Tell us about your background and why you got into training service dogs.
“I’ve been pet training for 20 years and service dog training for 17 years. Pet training was something I started in college, but I learned to train my own service dog around 2004 when I started experiencing seizures. In 2008, when my daughter, Cassidy, was diagnosed in utero with spina bifida, I knew I would eventually train one for her. That was when I started training service dogs for other people. My [now] husband is a permanently disabled combat veteran. He hired me to train his service dog in 2012, and by that time, I had trained 20-30 service dogs. Now, we’re training 50-100 service dogs a year.”
Explain the distinctions between an Emotional Support Animal and a Service Animal.
“There's a misconception that emotional support animals are service animals, and they’re not. An emotional support animal is only required to provide comfort to its owner at home; they do not have public access rights. Service dogs are required to be task-trained to mitigate a disability, and the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA] specifically states that comfort is not a task. Sirius [pictured] is trained to alert to oncoming seizures. Among other things, he also does blocking techniques - something I typically train for people with PTSD.”
How do you know if a dog has the temperament for service training?
“There are temperament tests you can do as early as ten weeks. There are also more successful breeds; there’s the ‘Fab Four,’ but the fourth breed changes depending on who you ask. The top three are: Standard Poodle, Golden Retriever, and Labrador. You can also find a service dog puppy from a breeder with a history of producing service dogs. One breeder I work with has trained dogs for the federal government. She’s what we consider an “ethical breeder,” meaning she has multiple generations of health testing. It’s important to note that Embark testing is not health testing; that’s testing for rare genetic disorders. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) and PennHIP are the two accepted health testing agencies.”
What kind of tasks do you train service dogs for?
“The service dogs for military and first responders, or individuals with PTSD, are trained to recognize things like increased anxiety, disassociation, or nightmares; they can do pressure therapy and blocking techniques, false alerts, ‘get help,’ physical protection, or pre-checking a space for intruders. We also train for things like seizures and physical limitations. I’ve trained diabetic alert dogs and service dogs for life-threatening allergies. One dog I’m training right now, Katie, her handler is a four-year-old boy who is so anaphylactic to dairy that, even if you’ve washed your hands after touching dairy, you can cause a reaction by touching him. His service dog can pick up on microns of dairy protein; there is no medical device that can do that.”
What sets Mission: Service Dog apart from other training operations?
“Our goal is to train service dogs that exceed the ADA guidelines for assistance animals. We serve all cases, but prioritize for combat-wounded veterans and children with disabilities; a lot of organizations won’t work with pediatric cases. I also sit on the committee for the International Association of Canine Professionals: Service Dog; we’re working towards establishing certification standards for service dogs.”
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Contact:
Lola Carter, President and Founder
www.MissionSD.org
missionservicedog@gmail.com
"We're gentle but effective. Our goal is to train service dogs that exceed the ADA guidelines for assistance animals."