When Good Service Dogs Go Bad

In order to be a service dog, you have to know how to behave really well in public places. At the very least, this involves knowing what NOT to do. No going potty on the floor, no barking at people or trying to bite them, no stealing treats off the shelves, no getting the zoomies. When I am out in public I just trot along with my mama. Sometimes on trips to the grocery store she lets me ride in the cart... she puts her sweatshirt on the seat first because some people are squeamish about a dog riding in a cart... because grocery stores can be really busy and I've come pretty close to getting run over by other people's carts when they weren't watching out for tiny service dogs.

Some service dogs are trained from birth and have to be really serious all the time. For instance, seeing eye dogs cannot mess around, even a little, even when they are tired, if they're supposed to be working. Mama trained me herself, though, and she gives me a little more leeway than some service dogs have. I am perfectly trained to help her, and I have great manners, and she doesn't mind if I do things like sniff the ground while I'm walking. But even though I am usually a great service dog, once in a while I can be a little naughty!

Today we were on our way to go to our aunt and uncle's house, and we were going to stop at the store to get some cottage cheese for our aunt. Mama looked for my service vest but couldn't find it. Then she remembered she left it over at our aunt and uncle's house!

Service dogs don't actually have to wear a service vest or have a badge or anything. But the last time Mama took me into Safeway when I didn't have my vest on, some guy was really mean to us and made Mama nervous. Now she doesn't even really like going into Safeway, but if she does, she wants me to have my vest so I look official. Since she couldn't find my vest with my patches that say I'm an important doggie, she decided to put my winter coat on me! It is red and furry. I've only worn it a few times, in the winter when it was really cold. When Mama put it on me, I looked at her like, "What is this all about? It isn't cold out at all!"

We went to Safeway, and went in, and this is when I realized that I didn't really want to wear my winter coat in the store when it isn't even winter. So I sat down and wouldn't walk. Mama picked me up because she didn't want me to get run over by the shopping carts that were headed right towards me. She carried me around in the store while she got the cottage cheese. Then when we got to the front of the store, Mama put me down and asked me to walk. I walked a few steps, changed my mind, and sat down. I planted my butt on the floor and stared at my mama.

Mama tugged on my leash to get me to come. I sucked my head in, and my collar came off!

Mama fixed my collar and then tried again to get me to come. I stared at her and said, NO!

A lady walked by and smiled at us. She said to Mama, "Look how your dog is staring at you! She just adores you! I love that!"

Mama said thank you, but I think she knew why I was really staring at her.

Finally Mama said, "What is the problem? Is it your coat?" She took my coat off and stuffed it in the pocket of her sweatshirt.

Relieved, I shook off happily. And for the rest of the time in the store, I was a perfect service dog, walking right along with my Mama with a happy smile on my face!

The moral of this story is, if you have a service dog and you want to go into the store but you forgot your dog's special vest at your aunt's house, don't try to trick your dog by putting a winter coat on her, because it won't work, and your dog will go on strike.

With love,
from Lily

Lily Gets Her Own Blog

Hi everyone! My name is Lily, and I am a dog with a blog.
I am already a pretty experienced blogger, because I used to share a blog with my sister Trixie, and my brother Sammy-Joe who, unfortunately, was a cat. Our blog was here, if you ever want to see it. After Sammy-Joe died (which was sad, even though I didn't like him much) we stopped blogging. It didn't seem right to blog without Sammy! Mama had her own blog here, though, which I guest star in sometimes, Then me and Mama moved out here to the Pacific Northwest, and I've been getting to have a lot of adventures lately, so I had the idea to start my own blog!

If you're reading this, then you probably already know me in real life. But if you don't, then maybe I should start by telling you a few things about myself and Mama. My name is Lily. I am a service dog for my Mama, who has autism. I'm not really sure I understand autism that much, because to me Mama is just Mama and if she were any different she'd be someone else instead. But I've heard her tell people that the reason she has a service dog is because she has autism, so I guess to human beings it is important information.

