Muffy Davis never goes anywhere without Leibe. He is her partner. He has black hair, strong shoulders, and brown eyes that are so sad you would think he must be contemplating world hunger. He drools when he sleeps. He is quiet and understated despite his size. Don’t underestimate him though; he is loyal and ready to help Muffy any time.
Muffy is a paraplegic, and uses a wheelchair. She is incredibly strong and independent, and with Leibe at her side, capable of almost anything. He can help pull her if a hill or ramp is particularly steep. He can open doors, pick up something that is dropped, find something that is needed, and can introduce people to Muffy who might’ve been too nervous or awkward to introduce themselves.
Leibe travels, stays at hotels, goes to restaurants. Sometimes Leibe won’t be allowed in a restaurant or store for various reasons—most of which can be traced to ignorance of the critical role that service dogs play for people like Muffy.
Making the Connection
Bred and trained by Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), Leibe (a Labrador) was bred specifically to have a quiet, non-alpha personality and an aptitude for learning. Muffy applied for a service animal through Canine Companions. The application is very thorough to ensure the best possible match. After both phone and in-person interviews, Muffy was placed on the waiting list for a service dog. Muffy was on the waiting list for eight years, an unusually long time, due to moves and being unable to make it to the two week training sessions. Typically, the waiting time is two years.
The dogs – labs, golden retrievers, or mixes – are bred by Canine Companions. Once weaned from their mothers, they go to live with puppy-raisers for about one year to learn basic commands and socialization.
Following that year, they go to advanced training for nine to eighteen months at one of Canine Companion’s five regional centers. At advanced training, they learn about fifty complex commands, such as: pull, open, retrieve. At any time the dog can be dropped out of the program for less than excellent behavior or temperament. The dogs that complete the program are the “Ivy League graduates.”
Muffy met her “Ivy Leaguer” for the first time at her two-week team training session. Along with five to 15 other people, Muffy learned Canine Theory (training the people to understand and command their dogs) and dog training. Canine Companion trainers are expert in their ability to match person and dog with each other, and the first several days they matched Muffy with different dogs to see how well they worked with each other. After about five days, the verdict was in: she and Leibe were a couple.
Types of Service Dogs
CCI trains four types of assistance dog teams: service teams, hearing teams, skilled companion teams, and facility teams. A service team is a team in which the dog helps someone with a physical or mental disability perform a basic, practical task such as turning light switches on or off, helping pull its owner, retrieving dropped items, etc.
With a hearing team, the service dog will alert its hearing-impaired owner to noises like smoke alarms or the doorbell. A skilled companion team usually involves an individual with a higher level of disability who cannot give commands due to vocal or cognitive disability. The service dog in this team will serve to help the disabled individual, but the boss or command-giver would be another person, such as a parent. A facility team involves a dog who helps someone who works with people with disabilities. As directed, the dog will work with disabled patients in various capacities and roles.
Leibe and Muffy are a service team. Leibe assists Muffy with daily tasks. He has a ‘pull’ command where he can help Muffy push over a long distance. He can retrieve specific items from the fridge or ground. Leibe also knows a special command: the “brace” command. He braces her legs when she gets in and out of her chair, so she doesn’t slip and fall. Muffy hopes to start a family soon. When she does, she sees Leibe as an extra set of hands.
Muffy has never had problems bringing Leibe on an airplane or taxi, although she’s occasionally encountered difficulty at hotels and some stores. Muffy credits these difficulties to lack of education about service animals and their rights.
And for those not familiar with service animals, you may want to share these etiquette pointers:
• always ask to pet the dog first
• never feed it
• don’t whistle or distract the dog from its important work
Keeping these three points in mind will make it easier for those individuals who rely on their canine companions to share information and welcome your interest.
Image: Kim W. Bachman, www.rightsidephotography.com
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For more information about service animals, check out Helper Monkeys: The Greatest Assistant You’ll Ever Need.
Man experiences new life after he finds a match with a service dog. Read his story in My First Year with Merlin – Nothing Less Than Magic.
