Letter to an Editor – - 1 April 08
Posted by turtlemom3 in Behavior, Going Places, Law, PAALS, Partnership, Responsibility, Service Dogs, Support PAALS.trackback
I saw an interesting letter to the editor in the Pottsville PA newspaper, the Republican & Herald yesterday. (I have a Google search widget set to scan for service dog news and this came up.) A 4th grade class invited a blind man to come to school and show how his guide dog helps him. In response to a very positive experience, the man wrote a glowing letter to the editor.
This gave me another great idea to add to my list of orientations. When my Woof gets here, I’ll write a letter to the various teachers in the Elementary and Middle Schools in our County, offering to come to their class and talk about service dogs and show how my Woof helps me. Of especial importance will be to explain that one must always ask before talking to or petting a working service dog. I will show the difference in my service dog’s personality with and without his vest. When he is working, he must not be played with, or he could become confused and not help me when I need to be helped.
People who have a service dog have responsibilities to their community – to educate people in their community about service dogs, and to help raise awareness and money for the organization that provided their dogs.
Oh, I will be a busy beaver!! But it will be well worth it! I will have a great purpose in life again! How wonderful! I can support PAALS and still be working with Woof!
So, if a working dog has his vest on, he knows he’s on the job. Conversely, if he does not have his vest on, he knows he’s off duty?
Exactly right! They learn very early on that the vest means “good manners,” “concentrate,” “work.” As they train, the vest means “Work time!” So it’s important to have that vest available, and to always use it when training and when working. Then, when you take the vest off, it’s “Play time!” Think of the vest as the service dog’s “uniform.”
thanks for the question – that was a good one!