Fake Svc Dogs a Growing Problem

Years ago, we were working at an emergency evacuation center when I came across a man sleeping on a cot with a tiny terrier on the pillow beside him. Now, I wouldn't have minded a bit if all the clients had their dogs with them, but the agency had rules. Come to find out, the tiny pup was a "hearing service dog." as the man was deaf. He had no papers proving same, but some peer pressure on a shelter manager allowed the dog to stay. I asked him about his dog's training later, just curious, not official. The man could read lips and answer, although he was a bit hard to understand. He told me she had trained herself to alert him when someone was at the door or his special telephone flashed a message. Amazing! Later, when the crisis was over, the man wrote the most poignant letter to the local newspaper about what it meant to him to have his dog with him at a time when he had nearly lost his home. That very touching, articulate letter was a highlight of our years as disaster volunteers. Some people you just don't forget.