Have you wondered how Service Dogs came about?
For anyone who would like to learn more about the origin of Service Dogs, Angel Dogs with a Mission is an excellent book which tells the whole story and we highly recommend it.
Angel Dogs with a Mission: Divine Messengers in Service to All Life
Included in the book, is the story of a special education teacher returning from Turkey and Australia in 1974, to begin work on her masters program in special education. Bonita M. Bergin, PhD from Santa Rosa, California in the course of her studies found her self in discussion with students for ways to get people with disabilities to be come more self-sufficient. Having a lingering impression of animals such as burros and donkeys assisting people with disabilities in third world countries that she had just visited it occurred to her that although burros and donkey would obviously not be feasible in the western world perhaps dogs could be.
In those days no one realized that dogs could become indispensable companions for people with disabilities.
Guide dogs had been used for decades to lead blind people around obstacles and to alert them to street curbs and traffic. But the concept of helping people with disabilities was considered impossible, even by those who trained dogs for the bind. Bonita Bergin was the one person who knew it could be done, and thanks to her persistence and dedication Service Dogs around the globe are helping people with disabilities everyday. Angel Dogs with a Mission is a good read that fills in all the details and how it all came to be. As well as sharing the experience, strength and hope of some incredible people with some incredible service dogs that could only be deemed angels after reading this book.