MACHIAS, Maine — A new course being offered this fall at the University of Maine at Machias will teach students the intricacies of matching canine companions with people dealing with disabilities ranging from blindness to Alzheimer’s.
Kathy Hecht has a degenerative back problem and gets around with the help of a sturdy Irish wolfhound service dog that helps her maintain her balance and assists her with mobility. Long before a car accident left her disabled, Hecht was training dogs to help meet the needs of those with disabilities. This fall she will share her insights with students in Machias and, through an interactive television network, remote students throughout the state.
“The list of disabilities that can be assisted by well-trained service dogs continues to grow,” Hecht says. “It ranges from blindness, deafness and wheelchair assistance to medical alerts for seizures and Alzheimer’s. Dogs for Alzheimer’s patients can be trained to help reorient them, so that they remember where home is, or to search and recover a lost phone or lost keys.”
Hecht’s course is designed to meet the needs of both disabled persons who use service dogs and those who are interested in training and matching service dogs with those whose quality of life could be improved with the companionship of a service dog.
“The general public confuses service dogs with therapy dogs, which are a world apart,” Hecht says. “Service dogs are specifically trained to aid a disabled person, while therapy dogs are well-behaved dogs that bring joy to people they visit in a nursing home or a hospital. Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, service dogs have complete public access, which therapy dogs do not.”
Hecht’s course covers service dog “etiquette,” which requires that a service dog in any public setting be, in effect, invisible.
“Service dogs should be quiet and unobtrusive and should not disrupt anything or anyone, regardless of where they are,” she says. “All of which is the responsibility of the service dog owner.”
Her course explores how different breeds of dogs match up with would-be owners with disabilities in what ideally, she says, is a “dovetail fit.”
“An ideal match starts with looking at the client’s needs,” Hecht says. “If someone has asthma, you look for a dog that doesn’t shed and has low dander. If the client is living on a fixed income, you don’t choose a breed that needs to go to a groomer every six weeks. If someone’s joy in life is watching their grandchildren play T-ball, baseball or soccer, you need a service dog that is ball-averse, so that if the dog sees a ball, it’s not going to react at all.
“If the client lives in a very rural setting and needs wheelchair assist, a motorized wheelchair may not work well in tall grass, so you need a dog with a lot of pulling power to help that handler move a wheelchair,” she says. “You also have to look at what the client’s patience level is. Some breeds learn quicker than others. They can do the same tasks, but by their genetics they are conditioned to do them in a number of different ways.”
Hecht’s class includes both a lecture segment and a laboratory segment. The lab sessions include working with service dogs and potential service dogs.
“The lab involves partnering a student with a disabled handler and a dog they have in training,” she said. “While helping the handler, the students train themselves.”
The course’s final project involves what Hecht terms a canine “freestyle performance.”
“It’s basically dancing with a dog, which involves an obedience and behavior routine to music,” she says.
A resident of Searsport and a native of Massachusetts, Hecht is working on a master’s degree in social work through the University of Maine’s satellite classroom facility in Belfast. Her career goal is to work in the field of animal-assisted therapy, which involves both dogs and horses.
This is great news!! Question is why does Wal-Mart in Bangor allow so many therapy dogs inside the store?
Wal-Mart look at restaurants! my understanding is if you say it is a therphy dog then you can bring them anywhere, with out showing any proof… so bring your pets everywhere. I like people who use therphy dogs it is great but at least they should be wearing something to say what they do and sit by the person side and behave
goodluck with the class
This story makes it clear that is actually NOT the way that the law is written.
“The general public confuses service dogs with therapy dogs, which are a world apart,” Hecht says. “Service dogs are specifically trained to aid a disabled person, while therapy dogs are well-behaved dogs that bring joy to people they visit in a nursing home or a hospital. Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, service dogs have complete public access, which therapy dogs do not.”
You sound very knowledgeable, so here’s a question: shouldn’t a service dog be required to have some sort vest that identifies him/her as such? I see people with little dogs in the stores all the time and they certainly don’t look like service dogs. It actually kind of ticks me off, especially in the grocery store. I’d love to see the reaction if I brought my shepherd into a store!
A vest is not required. Also under the ADA a vendor may ask only one question of someone with a service dog and that is: Is that a service dog? They are not allowed to ask what the dog does for the individual.
LOL. Our service dog is a shepard. :)
I 100% agree with what you wrote. They should be required to wear a tag or vest with state issued ID
I wonder if they charge for these classes. Under the ADA there are no laws on the books that dictate what training a service dog must have or any licensing procedures. Any dog can be a service dog for someone with a disability. There are organizations and websites that charge you for a id and or tag for your dog saying they are a service dog. But a registration is not required under the law. It is true that service dogs must be allowed access while therapy dogs can be denied access.
This lady is no way qualified to teach a class, in searsport she was responsible for many animal complaints. She has been investigated for animal cruelty. She kept about 20 horses in a tiny pen with no shelter and no food. its all public knowledge. searsport fd and pds used to have to chase her horses that got loose daily. beware before taking any class with her. does U Maine not do a background check.
Service dogs are absolutely wonderful. We have one who’s now performing multiple duties due to other health problems that have arisen. One thing I would ask of people is that if you see a dog in a public setting wearing a vest please, please, please do not attempt to pet them. When the vest is on they are working and during that time are only at the command of their owner. When the vest is off, ours at least, is a member of our family but when on he’s providing a service to our family and his behavior is entirely different.