2024 is coming to a swift end, with October already tipping into its last fifteen days. As the days get shorter and colder, we all need cuddly pet stories to keep us warm and cozy. Here are three of the best service dog stories to date.
A Friend Through Life’s Ups and Downs
It’s 2018 in Massachusetts, and an enthusiastic Isabella Scott is ready to start college. The aspiring biology major has been waiting to do so for a while. But there’s an issue: she doesn’t know if she can do it without her best friend and guide dog, O’Hara, by her side.
Isabella was only six when her doctor diagnosed her with early-onset Stargardt’s disease. By eleven, she was declared blind. As someone who’d long loved life and the beauty that came with it, such a diagnosis was nothing if not brutal. But even that wouldn’t stop her from fully experiencing everything the world had to offer.
After spending years with O’Hara as her loyal guide and best friend, it was only fitting that Isabella stepped into the next phase of her life with the loving pup by her side. Four years later, both Isabella and O’Hara graduated, wearing stunning gowns that left their friends and family speechless.
A Dog A Day Keeps the Doctor Away; How About 16?
In Michigan, special ed teacher Karen Storey sought to develop and integrate a dog-centric emotional support system throughout her area’s schools. She’d gotten the idea after noticing just how enamored the students at her school were of her service dog.
With the help of the district’s superintendent, Dr. Greg Gray, Storey set out to turn her dream into a reality. In 2006, her school, Brighton, became the first public school in Michigan to have its very own pack of emotional therapy dogs.
The program has been going strong for almost two decades now. The school district has 16 dogs serving across nine different schools. New pups join the program at eight weeks old, undergoing training before they go off to watch over, guide, and keep the students company!
First Responders for First Responders
Being a first responder can be quite a stressful job, and the Seattle Fire Department developed one of the best ways to combat this stress. Enter registered therapy dogs Bob, Hera, and Zoe, three of the West Coast’s most adorable ‘fire pups.’ The three dogs are all doodles, which the Department’s Lt. Mike Dulas explains as a lucky coincidence.
Most first responders are usually at the forefront of many disasters, regardless of the cause. Be it a flood, earthquake, or a fire outbreak, you’ll be sure to find first responders in the thick of the issue, saving lives and working hard to mitigate property damage. These experiences are usually traumatic and can go as far as causing severe cases of PTSD.
Years of exposure can negatively affect the mind, and with suicide rates rising among many first responders, it has become clear that this issue needs to be curbed before it festers. Dulas and many others like him are thankful to have therapy dogs that help combat the nightmares.
