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UWRT 1102-010
Debra Jizi
Kristel Hicinbothem
20 April 2016
How Are Dogs More Than Just Pets?
According to what I hear from most people, dogs arent important. We tend to think of
them as just useless animals that some people just have as pets. But to me, dogs are so much
more. They can help people and they deserve to be appreciated so much more. I have always
loved animals, especially dogs. I wanted to know the importance of service dogs and how they
help people, so I chose this as my topic. I went to school with a girl who owned a service dog.
That dog went everywhere with her. I was confused why she needed one because she didnt seem
like she had a disability, but I thought it must be nice to be able to bring her dog everywhere with
her. I later found out that she had a service dog because she had diabetes. Her dog was able to
sense when her blood sugar level was getting low and was able to help her. This fascinates me so
much and is the main reason that I wanted to research and learn more about service dogs. I want
to better understand how and why dogs are important and are more than just pets.
This research could help all of us who arent aware of all of the important things about
service dogs. We tend to not know why we arent allowed to pet them or feed them. This project
will help me to better know the different kinds or service dogs and why some people try to deny
access to those with service dogs. Many people are affected by service dogs so this research
could benefit to everyone.

According to Melissa Winkle, Terry Crowe, and Ingrid Hendrixs article Service Dogs
and People with Physical Disabilities Partnerships: A Systematic Review, dogs that assist those
who are blind or have visual disabilities are specified as guide dogs. (Sachs-Ericsson et al., 2002;
Assistance Dogs International, 2009a) Dogs that assist those who are deaf or have hearing
disabilities are called hearing dogs. (Guest et al., 2006; Assistance Dogs International, 2009b).
Dogs that assist people who have mobility problems, diabetes, seizures, autism, etc. are known
as service dogs. (Assistance Dogs International, 2009c). (Winkle, Service Dogs). Before this
research project I didnt even know that service dogs were categorized in different categories
according to the patients disability. This is a small amount of different types of service dogs and
it made me wonder how many more different types of service dogs there are which led me to my
next source.
On the Service Dog Central website it explains that there are the typical service dogs,
therapy dogs, and emotional support animals. Out of those 3 main categories, there are many
different service dogs for different handicaps. These include guide dogs, hearing dogs, autism
dogs, seizure alert dogs, mobility dogs, and psychiatric service dogs. (Therapy Dogs) Although
Im sure there are even more, these are the main ones I found in my sources for my research.
People just look at service dogs and see them as useless, but that is not true. Service dogs are not
just there to look cute and make their owner feel happy. Making their owner feel happy is usually
one trait that a service dog is functional for but that is not the most important.
In the Service Dogs and People with Physical Disabilities Partnerships: A Systematic
Review article, it stated that Service dogs help by opening doors, helping people undress,
retrieving dropped items, and even helping their patient stay balanced. Service dogs can even go
for help when there is obviously a crisis situation going on. (Assistance Dogs International,

2009c). Not only do service dogs positively influence the person with the disability, but they also
influence people around them. Communities are more positive and service dogs tend to bring in
more socialization. This is important because it shows another reason why dogs are so important
and how they can help other people. Studies have shown that those with physical disabilities that
are accompanied by a service dog have revealed to have increases in their self-esteem, more
control of their emotions, and just an overall more positive affect of their well-being. (Winkle,
Service Dogs)
The National Service Dogs Advanced Training video shows how dogs are trained to
become service dogs and for how long they are trained. The service dogs are mostly trained in
public places to get them used to focusing while a bunch of different things are going on around
them. They will train them to not run after balls going by them and to not eat random food that is
not given specifically for them. This is important so the service dogs do not get distracted by toys
or food when their partner could be in danger. For kids with autism, the dogs tend to act as
anchors and can calm their owner when they are having melt-downs. Kids with autism can look
to their dog as their friend and can be calmed by their dog when no one else can calm them
down. (Autism Dogs) There are people that appreciate dogs the way I do. They volunteer to help
dogs in many different ways, but the thing that stood out to me the most was that people
volunteer to help train service dogs. The volunteers dont get to keep the dog but they train them
to make them be able to help people who need it.
In the From Puppy to Service Dog: Raising Service Dogs for the Rehabilitation Team
article, it was said that it used to be extremely hard to get a service dog. Now with more
volunteers and dogs, it has become a lot easier to receive one. Still, people who have had a
disability for a long period of time are more likely to receive a service dog. With that said,

anyone who could benefit from a service dog would be considered a candidate of owning one.
According to this artifact, research has shown that 47% of those with service dogs were found to
have improved health, even when their conditions were not supposed to improve. Before a dog is
placed with his new owner, there is a team training session. The session is organized by the
Canine Companions for Independence, which is an organization that betters the lives of those
with disabilities by helping provide them with highly trained service dogs. This session lasts two
weeks and is important to see how the dogs interact with the candidates and see which person
gets what dog. (Modlin, From Puppy to Service Dog) If you look at the big picture service dogs
can even help with physical health and that, to me, is amazing.
As stated in "Federal Service Dog Lawn in Plain English.", laws have been enforced by
the government to help those with service animals. These laws include being allowed access to
public places with your service dog: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), being allowed air
transportation: Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), and even being allowed housing in a public
district: Fair Housing Amendments Acts (FHAA). (Grace. Federal Service Dog) These laws are
incredibly important because without them, those who are accompanied with service dogs would
hardly have any rights. This is important to me because if I was in this organization I would want
to make sure that everyone and their service dogs get the respect and rights that they deserve.
They deserve them just as much as everyone else.
With all of this research, I found that it is true that dogs are more than just pets. They can
help us in ways that sometimes not even other humans can. They are not only animals, but they
are our companions.

Ive learned so much throughout this project that I had no idea of prior to it. I thought that
dogs were special and that they were more than just pets so I wanted to help prove that to myself
through research. I have come to appreciate dogs even more and with the research that I found, it
persuaded me even more to think the way I already do. I had very limited information about
service dogs prior to this project and now I know a lot more. I understand the different kinds of
service dogs, the laws for service dogs, how they are trained, and how they help people. If I was
to continue researching about this topic I think the next thing I would look up are the average
ages of people who have service dogs. I remember mostly reading about younger people having
service dogs so I would assume the age is probably younger. Also, I wonder how long most
people have their service dog and if they get multiple ones if something happens to their current
dog.

CITATIONS
1. Winkle, Melissa, Terry K. Crowe, and Ingrid Hendrix. "Service Dogs and People with
Physical Disabilities Partnerships: A Systematic Review." Occup. Ther. Int. Occupational
Therapy International 19.1 (2011): 54-66. Web.

2. AutismDogs. "National Service Dogs Advanced Training." YouTube. YouTube, 2013.

Web. 12 Apr. 2016.
3. Modlin, Susan. "From Puppy to Service Dog: Raising Service Dogs for the Rehabilitation
Team." Rehabilitation Nursing 26.1 (2001): 12-17. Web.
4. "Therapy Dogs International Discriminates Against the Disabled." Types of Working
Dogs. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
5. Grace, Kea. "Federal Service Dog Lawn in Plain English." Anything Pawsable. Web. 03
Apr. 2016.