Service Dogs

 When you hear the word “Service Dog” does your mind immediately go to a Seeing Eye Dog for the Blind?  This is probably historically the most common type of service dog.  There’s a whole lot of categories for what is considered a “Working Dog”.  These are highly trained, highly skilled Canines who are exceptional at their work and perform priceless rescues and support.

 

Whether it’s protecting our service people overseas as military dogs (I once treated a dog who had saved a whole platoon by alerting them to danger) or a dog who rescues people from being buried in an avalanche these dogs are COOL!  There are many different types of rescue dogs, search and rescue, lifeguard swimming dogs and more.

 

I would like to focus on the medical service dogs though.  These are different than what people call “Emotional Support Animals” which can be a somewhat more controversial topic (I will avoid it for now).  Medical service dogs can help a blind person, help a deaf person be alerted to a doorbell or alert to other noises.  They can also help support people with PTSD and anticipate an anxiety attack or a situation that could be threatening.  They can also help predict a diabetic crisis and anticipate a seizure coming on.  Dogs can be used for epileptic children to allow them to go to school so teachers can be alerted when a seizure is happening and provide assistance.  This works due to their amazing sense of smell.  They can actually smell metabolic brain changes that lead up to a seizure.

 

Dogs are amazing (and no, I don’t think this is a bias).  Their sense of smell is extraordinary and most dogs have a high capability for relationship.  So the next time you are in a store, or somewhere else and you see a working dog be open to knowing that you may just be looking at a hero (chances are if it’s growling or showing bad manners, that’s probably not the case).  Service dogs are supposed to have impeccable manners and this is part of why you do not pet or distract a service dog when they are wearing a harness.  When they are wearing a harness, they are doing their job, when their handler takes the harness off, they can be a “normal” dog.