Skilled Service Dogs Can Be ‘Game-Changers for the Whole Family’

A new generation of trained canines are ‘life-changing’ for handlers and their caregivers

Julie Goldenberg,

AARP

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Published April 24, 2024

Illustration of person in wheelchair with grocery bag on lap, dog in front carrying another grocery bag

Dave Urban

Malfoy doesn’t have an ordinary dog’s life: The 4-year-old fluffy yellow Labrador retriever was bred and trained for the selfless job of assisting a person who needs him. He can open doors, carry shopping bags, pick items off the floor and handle a credit card at the cash register.

He performs these tasks to help 51-year-old Annmarie Snow-Matera of New York City, who has a mobility disability and uses a scooter to get around. For years, she lived with her mother and relied on a home attendant for help with everyday tasks.

Annmarie Snow-Matera next to service dog, Malfoy, wearing blue Canine Companions vest

Annmarie Snow-Matera describes the help and companionship provided by her service dog, Malfoy, as “life-changing.”

Courtesy: Canine Companions

Every time Snow-Matera’s mother would hear the slightest noise from Annmarie’s floor in their two-family home, she’d rush to her daughter’s side in a panic thinking that she’d fallen and injured herself. The worries and anxiety were a constant presence in her mother’s mind, says Snow-Matera.

That all changed in 2012 when Snow-Matera got Domino from Canine Companions, a nonprofit organization in Medford, New York, that trains and provides service dogs for people with disabilities. She received her successor dog, Malfoy, from Canine Companions two years ago, and describes her experience with these dogs as “life-changing.”

Though Snow-Matera still receives help from a home attendant five days a week for tasks such as bathing and cooking, she now lives alone with Malfoy who is trained to bark and alert others in times of emergency. The arrangement gives Snow-Matera’s mother and home attendant peace of mind. “It gives the caregiver a lot of relief when you don’t have to call on somebody all the time,” says Snow-Matera.

More service dogs in action

If you think you’re seeing more service dogs like Malfoy in public these days, you’re not wrong. The American Kennel Club estimates there are tens of thousands of service dogs nationwide, and that number has been growing as dogs are trained to cater to a growing range of human needs.

“We often think of them as being guide dogs or hearing-assistance dogs, but we’ve come to realize that they can do so much more for individuals with a wide range of disabilities,” says Sheila Goffe, vice president of government relations of the American Kennel Club.

Some dogs have been trained to sniff out — literally — an impending medical issue in their handler, such as low blood sugar or an oncoming seizure. Other dogs can help people with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury by interrupting nightmares or reminding them when it’s time to take medication.

A new breed

Service dogs today go beyond the traditional German shepherds, Labradors and golden retrievers and encompass many breeds, shapes and sizes. Although larger dogs remain best suited to physical tasks such as opening doors and adjusting light switches, dogs of any size can serve in cases when psychiatric assistance or medical alerts for epilepsy or diabetes are needed, says Kerri Rodriguez, assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Arizona. “A Chihuahua can be just as good of a service dog as a golden retriever, depending on the tasks they are trained to do,” she says.

That isn’t to say that just any dog is fit for service. Goffe says the dog must have the ability to maintain a calm temperament around other people, hone new skills and perform reliably in different environments.

Dog wearing blue Canine Companions vest, pulling open drawer next to person in wheelchair

Skilled service dogs can assist with a wide range of tasks, including opening drawers.

Jackie Molloy

In high demand

No government agency regulates the use of service dogs. Assistance Dogs International (ADI), a coalition of service dog organizations around the world, provides some structure, listing the agencies that have completed its accreditation process.

More organizations and nonprofits have gotten into service-dog breeding, training and placement, but they can’t keep up with demand and often carry waiting lists of a year or more. The cost of getting a trained service dog ranges from $10,000 to $30,000, according to Bankrate, although nonprofit organizations raise money to make them affordable or even free for those in need. Private health insurance typically doesn’t pay for service animals. Nor does Medicare. To avoid the wait and expense, some people opt to train their dogs privately, though there is no guarantee that a pet will make a good service animal, says Chris Diefenthaler, ADI executive director.

Dealing with controversy

The lack of unified standards has left the industry vulnerable to exploitation and deception. Anyone can buy a “service animal” vest for their pet for access to places where animals otherwise aren’t allowed, and some people even buy fake certificates online. The problem is that abuse of the system breeds distrust, which can make public spaces less accommodating for people with genuine disabilities.

In response, policymakers have cracked down on service-dog fraud. As of 2022, it was illegal in 33 states to misrepresent service animals.

Helping the handler and caregiver

Studies have found that the benefits of service dogs extend far beyond the handler. According to research by the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Arizona, service dogs can have a positive impact on caregivers, reducing their caregiving burden.

The research team found that mobility and medical alert service dogs deliver unique benefits for caregivers, by performing tasks such as picking items off the ground, helping their handlers navigate the public or accompanying a handler to work, in the case of a medical alert dog.

Diabetic and seizure-alert dogs can be “game-changers for the whole family,” according to Kerri Rodriguez, one of the lead researchers studying the impact of service dogs on caregivers, noting that the dogs helped reduce the anxiety of always being on alert for a medical emergency. Caregivers did cite some drawbacks, Rodriguez found, mostly the added time and energy spent taking care of the service dog — grooming, walking and maintaining its training.

And while a service dog can ease the overall caregiving workload, they can very rarely replace a caregiver entirely. Sheila Robeck, 60, from St. Michael, Minnesota, who has a spinal cord injury and uses a wheelchair for mobility, says she relies on a caregiver just as much as before getting her service dog, Coal, from Can Do Canines almost seven years ago. Still, having Coal is a comfort for Robeck and her husband, whose long work hours mean Robeck often spends weekdays home alone.

“If I did drop my phone [while home alone] and had no access to it, I’d feel really vulnerable,” she says. “[Coal] can’t fix my wheelchair or help dress me, or get me up, but just knowing he’s here is definitely easier on my mind.”