Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Why I Write About Service Dogs


Why I Write About Service Dogs
By Margaret Daley

When I taught students with special needs, I occasionally had the chance to also work with a service dog. They are amazing animals. Dogs are used to help people with various problems, not only with different disabilities (like blindness, epilepsy, diabetes, physical, post traumatic syndrome disorder) but also with helping law enforcement with bomb detecting, drug detecting, suspect apprehension, tracking and cadaver retrieval.

Their scent of smell is keen compare to ours. For example, they can smell a dead person buried in the ground or deep under the water. They can sense things in us that we aren’t even aware of. My vet told me about a service dog that was with his owner who is diabetic at the airport. The service dog indicated a passenger who was forty feet away had plummeting blood sugar, which was the case. Many animals can sense when someone is in need of emotional support, whether in grief, depression or pain.

Have you known a service (or therapy) dog or seen one in action? What kind of dog was it?

Margaret Daley:
Margaret Daley, an award-winning author of ninety books (five million sold worldwide), has been married for over forty years and is a firm believer in romance and love. When she isn’t traveling, she’s writing love stories, often with a suspense thread and corralling her three cats that think they rule her household. To find out more about Margaret visit her website at http://www.margaretdaley.com.

Blurb for Her Homecoming Hero, book 3 in Caring Canines Series:
Home to a Cowboy 
In a split second, a tragic accident ends Kathleen Somers's ballet career. Her dreams shattered, she returns home to the Soaring S ranch…and her first love. Suddenly the local veterinarian, Dr. Nate Sterling, goes from her ex to her champion. With the help of a lively poodle therapy dog, the cowboy vet sets out to challenge Kathleen's strength and heal her heart. He'll show her there's life beyond dance, even if it means she leaves town again. But maybe, just maybe, he'll convince her there's only one thing in life worth having…and he's standing right in front of her. 
Caring Canines: Loving and loyal, these dogs mend hearts.

8 comments:

The Fast Fingers said...

I actually learned about service dog not too long ago, when there was an incident in a mall where a man with epilepsy bring with him a guide dog. It's really amazing how dogs are trained to help people with disability.

Leann Harris said...

I've seen a couple of service dogs, but they were German shepherds. But they did a news piece on our local TV station about service dogs for vets coming home that suffer panic attacks or PTSD. The group who does that uses dogs from the local shelter. In the news piece the dog was a Boston Terrier.

Margaret Daley said...

Service dogs can be a lot of different breeds.

Jennifer said...

I've seen a couple of Golden Retreivers, German Shepards, and some Labs. I'm always amazed on how well the dogs work and seem to enjoy it.

Jackie Smith said...

I love stories about service dogs. As you said, Margaret, there can be a lot of different breeds. My physical therapist has English bulldog that flies with her "to keep her calm"!

Kelly Blackwell @ Heres My Take On It said...

When 19 of our Hot Shot firefighters died fighting the fire here in Arizona comfort dogs were brought in and they visited all over our community here in Prescott. It was amazing seeing these dear golden dogs (I think they were retrievers but I am not sure) come and just provide this tenderness to our community.

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