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 breeding at a dog show. To protect her breeding program and pedigree, the breeder planned to euthanize the puppies. Instead, I paid their veterinary expenses and adopted Sunday.
At the time, I had no idea she would eventually become the face of Service Dog Magazine.
I’ve trained service dogs for decades. Through Service Dogs International, I’ve worked with mobility assistance dogs, trained and certified service dog teams, and helped individuals with disabilities find the right dog for their needs. During that time, I’ve owned and worked with many remarkable dogs.
Yet Sunday is unlike any dog I’ve ever known.
She is constantly happy. Her tail rarely stops wagging. She loves attention, loves food, loves people, and believes that every day is the best day of her life.
She also gets spectacular zoomies, annoys people by jumping on them, refuses to stay still when she’s excited, and has very strong opinions about anyone who tries to restrain her.
In other words, she’s not perfect.
And that’s exactly why I chose her to become the face of this magazine.
Most service dog training videos show polished, highly trained dogs performing exercises flawlessly. What they don’t show are the mistakes, frustrations, setbacks, and funny moments that happen along the way.
Sunday will.
Through Service Dog Magazine, you’ll be able to follow her journey as she learns, succeeds, fails, surprises me, and occasionally drives me crazy.
Most importantly, she’ll help demonstrate a truth that many people overlook:
Service dogs don’t have to fit a stereotype.
They don’t have to be a certain breed.
They don’t have to look a certain way.
What matters is whether the dog has the temperament, training, and ability to perform the work required of them.
Sunday may not be what people expect.
But then again, that’s kind of the point.
