Actually, Cosette has saved her owner's life 7 times I think.Yorkies make wonderful service dogs because they are small and they travel easily. Therapy dogs are different from service dogs and not allowed the same freedoms, but a lot of service dogs are also therapy dogs.
It is not dishonest in the least to take advantage of the service dog laws. They exist because it is recognized that dogs can serve many needs for people. Yorkies make great "signal dogs". They can alert a diabetic of changes in body temperature and chemistry or of when it is time for insulin. They can alert a migraine sufferer of the same symptoms or act as alarm clock for when to take meds. They can help the hearing impaired by being trained to bark at certain noises the owner cannot hear. I know of one person who uses her yorkie for high pitched sounds like a forklift backing up in Costco for instance. Epileptics use yorkies too as do people with social anxiety and high blood pressure.
I actually wish more people took advantage of the law because then the business owners would be more dog friendly and all disabled could fel more comfortable using these animals as "working" animals and feel ashamed or like they are "putting people out". Our yorkies are no more dirty, disruptive or noisy than the average toddler you see in a restaurant. No manager would think of asking the parents of a whining child to leave. In fact, a properly trained yorkie who is accustomed to public places, will behave perfectly in most situations.
You can get a lot of info just by "googling" service dog. It is not required but you can get a laminated service dog card from the Service Animal Registry of America. You can train your own dog. My dogs are trained to bring me my cell phone and my purse in an emergency. It was easy to train.
PM me if you wnat more info or have trouble. |