Every service dog handler has at least one story they hope no one remembers.
This is mine.
Years ago, my daughter Stefanie and I took Otto to one of our favorite waterfront restaurants in Traverse City. It had outdoor seating, live music, and beautiful views of the bay.
Like most summer evenings, it was packed.
Finding a table was difficult.
Keeping one was even harder.
I told Stefanie I was going to get our drinks.
“Watch Otto,” I said, “and don’t let anyone take our table.”
“No problem,” she replied.
When I returned a few minutes later carrying two drinks, something seemed…different.
People weren’t watching the band anymore.
They were all looking toward the water.
Some were pointing.
Others were taking pictures.
I spotted Stefanie talking with several people well away from our table.
My first thought was exactly what I’d warned her about.
Someone stole our table.
I yelled across the patio.
“Stef! Do you have Otto?”
“No,” she yelled back.
“I tied him to the table!”
I stopped.
“Tied him to WHAT table?”
I looked where our table should have been.
There was nothing there.
Then I looked toward the bay.
There, slowly drifting away from shore, was a large patio umbrella.
Attached to it…
…was Otto.
Apparently Otto had decided to investigate something along the shoreline, completely unaware that he was towing an entire restaurant table behind him.
At some point the table had slipped into the water and sunk to the bottom of the bay.
Only the umbrella remained above the surface, sailing majestically behind Otto like some kind of bizarre Labrador-powered yacht.
People rushed toward the dock trying to untie boats to rescue him.
Others simply stood there laughing.
Someone eventually brought Otto safely back to shore.
The table, however, remained at the bottom of the bay.
The umbrella stuck up above the water for weeks, serving as a permanent reminder of Otto’s greatest nautical adventure.
No one asked us to leave.
Honestly, I think everyone was too busy laughing.
We quietly gathered our things and left before anyone could change their mind.
For years afterward, people would stop me around Traverse City and ask,
“Is that the dog with the table?”
Yes.
Yes, it was.
Looking back, it’s one of my favorite Otto stories.
It’s also a good reminder that having your dog “under control” means more than teaching obedience commands.
Sometimes it means thinking ahead.
Could the dog pull that chair?
Could they reach someone’s food?
Could they become tangled in a leash?
Could they drag an entire restaurant table into a lake?
Apparently…
…yes.
Service dog training isn’t just about teaching dogs how to behave.
It’s about learning how to manage situations before they become memorable stories.
Trust me.
If you can avoid becoming known around town as “the person whose dog stole the restaurant table,” I highly recommend it.
