It’s true. We’re suckers for service dogs of all stripes. Last weekend at the North American Vet Conference I fell in love with about five of them as they lounged out at the booths of their sponsor organizations or drug companies.
Yes, drug companies actually sponsor these service animals and their organizations by giving them free drugs and sometimes large cash infusions, usually asking only that they hang out at their booths in return. That’s a pretty good deal, I think.
“Woof!,” I said to the ones I met. “Get me in on some of that action, too.” Silence. Maybe a nuzzle. Oh well, I guess they’re not the go-to people in their group.
They are when they’re in my exam room, though. When I have a service animal on the stainless steel table in front of me I’m extra cautious about investigating orthopedics for search and rescue dogs, neurological conditions for drug, cash and bomb sniffers, alertness levels for “seeing eye” and seizure dogs, etc.
For them I’m always extra-sure to be on the ball, no matter how overworked I’ve been that day. I get jacked up as if newly caffeinated whenever I get a service pet in.
Part of that is because I know how much is riding on this highly trained, often expensive animal in terms of its benefit to society. Another is feeling my oats as a part of a team that makes a big difference to humanity in a more palpable way than the norm.
Though ordinary pets keep people alive all the time—I’m dead sure of this from my personal experience, while recent stats on the improved health and longevity of pet owners continue to back me up—somehow service pets tug at my heartstrings more than most.
I don’t know about you but nothing makes me want to recite the Pledge of Allegiance more earnestly than a chocolate Lab in an orange rescue vest.
Call me biased. Call me sentimental. Call me human. But these guys are the best pick-me-up I can think of for any stressed out vet.
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liberty and justice frog, lol.
I just read a short essay about seeing eye dogs that made my heart swell in the book "Dog is My Co-Pilot." I was just about ready to put the book down due to most of the fare up to that point being from off kilter male bashers like Erica Jong in which they make it clear they really know nothing about dogs(nothing like the pitbulls and dobies are dangerous dogs stereotype), when I started reading a piece by Stephen Kuusisto called Blind Date. His description of the experience of freedom of being able to go out into the world with confidence, thanks to a yellow lab named Corky, really makes you appreciate the difference that service dogs make in peoples lives.
I also believe that these dogs know that they've been given a very important thing to do. How else do you explain a labrador passing the "jelly donut test?"
Brian Hewitt January 23rd, 2008 03:53:00 PM
On a somewhat similar note, the local retirement home has a resident Golden Retriever named Sophie. She's not *really* a service dog, but she brightens the lives of many people every day. The resident of the home threw a party for her first birthday and sang a song titled "We Love Sophie our Dog". We take extra special care of Sophie at the clinic, making sure she's healthy and not getting too many snacks (a HUGE problem). We know how much she means to those elderly folks and want to keep her happy and healthy as long as possible.
Michelle Schwab January 24th, 2008 07:22:00 AM
That's a great story Michelle. Like Dr. Khuly said, dogs keep people alive every day and I can attest to that. My mother was diagnosed with severe end stage COPD in the mid 1990's and had only about 22% use of her lungs. Her prognosis was not good, with most people not living more than 5 years when they are as compromised as she was. The Dr. did say that some people seem to level off and live longer than that, but it was a VERY small percentage.
Since I am the baby of the family and had no kids of my own, I put my life on hold and took on the duties of caring for her; there was no way in hell that she was going to spend the rest of her life in a nursing home. My animal family at the time consisted of a potbellied pig named pickle, my lab/pointer mix named Sid, and a diabetic Lhasa Ahpso who had been rescued from a near flood stage river. His name was Lucky.
I have not a doubt in my mind that the daily interaction with these blessed creatures is a huge part of the reason that mom lived a little over ten years after her terrible prognosis of 5 at the most. Pickle, as most pigs are, was ornery with the majority of strangers and would not hesitate to push people, myself included, out of his way if they were in his favorite spot on the couch. He was never this way with mom, not even one. He was the most gentle creature in the world with mom and the affection was mutual between them. In the last half year, when it became hard for her to get up from the couch without help and her breathing had become very difficult, Pickle really showed how special that bod was. He had quit laying with his head in her lap which was his favorite pasttime over the years, but I think he knew it made it more difficult for her to breathe. The last week she was able to sit on the couch(we had already gooten her a plush, top of the line recliner to settle into) he got up from the other end of the couch with no prompting and sat holding his head over her lap. She said he put no weight at all on her. It was like he knew it was the last time he could do this and he knew he knew putting the weight of his big old pig head on her would cause her more difficuly breathing so they both, well, all three of us just savored the moment while it lasted.
In the final two day(she passed at home, surrounded by family) my male cat, Thurston would not leave her side. He lay there purring and nuzzling, refusing to leave the bed. This is remarkable because he was very timid around people he did not know and the house was filled with little kids running around and many, many adults he normally would have hid from. After mom took her last breath he wa nowhere to be found until the house had cleared out except for my sister and her husband, who helped me care for mom in the final year.
