Did you know that therapy dogs, emotional support animals and other working canines are not service dogs?

Therapy dogs do an important job. They are also well-trained, friendly, sweet-tempered dogs, but above all else, they are pets. They often volunteer in hospitals, schools, group homes, funerals, disaster areas, etc. Unlike service dogs, they only have access to buildings where pets are allowed.

Emotional support animals can be any species. Their purpose is to provide comfort. These animals are also not permitted special public access.

Facility dogs are a specialized form of therapy dogs. These dogs are often found in counselor’s offices, physical therapist’s offices or anywhere else a professional provides specialized services to numerous people. As with therapy dogs and emotional support animals, facility dogs are not permitted in public places outside the building where they work.

A newer form of therapy dog are courthouse companion dogs. These specialized dogs are trained to work with children (or adults) in the courtroom to provide support when painful or difficult testimony is being given. Outside of the courtrooms that they work in, they do not have public access.

Working dogs, such as search and rescue, military k9s and police dogs are also not service dogs.

Friday, July 30 is considered International Day of Friendship. Celebrate with these ways you can show the people you love the most just how much they mean to you.

Service dogs cannot be identified simply by looking at them. There is not a stipulation on what kind of dog can be a service dog, they can come in all shapes, sizes, colors and breeds if they can effectively execute the tasks needed to help mitigate the symptoms of the disability.

While some breeds are more commonly used as service dogs, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and German Shepherd Dogs, for example, the most important thing is that the dog is handler-focused, desensitized to distractions and trained to be highly reliable to perform specific tasks. Service dogs need to be attentive and responsive to their handlers.

In short, if a dog has the proper temperament, loves to learn, and is physically healthy, then they’re capable of training to be a service dog! Our two SBF graduates pictured left, Sarge (Chihuahua/Yorkie) and Toki (English mastiff), are two great examples of service dog diversity.

Our veteran/dog teams continue training throughout the hot summer months. To help them stay hydrated we are looking for businesses interested in donating cases of water.

Please reach out to contact@soldiersbestfriend.org or call our office 623-218-6486 to coordinate.

Thank you for your support!