Falzone - service puppy in training

I worked with two service dogs a few days ago. One, Porter, is a Police dog trained to find drugs. The other, Boomer, is a seeing eye dog. Each in their own way expressed their absolute joy with their work. I am drawn to share their stories because so often I hear people express sadness and pity for the service animals they see. Don’t get me wrong – most of the time these people are very respectful of the benefits the service animals provide their handlers, but they feel bad in some way for the animal’s life. There seems to be a perception that service animals are forced into a life of melancholy and servitude.

Here’s my perspective from working with many service animals over the years. The animals we see working – the seeing eye dogs, law enforcement animals, dogs trained for those in wheel chairs, etc. are working animals because they *choose* to be working animals. It’s true. Those that go all the way through their rigorous training programs make it because they *want* to be working animals.

When I met Porter, the drug dog, I had barely introduced myself to him before he exclaimed – in capital letters I might add – that he LOVES his work! Everything else we talked about after that was secondary to him. It was most important for him express his appreciation to his handler for challenging him in a way that is very fulfilling for him. After Porter took the opportunity to share his love for his work and his handler, his handler shared his story. Porter was a rescue who had some false starts early in life before finding his true purpose. He went through the police officer training program and had been with this handler for only a few months but has quickly become the star drug dog in the region. Just like many humans I know, it just took a little time for Porter to find his true calling, and now that he has he can’t wait to be on duty!

Boomer is seven years old and has been with the same handler since graduating his training program about 5 years ago. Boomer’s expression of fulfillment in his work was very different from Porter’s exaggerated enthusiasm, but it was clear nonetheless that he, too, is doing the exact work he chooses. It was magical for me to watch Boomer and his handler interact. They are truly ”a match made in heaven” with mutual respect and admiration for one another. When Boomer was off his halter, signaling off-duty time, he explored and sniffed and greeted me enthusiastically. As soon as he heard and saw his handler start to reach for his harness, Boomer was at her side immediately. Boomer’s response when asked if there is anything he needs from his handler was  “don’t forget that it’s warmer now and so help me stay cool” and “use me more if you need me more – I’m here to help.”

I work regularly with a few service dog puppy raisers. Very often the puppies orchestrate their destiny, and they generally know very early on if they want to be service dogs or not. One of my first experiences with a puppy-in-training was a little girl-dog about six months old. She had been with her puppy-trainer for about three months when I consulted with them. After covering a few topics about expectations, behaviors, food preferences, etc. the raiser asked “does she know she is training to be a service animal, and what does she think of it?” Without skipping a beat this little girl said “I LOVE IT! I’m really good at it and I’m going to get better. I’M GOING TO BE A STAR!” Her enthusiasm was a little shocking for both her guardian and for me. Sure enough, 18 months later she graduated from the program at the top of her class and was placed in a loving home desperately in need of her assistance.

Others, when asked the same question, have been uncertain in a variety of ways – one wasn’t sure he wanted the responsibility; another would rather be a puppy-mom; one had some control issues and he wasn’t too keen on having to be at a humans beck and call all the time. You guessed it - in every case these uncertain puppies were dismissed from the program for some reason before reaching graduation day.

So the next time you see a service animal in working mode, be respectful and don’t distract them, but send them gratitude and appreciation for their awesome role in their chosen work. And do so without pity or sadness. They have found their calling and they are doing work they truly love.

Tags: animal communication, animal rescue, Dogs, interesting professions, service animals, special needs