[bluedog103]

Originally Posted by Mr. Grampi II

I have a brother with multiple sclerosis and he has a service dog that he received from an accredited agency- "Paws with a Cause" in Michigan, her name is Cookie . She was trained to help my brother remove his coat. There are pull straps in my brothers home and Cookie open doors, pick up the phone, opens the dryer and takes out clothes and drops them in the laundry basket. When my brother is alone and falls, she is trained to crawl under him and help him up. Without her, he can not maintain the basics functions of life and more importantly keep his dignity.

Cookie is like any other black lab, she is rambunctious and the "life of the party" until she puts on her service vest and then goes to work. It is like kryptonite to her normal personality, she is at attention, almost like a soldier. When she is in "work" mode there is no way you would see her as a regular dog. She goes into restaurants she is pretty much invisible and better behaved than some adults and children.

There is a big easily, recognizable difference between accredited service dogs and self styled, self appointed "comfort dogs", the Yorkie on someones lap because it is comforting to them

What would a service dog assisting a veteran suffering from PTSD look like?