There are lots of different kinds of service dogs. There is probably a service dog for every disability that exists! Service dogs can guide someone who cannot see, alert someone who can't hear well when there are important noises like ringing phones or alarms, bring things to people or even open doors for people who have trouble getting around, alert people with diabetes when their blood sugar is low, alert a person with epilepsy when they are about to have a seizure, help a person with PTSD to feel safe, and probably even more things that I don't even know about!

I'm an autism dog and also a psychiatric service dog. Most of the things I help Mama with are very simple. When she is upset or anxious, just holding me helps her calm down much more quickly. I lick her face and give her tactile stimulation and deep pressure (those are fancy words for, I let her hold me and pet me) to help her get calmed down. A lot of times, I just go and calmly sit or lay next to Mama. I've also been known to do this for other people in my family when I see that they're getting anxious!

Besides these things that I'm trained to do, there are zillions of other little things I do on a daily basis to help my Mama. Probably the best thing I do is act like an "ice breaker". See, Mama feels really anxious around lots of people or around people she doesn't know. She doesn't always know what to do or how to act around people. She really wants to talk to people and be friends with them, but because she acts a little differently (and because she knows she's different so she gets nervous about it and that makes her act even more differently) often either people react badly to her (like staring at her or making confused faces at her) or she just doesn't try to talk to people and just stays isolated. When I am around, I run interference for Mama. People start to stare at me instead of at her. Lots of times friendly people come up and ask Mama about me. She loves to talk about me, so she feels calm and comfortable, and it is a good way for her to have social experiences and make friends.

A good example is when we went to Mama's cousin's wedding last week.

Before Mama and I were together (which was pretty much before I was even born) Mama went to several family weddings in Illinois. Mostly they didn't go so well for her. Mama would be really nervous so she'd just sit quietly in her seat the whole time and try to avoid looking at people. Also the music was usually really loud and hurt Mama's ears, but there was no place for her to escape to. At those weddings  people mostly ignored her. Some people even got irritated with her because they thought she was being rude. They didn't really understand about autism, and thought she should just "act normal." She'd feel really sad because she felt like she wanted to be a part of things and have fun with her family but she just couldn't. See, a lot of people with autism want to be part of things, but it is like there is an invisible forcefield around them that keeps them from really getting to join in.

Last week at her cousin's wedding, I was there with Mama the whole time. Lots of people came up and asked Mama about me, and then she ended up talking to them about all different things. She was smiley and energetic and had fun. When the music got too loud at the reception, Mama had a built-in excuse to go outside... she just said that she had to take me out to use the potty, and that the music was hurting my ears! (Which it really was. Dogs, like people with autism, have sensitive hearing!) We went outside and sat together on the grass, and more people came to pet me and talk to us. Another way that I might be helpful just by being there is that, since I'm a service dog, people realize Mama has some sort of disability, so they are not shocked or offended or scared when Mama needs to leave the room, or when she seems to space out while others are talking, or when she's rocking back and forth in her seat. At any rate, with me there, Mama was able to be a part of the things going on around her, and instead of feeling sad she actually felt happy.

I don't go everywhere with Mama. Many service dogs do, but I don't. Mama works with kids and she doesn't bring me along because she doesn't want the kids to pull my fur or try to pick me up. She says a lot of the time, though, she just imagines me being there next to her, and even that helps. If Mama is just going to the store or something she doesn't always bring me, unless she's really anxious that day. But if it is a big event such as a wedding or a vacation, Mama really needs me there.

Okay that is the end of my first blog entry! I am going to try whining for a few hours to see if I can get Mama to give me some sweet potatoes from the fridge! I hope you all have a good night!

PS... Here is a picture of me and Mama near a cactus. The wedding was in Arizona and this was our first time seeing cactuses in person! Mama touched one and she said it was not as sharp and pokey as she thought it would be. It was sort of like touching pine needles.