- All guide dogs are service dogs, but not all service dogs are guide dogs
- “She helps me to feel confident and secure.”
- Support dogs are medical equipment. Do not speak to or make eye contact
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Service dogs are remarkable canines that have been especially trained to aid people with special needs.
In simple words a service dog is a dog with a job.
So says Franci Podbielski, a 35-year-old woman who suffers from Asperger’s, which is on the Autism Spectrum.
Franci and her service dog Patches, a Scottish Terrier, are a great team, and are totally dedicated to each other.
“She helps me to interact and to be social with people. She acts to serve my emotional needs, and she assist me in dealing with challenges such as going to the shop,” says Franci.
“She helps me to feel confident and secure.”
Franci says all guide dogs are service dogs, but not all service dogs are guide dogs.
“The exact job the service dog performs depends on the special need they have been trained to assist with,” she says.
For the visually impaired a service dog can guide the person through crowds, around obstacles and stop at stairs and crossings.
For those in wheelchairs the service dog is trained to pull the chair up a ramp, press a button on automatic doors, pick up a dropped item, and even bring objects like a ringing phone.
For people with epilepsy, a service dog can alert the owner before a seizure occurs and remain close during the seizure to prevent injury.
A service dog can help people with hearing problems by alerting them to noises like ringing doorbells and crying babies.
“Unfortunately other kinds of working dogs like therapy dogs and emotional support dogs are not classified as types of service dogs and do not have the same privileges as service dogs. An emotional support dog must be prescribed by a doctor or psychologist,” Franci says.
The owner of an emotional support service dog must have the correct documentation at hand when going to public places.
“Despite this we can still be refused entry.”
Franci says the public do not always know how to respond when they are near a support dog.
Franci asks whether you would pet a wheelchair, or a person’s walker?
“Support dogs are medical equipment. Do not speak to or make eye contact with a support dog, or distract them in any way. You may ask the person what job the dog does, but do not feed a service dog. Do not feel bad for service dogs, they get plenty of love, attention and playtime when they are off duty.”
