Dogs who help people

The answer is e, all of the above.

Assistance dogs fall into one of three categories. Guide dogs assist blind or visually impaired people by guiding them away from obstacles, navigating through traffic and generally acting as their eyes.

Service dogs perform tasks for the physically impaired, such as helping them get up, operating light switches, retrieving medications and even dialing 911. Some service dogs are specially trained for people suffering from seizures, responding accordingly when they witness a seizure and sometimes even detecting slight changes and predicting when a seizure is about to occur.

The third group are hearing dogs, trained to alert their hearing impaired owners to doorbells, phones ringing, traffic sounds and alarm clocks.

Above all, these highly trained dogs provide safety, support and independence with a healthy dose of unconditional love.

March 9, 2002