When most people think about service dogs, they picture a Labrador Retriever, a Golden Retriever, or perhaps a German Shepherd. They imagine a serious dog with perfect manners, wearing a service dog vest and calmly accompanying its handler through the world.
Then they meet Sunday.
Sunday is an orange toy poodle with purple hair, an anime haircut, endless energy, and enough personality to fill a room. She doesn't look like what most people expect a service dog to look like. In fact, many people assume she couldn't possibly be a service dog prospect at all.
What they don't know is that Sunday wasn't supposed to be here in the first place.
Sunday was what dog breeders call a "whoops puppy." Her litter was the result of an accidental...
The internet is filled with opinions about service dogs. Some are helpful. Some are misleading. Some are simply wrong.
Rather than asking readers to trust us because of a list of credentials, we would encourage them to look closely at the experiences behind the information.
Service Dog Magazine was created by people who have lived the realities of service dog work—the successes, the failures, the difficult decisions, and the extraordinary moments when a well-trained dog changes someone's life.
Over the years, we have evaluated applicants, matched dogs and handlers, trained service dogs, supported teams after placement, celebrated successes, and experienced the heartbreak that comes when a dog doesn't succeed or when a beloved dog leaves for its new home.
Those experiences taught us something important:
Service dogs are not...
That wasn't an advertisement.
That was my father's business plan.
When I was a student at the Assistance Dog Institute in California, one of the best...
Follow Sunday from spirited puppy to reliable service dog as she learns, struggles, celebrates victories, and reminds us that every great partnership begins with...
Housing, Service Dogs, and the Cost of Waiting
People often tell me that housing is different from restaurants or stores.
"If a landlord discriminates against someone with a service dog," they say, "there are laws that protect you."
They're right.
There are.
But my...
A Judge, a Service Dog, and a Question I Still Can't Answer
Who Enforces the ADA? A Service Dog Handler's Courtroom Story
Meta Description: A service dog handler describes being ordered to remove her service dog from a courtroom without question...
One evening I was waiting to be seated at a very nice restaurant when a woman walked in carrying a Chihuahua tucked inside her purse.
The young host greeted her politely and asked the first question businesses are permitted to...
I recently overheard a woman complaining about an Uber driver who told her that her dog needed to ride on the floor rather than on the seat. The woman felt the driver was being unreasonable. The driver likely felt...
