It seems the two most popular topics on this blog are (1) working with rescue dogs and (2) service dogs for Crohn’s disease.  And, yes, those can  be combined into one topic.  A rescue dog can make a good service dog, with some caveats.

The good thing about employing a rescue dog is that, Lord knows, if any dog needs a job, it’s the dog who has been rescued.  Might as well, in my opinion, rescue him all the way with employment that helps create self-esteem.  For the lucky lucky person who does not need a service dog – we who do salute and envy you – find other work for your dog.  He can fetch dropped items for you even if you are capable of fetching them yourself.  He can learn to bring a soda from the fridge, or gather the laundry your children leave all over the house and drop it in front of the washing machine.  He can be trained to put his own toys away.  And to behave as unobtrusively as a service dog at outdoor cafes.  The more he learns, the happier he’ll be.  And if he can actually help with a disability, so much the better.

Do dogs know you have Crohn’s disease? a reader asked.  Yes, they know you are hurting.  And where.  No, they do not know that the hurting was named for Dr. Crohn, who, by the way, misdiagnosed me many many years ago.  Words, as I have noted previously, don’t mean that much to dogs.  Labels mean nothing to them.  But they are good diagnosticians and are predesposed to helping us.  We are, after all, their pack.  (Don’t tell on me – I used a four letter word.)   And much of their behavior is for the survival of that four letter word.  Do they think we’re dogs?  Let’s not trivialize their intelligence.  They think we are pretty cool and they want to keep us that way.  We are a mixed species pack and they no more think we are dogs than we think they are people, even if we say we are their mommy.

The not so good thing about using a rescue dog as a service dog that while what you see is what you get, and while they (and we) carry around the past, it’s not alway that visible and it’s not always visible right away.  With an older dog, there may be triggers that haven’t yet shown themself, surprises but not exactly like birthday presents.  So the rescue service dog needs more careful monitoring because he may not have been given the opportunity to make good decisions on his own.

The well-bred puppy you purchase to raise and train as a service dog may have issues as well.  She may not take to the job, believe it or not.  She may grow up to be all play and no work, shy in public, less caring than you hoped, not fit enough to work all day.  She also won’t be able to work for a long time, until she’s grown up, until she “gets it.”

Either way, there are benefits and risks, like much else in life.  And like much else in life, there are no guarantees of success.  But the pay off is glorious.  There may be a little extra pride when your working dog is admired, saying he’s a rescue.  There may be a little extra pride the other way, saying you trained your service dog yourself.  Either way, words don’t quite cover what it feels like to get help where there had been none.

drawing from DO BORDER COLLIES DREAM OF SHEEP?