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As with all of our dogs, the working line
of Show Me Shepherds, are dogs that will improve upon the breed. We
are careful and insistent to only breed dogs with good nerves, hips,
and sound temperaments. These dogs are bred for police work, search
and rescue, herding or service dogs as well as loyal family protectors
and companions. Because they come from some of the finest lines in
Germany, any pup bought from Show Me Shepherds is bred to excel at
Schutzhund training. Although the bloodlines of these dogs, is geared
toward being stable, dependable and confident working dogs, it also
includes dogs trained as and champions of the finest European
Schutzhund lines. We believe this is a MUST for a well balanced and
stable dog...
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The most important piece of information you need to know about therapy
dogs, is what they are not. Therapy dogs are not service (or
"assistance") dogs.
Why does this matter? Well, because
service dogs are vitally important to those people with disabilities
who are fortunate enough to have these wonderful animals. Service dogs
include guide (or "leader") dogs for the blind; hearing dogs, that
alert their owners to sounds; mobility assistance dogs, which may pull
a wheelchair or directly support a person; seizure alert dogs; and
others. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a person with a
disability is entitled to take a service animal with him, or her,
wherever it is needed. Period. You can read more about service dogs at
the sites listed below.
The exact language of the ADA that covers
service dogs, borrowed from a now defunct service-and-therapy-dog web
site, follows here:
Service Animal means any guide dog,
signal dog or other animal individually trained to do work or perform
tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including
but not limited to guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting
individuals with impaired hearing to intruders, providing minimal
rescue or protection work, pulling a wheelchair or fetching dropped
items.
Therapy dogs, on the other hand, perform
their tasks by invitation. The owner of a therapy dog has no more
"right" of access to a hospital, nursing home, or public place than
any other able-bodied person with a pet. (Note that the "right"
accrues to the person, in either case, not to the dog! This is a
crucial distinction that many fail to make.) Most
hospitals and some nursing homes require a lot of paperwork before a
therapy dog sets foot in the facility--the same facility where any
person with a disability has a clear right to enter with his or her
service dog.
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