Dogs with Jobs

My friend has super fast dogs, and they compete in agility. I always imagined that the magnets on the back of her vehicle indicated just how fast they could run: MACH speeds! And C-ATCH: Catch me if you can! Obviously my Border Collie, Duncan, and I didn't get far enough in our brief agility career to earn any titles (he preferred to make up his own courses). But when my curiosity got the better of me and I looked into what, exactly, those letters on my friend's car actually meant, I quickly learned that there are countless titles and certifications that can be bestowed upon our canine companions.

While the concept of energy-based healing might be tough for some people to accept, professional animal trainer and flower essence practitioner Jennifer White of Woodinville, Washington, has a large database of client success stories to draw upon. It includes a 3-year-old service dog who was on the verge of being retired due to extreme car sickness. The dog had exhibited symptoms of nausea – drooling and panting – since early puppyhood, and he never outgrew the problem.

All of our dogs are capable of far more than we ever ask of them. Their senses, especially their hearing and ability to smell, are so highly developed that they can perform feats that appear miraculous to us. Their physical abilities can cause us to gape in awe, as demonstrated by the prowess of highly-skilled Frisbee and Agility dogs. And they have all kinds of talents that, unless we look for them, we may never notice; hidden talents that reveal their versatility and breadth of their potential to think, reason and learn.

House fires are devastating and life-threatening for everyone in the family – including the pets. It’s estimated that half a million pets are affected by fires each year and more than 40,000 die from smoke inhalation. Emergency first responders can provide oxygen to a fading animal, but they usually face the challenge of working with a human oxygen mask, which is difficult to securely fit over a dog or cat’s face.

His real name is Blake, but his nickname is Batman – a handsome gentleman, ready to swoop in on a moment's notice to fight crime in his own special way. Blake is a gorgeous, three-year-old Labrador Retriever employed as a courthouse dog for the Pima County Attorney's Office in Tucson, Arizona. Trained by Assistance Dogs of the West (ADW), and partnered with victim advocate Colleen Phelan, Blake provides support to victims and witnesses of crime as they navigate the vagaries of the judicial process.

There is nothing sadder than the look on my 8-year-old dog Otto's face when he sees me loading my new puppy Woody into the car, on our way to puppy kindergarten classes. This is pretty much the only time I take Woody somewhere and don't ask Otto to come along, too. Otto's expression was so bereft, it got me looking around for some other activity to take up with Otto (and Otto alone).

An immaculately groomed Australian Shepherd sitting at his owner’s feet in an airplane’s bulkhead row. A yappy Malti-Poo in a shopping-cart seat at Target. A furiously wagging Lab-mix in line at the bank. If all three of these fictional Fidos were wearing vests that read “Service Dog,” you wouldn’t give them a second thought. Or would you?

Whether it's the most common violation of these three Acts (ADA, Fair Housing, and Air Carrier Access) or the one that makes advocates for the disabled the angriest is a matter of debate, but the most talked-about abuse of legislation that protects the rights of disabled people has to do with fake service dogs." "

Jeanine Konopelski is a spokesperson for Assistance Dogs International (ADI), a non-profit coalition of more than 100 organizations working together to promote assistance dogs and the benefits they provide to people with disabilities. Konopelski recommends the phrase assistance dog" as an umbrella term that covers a variety of working dogs who are specially trained to aid people in different ways. "

A hot button" topic within the service-dog community is the availability of online prescription letters for emotional-support animals. It's important to remember that an emotional-support animal is required to mitigate a disability. The legal definition of disability is when one or more of a person's activities of daily life is severely impacted. If you are truly experiencing the impairment of a major life function

Life with any dog has its moments of agony and ecstasy. The ecstasy happens when our dogs' behaviors are top notch, and all systems seem to run smoothly. The agony happens when our dogs have an oops" moment

Generally, dogs are bred to do different jobs. Want to herd sheep? You get a Border Collie, not a Cocker Spaniel! Want to go sledding? You look for a Malamute, not a Borzoi! You get the idea. However, not every representative of a specific breed of dog can fill the job description" for that breed. So