My name is Cocoa and I have a very special job to do. I need your help to do this job correctly. You see, I am a service animal (sometimes called an Assistance Animal) and that is a very important job.

I help my human mom with lots of things. I have to help watch for cars and help open doors too. If mom drops something, I rush right in to pick it up for her. Then sometimes I tease her about giving it back. I like to play keep it away from mommy. I help pull her wheelchair and it’s so much fun. Mom knew when she first got me as a puppy that I would like this job because I almost pulled her off her feet.

Mom is so proud of all the new tasks that I am still learning. I’m learning to show mom where the mailbox is and soon I’ll start opening the blue mailboxes for her–once I start pulling on a rope. I don’t like to do that too well, but I am going to learn to do it so I can help mommy. I take a break during the summer because it is so hot and I get tired really quick.

Sometimes I wear a special vest but mostly I just wear my harness. When mom picks up my harness, I get all excited because I know I get to go for a walk.

Here’s the problem I really need your help with. Some people think it’s funny to tease at me and try to make me act like I’m mean when I’m really not. I just don’t want someone to hurt my mom. Would you want someone to hurt YOUR MOM? I sure don’t want anyone to hurt my mom. I love her so much.

Another problem we have is people come up and start petting me. Some parents even tell their kids to go hit the dog. OUCH!!! I don’t want to be hit and mom gets upset if people just walk up and start petting me because that makes me forget that I’m working. Sometimes I even try to jump up on the people and then I have to be corrected because I forgot my manners.

Mom is always happy to speak to people about what I can do but she now has a strict rule of HANDS OFF!! I don’t get to be petted by anyone except with very special permission from mom and only if I remember my manners.

I know many words like ramp, get it, apologize, door, & show me–just to name a few. Soon I’ll be starting to read. YUP! I said read. You see as an assistance animal, I have to learn to read many words. Some will be stop, come, gloves, hat, and so many more. I also have to know a sign for each word.

Because I have such an important job of helping my mom, I have some special privileges as well. I can go anywhere that mommy goes. Mommy likes to say it as "Cocoa has all the 'rights and privileges of a guide dog'. Cocoa is a service dog the same as a guide dog is a service dog. All animals that assist the disabled are service animals and have the same rights." These privileges are very important because they allow me to always be close to my mom. At home, I’m off duty and can do anything I want but when I go into public with my mom, I have to be very alert for anything that might be bad for my mom.

Mom is my very best friend and I want to be with her everywhere she goes. Because of my job, I can go everywhere with her. I have to be there to help her at all times and of course I must be on my leash so mom doesn’t ever get lost.

There is a law called the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA and this law says that I can go with my mom everywhere people are allowed to go. This includes hospitals, trains, buses, air planes, stores, theaters, restaurants, doctors’ offices, and everywhere else they let people go that don’t work there. It’s called public access and if the public is allowed there, so are assistance animals.

I don’t have to wear any special harness or vest. I don’t even have to wear one at all. It’s totally up to what my job calls for. I do have a special harness called a pulling harness because I pull mom’s wheelchair and this harness helps me do it without being injured. Mom is always very careful about having the correct equipment for me to use for each job I do. You can help me do my job correctly by using the service animal etiquette. That means having manners when you see a service animal in public.  My mom has a school for training cats, dogs, and miniature equine how to become assistance animals. I was her first student. That makes me so proud.

Are YOU disABLEd with a life-limiting disability?
Have YOU ever considered getting a service animal?

Contact Cynthia for more information on how you too can have a service animal that can open doors, turn on lights, pick up things you have dropped, pull your wheelchair, and so much more. Each animal is trained specifically for the individual that is partnered with the animal.

A service animal does NOT have to be a dog, although this is the most common service animal. The ADA states that any animal may be classified as a service animal as long as the animal is individually trained to mitigate a life-limiting disability. This means, horses, cats, dogs, pigs, goats, etc. all have public access if it is a service animal under the ADA.

For more information, contact the US Depart. Of Justice at the website: www.usdoj.gov or call them at 1-800-514-0301 (voice) or 800-514-0383 (TDD).

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