Here is an article that ran in my local paper in Dec 2006. I typed it up after it ran, so excuse any typos! Thought yall might enjoy it!
Dog At Work
Amanda has a working friend, a canine companion who makes her life in a wheelchair a whole lot easier. Callie, a 4-year old golden retriever, can execute 93 commands, from opening a door and turning on the lights to picking up a dropped phone for Amanda.
The retriever also can get items off shelves for Amanda when she shops at the mall and hand the clerk Amanda’s wallet when she is finished shopping so she can pay for her goods. If Amanda needs her to carry her shopping bags, Callie can do that too.
As much as Amanda has come to rely upon, respect and appreciate her companion of two years, she is also frustrated by both rude onlookers and well-meaning folks who don’t seem to understand that service dogs like Callie should not be petted or distracted while they are working.
“I have so many people who randomly pet my service dog or make crude noises directed at her in order to get her attention,” Eads said. “I want to be able to educate people on the proper way to act around a service dog.”
First off, Callie wears a vest when she is out in public with Amanda, and once Callie puts on that vest, her demeanor changes. Callie has a job to do, one she takes very seriously.
When she is in her vest, Callie has been trained not to wag her tail so that she doesn’t knock things over closer to her owner.
Some strangers have commented that Callie looks “sad” or must be “scared” because she has a low-key personality and keeps her tail tucked between her legs in public. Callie has been trained to keep her tail low and quiet when she is working, and not to get too excited by noises or distractions that other people make.
Her job is to focus on Amanda. And that committed, total focus may mean the difference between life and death one day, so Amanda asks that folks practice a few basic manners when they see a disabled person with a service dog.
When you meet a person with a service dog, don’t do anything to interrupt the service dog from performing its tasks.
Callie has a patch on her best that asks people not to pet her when she is working. Even with it on, mothers frequently will allow their children to pet the dog without asking.
Another patch spells out Callie’s name. Amanda is upset by people who clearly see the patches and call Callie by her name and reach out to pet her or allow their children to pet her without asking permission.
Callie’s name is emblazoned on the jacket so that if Amanda is incapacitated and needs help, a police officer or firefighter will know that her dog is a service dog. Knowing its name would help emergency personnel calm the dog and assure it is not left behind but rather is taken with the patient to the hospital.
Amanda cannot count the number of times people have come up behind her when she is standing in line and grabbed the back end of Callie playfully, as if the dog were their own personal playmate.
Callie has become slightly skittish because of this and now will stand and look backward when the two are in line together.
“I think Callie figures that she will watch things from behind us and I’ll be watching out in front,” Amanda said.
Callie was donated to Amanda through Canine Assistants in Georgia, which found two sponsors (DECA and Milk Bone) to pay for the high cost of adopting a service dog. The sponsors donated $10,000, which includes two years of intense training and some costs for food and health care for Callie.
Amanda and her family have picked up some of these general maintenance costs so the money can be returned to help others who need a service dog.
“Having Callie has been amazing,” Amanda said. “I used to be afraid if my parents left me alone here at the house, that I wouldn’t be able to open a door to get out of the house in case of fire or if I dropped the phone, I wouldn’t be able to pick it up again.
“Callie can open the door if I need to get out of the house quickly or pick up the phone for me. She makes it much easier for me to be more independent.”
Amanda suffers from spinal muscular atrophy and has been confined to a wheelchair her entire life. Her disease has left her with no strength.
“I can’t lift more than a pound on a good day. And I am fully dependent on others to get in and out of this wheelchair,” she said.
Unlike people who are blind or deaf or those who have epilepsy, Amanda doesn’t need Callie to be in tune with her every moment of every day. But when someone is distracting a service dog by whistling or clapping their hands, or petting without gaining the owner’s permission first, the dog is not able to completely focus on their charges.
“I usually don’t mind if people pet her, but they should always ask me first,” explained Amanda. “People will pet her or let their kids pet her even after they have seen her vest that says, ‘don’t pet me, I’m working.’
People whistle and smack their lips together to get her attention, and yell her name. This is rude and it distracts her from her job.”
Amanda reminds people that if the disabled person is blind or has epileptic seizures, distracting the service dog under any circumstances can create a dangerous, even life-threatening situation.
The 24-year old, who is a senior at Tarleton State majoring in business management, business administration and human resource management, is in the process of getting her own vehicle.
Callie, who is trained to be with Amanda 24 hours a day, will undoubtedly be in the passenger seat anywhere Amanda decides to go.
Service dogs are not required to wear vests or tags that indicate they are working dogs. But they are allowed nearly every place where the general public is welcome.
Service dogs are permitted to ride in taxis, buses and trains, and they may enter restaurants, theaters, hotels and public schools. A few rare situations exist where the service dog would be prohibited, such as a sterile surgical setting.
If you aren’t sure if the dog standing with a person is a pet or a working dog, ask the handler, “Is this a service dog?”
It is okay to ask what tasks the dog has been trained to do for the handler, but it is not appropriate to ask the person about the nature or extent of their disabilities.
Remember that service dogs are not pets. If you own a business that is open to the public, you must allow a person with a service dog to have access.
If the service dog growls, barks or whines, first determine what happened before taking any action. Perhaps someone stepped on the dog’s tail, causing it to yelp. Also, make sure the dog did not bark in response to the handler’s medical condition.
If other customers in the store complain about the dog being present, explain to customers that service dogs are medically necessary and that federal law permits people with service dogs to have access to public places.
Handlers of service dogs are required to obey local leash and vaccine laws and must have their dogs under control at all times. The trick for pairs like Amanda and Callie, however, is to educate the rest of us to use a couple of heaping tablespoons worth of common sense around them.
There is an old adage that says, “Let a sleeping dog lie.” Maybe a new saying should be added to the lexicon: “Let a service dog work uninterrupted.”
Service Dog Etiquette
Here are some rules for interacting with people with service dogs.
• Speak to the person first. Do not make distracting or rude noises aimed at the service dog.
• Do not touch the service dog without asking permission.
• Do not feed the service dog.
• Do not ask personal questions about the handler’s disability or intrude on his or her privacy. Don’t be offended if the handler declines to chat about the service dog.
There are also 4 pics! One of Callie opening the door in my room... One of her handing me a pen I dropped... One of Callie and I that was on my Christmas card the year I got her... and one the lady who wrote the article took in my front yard of the two of us!
I think overall she did well. I think it gets the point across at least. It was the nicest way to say "Idiots, leave me and Callie alone!"
