed the postal delivery person as she stood at my open
front door. "How can you make it live in this little apartment? There's not
even a yard for it to play in!" I accepted my package with a smile, and
explained that my dog was quite happy and content. As a Service Dog in
training, Max isn't confined to my "little" apartment, but accompanies me
nearly everywhere I go. The delivery person gave me a dubious look and a
frown, apparently not agreeing that "Service Dog" and "happy" belonged in
the same sentence.
Unfortunately, this mind-set is not a rare one. In nearly two years of
working with Max, I have run into many people with many different ideas
about assistance dogs. I never imagined that there were such varying
opinions about working dogs out there, or anticipated that so many people
would feel compelled to share them with me. These opinions were expressed in
a variety of ways, but most seemed based on a common misconception of a dog
s ideal life.
These people were sure that they knew just what lifestyle would make a dog
happy. They envisioned long days of leisure, with a dog just napping in the
sun, waiting for its absent owner to return from work, school, or shopping.
Add to that a bowl of kibble and an evening walk, and a dog's life should be
complete. Finding it more useful to educate than argue, I tried to answer
these misconceptions with facts about canine instincts and behavior.
"Why don't you leave your dog at home to, you know, just be a dog?" Dogs are
inherently pack animals, not solitary creatures. In the absence of a canine
pack, a dog's human family fills that role. Due to a strong pack instinct,
dogs are most secure and content when surrounded by their family, not when
left alone at home. Assistance dogs are, in this respect, more fortunate
than their pet compatriots. Their job requires them to be with their human
partner, whether in the comfort of home or out among the public. This
constant companionship is not the hardship some people imagine it is for a
dog. The working service dog is right where his instincts tell him to be,
with his pack.
"You shouldn't make your dog work. It's cruel and unnatural." Long ago, the
survival of a canine pack depended on the ability of all members to live and
work together. Each animal had a specific role and place in the hierarchy of
the pack. Regardless of what the individual job or function was, it, in some
way or another, supported the well being of the pack. Each animal knew its
own personal job and performed it accordingly. The pack was a unit, and what
one dog did affected all the others. The same is true of a well-trained
service dog. The dog works with its owner as a partner, in some cases
functioning as the owner's eyes, ears, hands, or legs. As long as the dog
understands what the owner expects, working is not cruel or unnatural.
Rather, working allows a dog to do what comes naturally.
"Dogs are dangerous, they shouldn't be out in public." It is true that all
dogs are capable of biting. Service dogs, however, by the nature of their
training, are much less likely to bite than an untrained pet. Before being
accepted into an assistance dog program, all puppies and dogs are
temperament tested, to weed out any obvious problems.
Dogs with an innate tendency towards aggressive behavior are not accepted,
nor are dogs that are overly shy and submissive. The ideal dog for service
dog training is friendly, outgoing, and adaptable. A dog with these
personality traits is best able to adjust to unexpected situations.
Personality is just one factor. Even after acceptance into a training
program, there are standards that each dog must meet before certification.
Although no one can maintain that service dogs are completely risk-free,
they are as trustworthy as a dog can be.
"Dogs are filthy and flea-infested. They shouldn't be allowed in restaurants
or store!" Service dogs need to be hale and hearty in order to perform their
duties. A shoddily groomed dog that is covered with parasites will be
neither comfortable nor healthy, and will find it very difficult to
concentrate on the task at hand. Service dogs are, as a rule, bathed
frequently and treated with flea and tick repellants. Most training programs
teach their human students proper grooming techniques, including bathing,
brushing, nail clipping, and oral hygiene. Good grooming is one of the
essentials of good health, and most service dog handlers want their canine
partners to be as healthy and happy as possible.
Far from being abused or repressed, service dogs are able to fulfill many of
their instinctual needs by working with their owners. They have nearly
constant companionship, and develop very strong emotional bonds with their
human partners. A working dog is given a sense of purpose, and understands
its position in the pack. Generally, this position is as respected friend
and companion, and these dogs simply become family. Both time and effort are
put into not only the physical well being of the service dog, but its
emotional interests as well. Take the skeptical mail delivery person, for
example. The package she so dubiously handed me was full of treats and toys,
not for me, but for my dog.
Published in Partners Forum in 2002
? ? ? ?
Gail and Anja,
my German Shepherd Service Dog
& Flicka the MinPin ESA.
+»§«.,¸¸,.·´¯`·.,¸¸,.»§« +
Live simply. Love generously.
Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.
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