A service dog is a dog that has been trained to meet the individual requirements of a person with a physical disability involving mobility. A service dog is a type of assistance dog. An assistance dog is any dog which helps a person with a disability and includes (but is not limited to) guide dogs, hearing dogs, and service dogs (definitions are adopted from ADA law). Service dogs are legally granted the right to accompany their person in any public area or accomodation.
Service dogs like Kramer can perform many tasks to help their person with a disability. Some of these are:
These are just some of the many ways that a service dog can help. I have found that the emotional support I receive from living in partnership with Kramer is the most valuable of all that he has blessed me with. He also provides a social door that breaks the barriers society has created surrounding disability. I can not imagine life without him now.
Please check out the Do's and Do Not's for people encountering assistance dogs.
Kramer was rescued by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Soon after, he was chosen by Independence Dogs Inc. to begin his life training to become a service dog.
"I spent about nine months at I.D.I. training for the special day when I would get to meet my person. We trained hard everyday and I took trips with Julie (my trainer) and my best dog friends to great places like the mall. I learned how to bring up things from the floor, pull a wheelchair and even open the mall doors. It was great fun and I love working! In June of 1997 I finally got to meet my person, Jenelle, and teach her how to use my harness and all the commands I know. The greatest part of training with Jenelle was working on 'the bond'. We had to work on loving each other lots before working got easy. It took some time for me and Julie to teach Jenelle how to work with me, but we all did it and Jen and I graduated as partners in living on June 27, 1997!"
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