I remember this lady who I had met in the mental hospital & lived near me in California, raised dachshunds. She claimed it as her service dog.....in reading the guidelines where they have to perform at least 3 tasks to be considered that, I am sure that her little dachshund was incapable of doing even 1.

This was at least 10 years ago & she was forever fighting with the bus system who would continually kick her & her dog off the bus.

It will be wonderful when they get therapy dogs in place. I know that I take my one eskie that I have a bond with everywhere I go (partly because he creates a problem when I leave him at home) but I also feel safe with him. Anyone comes near me & he is right there ready with a growl or a snap if they come too close. There were many times when my anxiety was too great to leave the house without him too....but a dog that snaps at people isn't what is needed either....it would need to be on command & nothing more for his to be considered a quality therapy dog in my book.

I have obedience trained several dogs & there are definitely some breeds that work better than others for service & for therapy.

My little eskie I had trained to the point where she was certified to take into nursing homes & hospitals to visit sick patients.....all she wanted to do was love them & all they wanted was to hold her in bed with them.....it was beautiful.....her leg got broken & she got grumpy......now she growls all the time she is licking you with love....but that is not a safe thing for people to deal with a growling dog.....needless to say, she no longer visits nursing homes.

When my grandparents were in a nursing home, I was always taking in my first 2 eskies who were obedience trained.....they did very well with the patients even though they weren't certified, the nursing home allowed me to bring them in under tight control.....they loved the attention & the people loved them.

It will be wonderful when they get the standards set for the therapy dogs, as I don't need a service dog with no disability that a dog would have to care for.....my disability is anxiety/depression which a dog does help is going out among people......but that would fall under the therapy rather than service.....it has been hears already & they don't seem any closer to having the standards than 10 years ago when I was looking into it.

Maybe some day?????