BY HAILEY LAWSON
SB PETS
Lending a Paw NATIONAL SERVICE DOG MONTH
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eptember is National Service Dog Month, a time to honor the extraordinary work these special dogs do every day for the people they love and serve. A service dog is specially trained to protect, take care of, and be a companion for a person with a disability, allowing them to lead a more independent life.
As well as being devoted and loving, service dogs are specifically trained to perform certain tasks so that a person can manage their disability and live a fuller life. Some service dogs are trained to retrieve objects or help with balance for individuals with physical limitations, while others are trained to give seizure or diabetic alerts. The bottom line is that a service dog is trained to perform tasks directly related to their person’s disability.
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For example, vision support dogs help blind or visually impaired individuals get around obstacles and navigate streets, sidewalks, and crosswalks. Hearing support dogs help alert deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals to important noises, such as doorbells, smoke or fire alarms, telephone, or even an oven timer. Mobility dogs assist individuals with physical disabilities or individuals with balance issues with tasks like turning lights on/off, retrieving objects, and pushing elevator buttons. Medical alert dogs help alert the onset of medical emergencies such as a seizure or low blood sugar or the presence of allergens, and many more medical-type emergencies. Psychiatric service dogs assist individuals with disabilities such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and other conditions. The work performed by these service dogs includes actions like entering dark rooms
