Amen.

I saw this quoted in a response by someone to an earlier letter in a small newspaper in Northern California today (“Will the real assistance animal please stand up?”).  The response then goes on to talk about how dogs have to be trained for specific tasks to be considered service dogs.

Of course, I don’t disagree with that at all – I would just add that, while there’s no question those tasks are a critical element, a successful service dog placement goes way beyond that. You want a strong support organization with an end-to-end program that starts with a thorough application and screening process, continues right on through training, and, most importantly, finishes with regular follow-up contacts after the placement is made.

So don’t get caught up in the number of commands a particular organization says they train. In fact, when I see top organizations training in the range of 40-50 commands, and someone else saying they train a lot more commands than that, I have to wonder why.  Could be a good reason, could just be they want to be able to advertise they train more commands. Either way, more doesn’t mean better, and that’s not a standard by which you can compare service dog organizations.

You need to look for the total package, and always keep that in mind whenever you see any service dog place on television or in the news, especially when military veterans are involved.