Animals can do a lot more than look adorable. They also have very important jobs helping people live their lives. Animals that are trained to help people are called service animals. There are several types of service animals. Service dogs are trained to help people with physical disabilities, like helping blind people walk safely around the city. Emotional support animals are trained to help those with mental health disabilities. The animals
provide emotional support that i important for the owner’s mental health. A therapy animal is also trained to assist with mental health and emotional support. They often visit hospitals and nursing homes to help make people happier.
In the United States the first official jobs that dogs had were with police and military units detecting danger and helping stop criminals.
Dogs have been working with humans for centuries doing things like guarding homes, animals and herding sheep.
The first dog guide school opened in the United States in 1929. Service animals are allowed in many places that regular pets cannot go.It is very important not to distract a service animal while they are working.
Dogs are the most common type of service animal, but other animals like miniature horses can be trained, too.
Training a dog to be a service dog can cost around $24,500.
Golden Retrievers and Labradors are the most commonly used breeds, but any breed can work if the dog has the right personality.
Being a service dog isn’t easy. It takes a lot of hard work from both trainers and the animals. The training process usually takes one to two years. It begins by just teaching the dog how to behave in public spaces through commands like stay, wait, sit, come, leave it and heel. Only dogs that behave very well in public can be used as service animals. The second step is training them in tasks that are specific to the disabilities that they will be working with like to warn the owner that a seizure is coming.
For more information, visit the following sites: http://www.facts-about-dogs.info/Service_Dog_Facts.html, http://www.serviceanimalassociation.org/service-dog-facts/ & http://victimsofcrime.org/docs/nat-conf-2013/history-of-service-dogs_fossum.pdf?sfvrsn=2
