This is Herbie who just turned 1 year old on 1/19/2020! He is a Shetland Sheepdog – known as “Sheltie”. This breed is known for herding, intelligence and a very loud bark!
I needed a hearing service dog for situational awareness while I am in my home. I work from home in my own office inside but because of that, I am not always fully aware of my environment at all times. Herbie was intended to become my hearing service dog – a duty he is already doing very well on.
However, I ran into an unexpected problem…
There is a valid ongoing controversary about “fake” service dogs or scams claiming to certify your dog. Herbie is not yet trained by a professional to be a hearing dog but yet he is already doing his service on his own for me.
I don’t take Herbie everywhere – not even on airplanes or public areas – because I have other technology to support me in those environments. I do need his service in my home when I am at work fully focused on the task at hand but would keep me out of “attention” to other areas of my environment. Later after I get a bed ramp for Herbie, I like him to expand his service by sleeping on my bed for night time awareness.
Because there are no regulations or standard in USA on what is considered as “certified service dog”, I have to rely on this statement:
“Service Dogs are dogs that have been individually trained to perform a specific task for individuals who have disabilities. The disabilities can vary greatly, and so do the tasks that the service dogs perform”
Assistance dogs international
What Herbie does for me now is to bark at the following sounds whenever I am working:
- Door bell ringing
- Anything that fell to the floor (chairs, décor, etc)
- My neighbors in the backyards
- Deliveries to my front door
- Laundry washing/dryer being done
- My cats meows
- Animals or birds outside
- Any “knocks”, “thumps”, “clicks”, etc. sounds around the house
So to my readers/followers – would you consider Herbie as my Hearing Service Dog even though he is not “certified”?
Leave your thoughts and answer by commenting on this blog below!
I would consider him to be your service dog, yes! I don’t have a dog, but my two cats unintentionally…
I would consider him to be your service dog, yes!
I don’t have a dog, but my two cats unintentionally help me at home eg. I’ve never missed the delivery of a parcel because of them. I know when someone’s outside my door. I even know when the person who is outside my door is my partner (they get excited!). If the smoke detector starts beeping, they stare at it.
It was difficult for me to find a pet friendly place to rent, and I know there’s no way I’d get an exception if I were to explain how *cats* have helped me be aware of what’s going on at home.
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