Assistance Dogs - Special Helpers to their Human Companions!

You may have seen assistance dogs at work before as they were helping guide a non-sighted person through a shopping mall or across a busy intersection, but I bet you didn't know that there are many other types of special canine helpers, as well, who are trained to assist people in important ways.

Besides the best-known type of assistance dog, the guide dog who assists the non-sighted, there are also signal dogs who help the deaf or severely hard of hearing, therapy dogs who offer comfort to those in hospitals and after traumatic events, and assistance dogs who are trained to help people who have certain types of physical limitations.

On this page, we will learn about some of these important assistance dogs and see how these dogs help their people live full, independent lives by aiding them in doing certain things that they are not able to do themselves.

The first dog that I'd like to introduce you to is a Signal Dog named Teezer, that we were fortunate enough to meet on recent museum outing.

Teezer's companion was nice enough to talk to me, as well as my 10 year old daughter and her friend about the jobs that Teezer helps her accomplish, and she also let us take a few pictures for the Dog Paw Print site!

Meet Signal Dog, Teezer

He is from a special category of assistance dogs called signal dogs, who help people who have hearing problems.

Teezer went through six moths of rigorous training at a training center in Julian, North Carolina when he was a very young dog in order to learn the proper skills to best serve his companion, Bev Schuette.

After the initial training period with his trainer, Teezer went home with the Schuettes, and Bev had to work with him further so that he would learn to stay with her at all times and come and alert her when he heard certain noises. These sounds could be can be as common as the sound of the front doorbell or telephone, or more serious like the warning of a smoke alarm.

Bev had a lot of concern that she might not hear an alarm sounding at night when she would be sleeping, especially if her husband was traveling and not there to alert her.

This is where Teezer's job becomes so important. When Teezer hears certain sounds, he is trained to come and take Bev to its source. He can wake her from a sound sleep and lead her to discover what might potentially harm her, so Teezer helps keep Bev safe.

This can also be very important out in public.

If Bev is outside, and doesn't hear the warning sound of a car horn, Teezer can let her know that there might be danger nearby.

Bev continues to consistently work with Teezer, though she has had him for many years now. There is a need for constant training and reinforcement to keep Teezer at his best.

Hooray for signal dogs like Teezer, one of the special helpers we are especially proud to feature here!