Service dogs are playing a very important role in society today.
In truth, every dog is practically a service dog with the way they lift our spirits whenever they run to greet us, play with us, or let us hug them during those times that we feel down. Even the act of petting a dog is sometimes enough to perk us up.
However, while dogs may be a healing presence just by being a dog, service dogs play an even more important role because of the special skills that they bring to the table.
Watch a video of a training service dog who fell in love with Cinderella below.
[rumble video_id=v5hnbp domain_id=u7nb2]
Video credit: Rumble
We already know guide dogs who safely lead their blind owners and make sure they don’t go astray. But there are also dogs who are trained to recognize signs of an anxiety/panic attack which can be invaluable for those suffering conditions such as PTSD.
And then there are service dogs who are trained to work with people who have autism or are not ambulatory. These are all important yet specialized functions and to reach such a level, these dogs need to be specially trained.
Part of service dog training is to interact in social situations to make sure they don’t do something crazy like abandoning their disabled owners because the dog got distracted by something.point 469 |
Dog trainers like taking service dogs-in-training to Disneyland for this exercise but one adorable video has surfaced that showed Elijah, a Labrador and golden retriever mix being trained to become a service dog, absolutely falling in love with Cinderella.point 218 | 1
Ashley Wilt, Elijah’s “puppy raiser,” said, “When he got to meet the characters, he was given his release commands. He really enjoyed meeting them.”
Wilt has been training Elijah since he was 8 weeks old via the Canine Companions for Independence. The organization provides service dogs for free to adults, children, and veterans. Now 21 months old, Elijah was in Disneyland to train him to operate in an environment with many distractions.
“He had to focus with so many distractions. All the kids that want to pet him, and there was popcorn on the floor and crowds,” Wilt said.“Through the trip, he showed how calm and confident he really is.”
Elijah was then brought to meet Cinderella and Winnie the Pooh.
“Winnie the Pooh doesn’t look like a person so it’s important he is not fearful,” Wilt said. “Every outing is better to prepare him for the future. It’s important that he desensitized to any distractions in a park like Disney.”
Elijah absolutely enjoyed the trip and everyone there loved him, too.
“They all seemed to love him. Cinderella even asked if he could spend the rest of the day with her,” Wilt said. “She said it made a great impact on her day.”
[rumble video_id=v3wqyl domain_id=u7nb2]