Service Animals:
Rules for Public Interaction
by Clarance Schadegg
The relationship
between master and dog guide is built on hard work and consistent
training. My service animal was trained to guide me and his main
function is to make sure we get to our destination safely. “We
don’t simply pick up the harness and say, ‘Take me to Walgreen’s’ said
Rebecca Kragnes, President of the Minnesota Guide Dog users (MNGDU) in a
recent interview. “Rather, I instruct my guide to go forward, and that
is what he does as we maneuver on sidewalks and around obstacles in our way.” Each
dog that graduates as a guide has undergone at least a year and a half of
training with extremely talented and gifted instructors. These dogs are different
from average pets, and Kragnes cautioned the public about several taboos
when relating to dog guides.
The first taboo is petting
a dog guide. Although some people allow their animal to be stroked
by strangers while on the job, I prefer people to keep their hands
off of my dog while it is in harness. A guide is not a pet. Always
ask somebody who has a service animal if his/her dog can be petted.
If the owner of the assistance animal agrees, he/she will most
likely take time to remove its harness. The harness is what cues
a service animal it is in a working mode. Mrs. Kragness stated, “I want to make sure the bond is solid
between us before I allow that kind of interaction. As a general
rule, never touch, talk to, feed, or otherwise interact with a dog
guide in or out of harness without the handler’s permission.
Some handlers have an absolute no interacting policy.”
Another taboo is feeding
a dog guide. Never feed a guide food other then what it is used
to eating. Frisco, my retired guide dog worked for at least ten
years. He was sometimes slipped food by people who did not realize
how much damage their well-intentioned actions caused both the
dog and the master. After all, I fed him pretty well. But the temptation
for some folks is to feed a dog scraps from their plates, food
they’ve discarded, or to hand-feed the dog a treat
like a cookie. What all people need to be aware of is that a dog
guide is orientated to one type of food. If the service animal is
given something it is not used to, it will get terribly ill. One
day when I was on my way to work, a lady told me that my dog had
relieved himself three times. And each time he discharged a bloody
smelly diarrhea. This was almost fatal for Frisco; it took a week
for him to recover from what somebody thought was an act of kindness.
I missed a week of work to give him around-the-clock medical help.
For the first four days of recovery, it was hard for me to get Frisco
to drink water. The veterinarian gave my dog a week-long prescription
of antibiotics and Imodium LD. Nobody other than the owner should
feed the dog.
Another problem is people who allow their aggressive unleashed pets
to roam loose without supervision. Frisco and I were attacked five
times over an eight year period of time. Though he was uninjured,
some assistance animals experience trauma or bite wounds that sometimes
results in the unwanted and unnecessary premature retirement of the
guide. Owners of aggressive dogs have a responsibility to keep their
animals under control. It takes only a mere seconds for an unprovoked
dog attack, but it may take months or years for the dog guide to
recover from such an incident. Fortunately for Frisco and me, the
aggressive dog attacks were single incidents that took place over
many years and he continued to work until he was ready to retire.
Each of these taboos
is just a basic application of common sense. A dog guide is an
extension of its owner. Interfering with a dog while on duty could
lead to bodily harm of both the dog and the person it guides. “People who are not well informed about etiquette
think nothing of trying to feed, pet, or distract the dog in some
way without obtaining permission. It’s refreshing to see more
and more parents telling their kids they shouldn’t touch a
working dog. It’s even more refreshing and quite amusing to
see kids lecturing their parents about inappropriate interactions
with our guides,” said President Kragnes.
Of course, assistance animals need time to run and romp like any
dog. These service animals like to work, but when the harness
is removed, the helper dog knows it is off duty. These periods of
relaxation are necessary for a balance between work and play.
Other issues which are concerns
of dog guide user groups are long- and short-range travel, public
transportation, access in public buildings, legislation, how to apply
for a guide dog, and helpful tips about how to care for your service
animal year round. To learn more about these and other important
issues, email Kragnes at rebeccak@tcq.net or
visit her Web site at
www.rebeccak.com.
Besides being president
of the Minnesota Guide Dog Users (MNGDU), Rebecca Kragnes is also
a professional musician. She has a variety of CD’s for sale.
To find out how to get any of them, contact Kragnes at the address
cited above.
