1) It costs money to fund raise and go to service dog training.
We obtained Riley’s dog through an organization called 4 Paws for Ability. Through the generosity of friends, family, neighbors, blog readers and our community we raised 11 thousand dollars in order to obtain Jingle for Riley. Free dog for us, right? Hold up.
We also paid almost $2500 out of pocket for our ten day hotel stay during training, fund raising efforts, hall rental for the benefit concert held, food and door prizes,(though much was also donated), and postage and supplies for several mass mailings. The list goes on and on.
Many families fund raise for these additional expenses. We had the means, and people had already been so generous we felt we could not ask for more donations. But Jingle did not come “free” to us.
2) A service dog is still a dog. They are not robots. They are not slaves. They will not behave perfectly all the time, especially if you don’t continue to work with them.
3) It will take a while for your child’s dog to respect you and trust you, and mind you consistently.
4) Positive praise always works better than negative, (you know, like with children).
5) People will give you unsolicited advice, about whether they think your child needs the dog or not, and later about what training methods you are using with the dog. A thick skin is required.
6) People will stop you endlessly to ask questions once you have your child’s dog. This is mostly cool, but some days you won’t feel like being the service dog ambassador. Some days you’ll wish you could just read your book while your children take dance lessons.
7) You don’t own your child’s dog. Technically, Jingle is the proud property of 4 Paws for Ability. We must send in yearly paperwork, complete with vet check reports and proof we’ve actually been working her as a service animal. If Jingle gets lost, her microchip doesn’t give our #, they call 4 paws.
8) There is no guarantee your dog will be allowed in your child’s school and you might face a big legal battle if you decide to go that route. We opted to homeschool for this and other reasons.
9) Most people we meet are loving,curious, accepting,welcoming and thrilled about service dogs.
10) You will have no idea how great it is, watching your child bond with their dog. We find out a lot about what’s going on in Riley’s mind, by listening to her speak in “Jingle’s” voice. They get closer every day. It’s a beautiful thing, and totally worth it.
Lots of kids are still waiting for their dogs. Read their stories here if you’d like to help.
Todd took Riley to clay class this week and there was trouble. She’d missed last week because Seth was home sick and I couldn’t bring him along with a sore throat. So, alas, she was behind. She melted. Todd tried to soothe her all the while calling for Jingle, who had been previously given the down command on her mat. Jingle didn’t come. Todd couldn’t believe it. Jingle is very obedient. It’s a small room, but visibility is blocked due to a big table in the middle of it. Especially if you are on the floor. Finally Todd got up from the screaming Riley, looked over and noticed a little boy had hold of Jingle’s leash, and he wasn’t letting go.