For me, these are the most special four legged creature in the world. They added years and quality to a life that had been very hard, only to be made more difficult by a ruthless disease. My eyes are overflowing with tears as I think of the joy that they brought to her life and the unselfish love that they gave to her when she needed it most. I miss all three of them immensely and I have a small portion of mom's ashes in an urn on the mantle alongside the ashes of Pickle Pig, Sid the dorky lab, and Lucky the Lhasa. Thurston, thankfully, is still roaming the house with his sister, still trying to figure out why he can get his claws into the scratching post but can't get them out and mom looking down saying "you dumb cat."
Brian Hewitt January 24th, 2008 08:38:00 AM
*sniff*
Dr. Patty Khuly January 24th, 2008 09:22:00 AM
I also love working and service dogs and have been lucky enough to get to work with a few. They are amazing.
Unfortunatly I am seeing a disturbing trend in my training business of people wanting to get service dog certification on their "pet" dog just so they can take them everywhere with them legally. I have to say I find this insulting to those that need real service dogs. Thankfully service dog certification is pretty tightly regulated in my area. (so far)
Has anyone else run into this?
Marie January 24th, 2008 09:22:00 AM
Marie - I know that seeing eye dogs are very well behaved, but what are the requirements for seizure dogs? I was working retail a few years back when we had a woman come into the store with a little JRT. He was a friendly little dog, but he did not listen to her at all. He was pulling at his lead, putting his paws on people, etc.
She said he was a service/seizure dog and he was attired as such, but I thought he would have been better trained manner wise if he was going out in the public with her. We kind of figured that she was just saying he was a service dog so she could take him in stores, etc.
Brian Hewitt January 24th, 2008 10:14:00 AM
I believe the requirements for service dogs all begin the same, with basic obedience requirements. You have to build a foundation of the basics before you can add the extra requirements of the jobs service dogs do.
However, you can have a seizure alert dog that doesn't listen well because most aren't trained to alert as much as they have a natural knack for it that is developed with training to add an alert cue. (I hope that makes sense) That said I can't imagine he would pass a service dog certification test if he had no real manners or at least basic obedience under his belt.
Of course I have known some dogs that have passed obedience tests and then the owners let their obedience backslide and they lose it. Training is definatly something you need to practice regularly. No where else is the "use it or lose it" mantra more apt. You should see the training logs they keep for police dogs. It is staggering the amount of training they are required to do to protect themselves in court.
It is scary that there isn't more knowledge of service dogs. I think in some areas people can get away with slapping a vest on a dog and people will just accept it is a working service dog. That really does a dis-service to certified working dogs because those people with the unmannered dogs make ALL service dogs look bad. Most people can't tell the difference. There should be some sort of standard card people should carry that is the SAME in every state and businesses need to be taught how to weed out the real from the copycats. (and learn they CAN"T kick out real service dogs as well)
I also think service dogs should be exempt from breed bans. (Of course I think ALL dogs should be exempt from breed bans but until that happens service dogs should be protected.)
It is a lofty goal. It would mean all the service groups would need to work together nationally on some level. Seperate groups tend not to mesh well about anything. They all have their own way of doing things and resisit change. Plus no one wants to be told what to do, especially if the state or government is involved. Which it might need to be. (Unless said groups initiated and regulated these changes on their own. Possible but unlikely.)
Marie January 24th, 2008 10:47:00 AM
Marie: I've had clients ask me about this--especially those that travel a great deal with their pets. I also know of people who take their dogs to restaurants and inform the management that their pet is a service animal in training so they can be seated with them in areas prohibiting their outdoor presence.
To that end, I'd like to see a "good citizenship" certification for non-working dogs. Dogs certified as canine Good Citizens or some other such designation perhaps would deserve preferential treatment in restaurants where dog bites are more of a oncern than actual hygiene. Just a thought.
I certainly don't advocate that people try to pass their dogs off as working pets--that's a big no-no, IMHO.
Dr. Patty Khuly January 24th, 2008 10:52:00 AM
Drug companies are sponsoring service animals? Really?
Just keeping five dogs on Frontline (ferexample) is a chunk 'o change. And we wouldn't have five dogs if my most promising partner ever hadn't been relegated to "unhappy pet" by chronic Lyme disease, so aggressive (and expensive) tick control is the order of the day.
How do I get in on some of that swag?
My husband and I have been SAR dog handlers for nearly 17 years. Every cent of my dogs' vet care has come out of my personal pocket -- including quite a litany of work-related injuries, ranging from pad cuts to an exploded lumbar disk.
So really -- is someone holding out on me?
H Houlahan January 24th, 2008 11:54:00 PM
I would contact your sponsor organization and ask that at their next board meeting they talk about approaching Pfizer, Fort Dodge or another big drug company for a deal. You have to promise to support their product, though. Not everyone's comfy with that.
Dr. Patty Khuly January 25th, 2008 09:39:00 AM
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