BruceRoscoe Loc: Arizona

The making of an American Service Dog. Thank you to my friend Anne Marie Shumate from Lasting Image Photography for doing such a great job photographing Ziggy and me.
Ziggy is a SDIT (Service Dog in Training) He has passed two of the three major test and four of the ten outings. Once he completes his other test he'll get his final certificate from Soldiers Best Friend, a non-profit 501c3. Jamie Barilla is my trainer. She works with the two of us two days a week. Sometimes Ziggy catches on quicker than I do, so I think Jamie is training me! Jamie works with Soldiers Best Friend a non-profit 501c3. Besides working on Photography with my own non-profit 501c3 I spend a great deal of time training Ziggy. Not counting the 2 1/2 hours of training Ziggy receives a day, I have to write a daily report of what we do everyday. I now can understand the complexities involved in training a service dog. He already knows over 64 commands, with a lot more coming down the road. A lot of the commands Ziggy first learned, even though they were OK at the beginning had to be tweaked to make it even better. So if you see a service dog you know it takes a lot of work, 50 to 70 percent of dogs that enter a service dog program don't make the cut, either the dog doesn't have the proper temperament or the person doesn't have the time or energy to put into the dog.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Thanks for sharing the great photo and the story behind it!

catgirl Loc: las vegas

Thank you for explaining what these fabulous dogs go through in their training, also what you also need to learn to work with them, Ziggy is a very happy and handsome boy congratulations

luvmypets Loc: Born & raised Texan living in Fayetteville NC

Beautiful photo of you and Ziggy!!

My mother had a dog that was trained to help the hearing impaired. Back then service dogs came from organizations that trained them. This particular organization obtained their dogs from the local pounds so they were mix breeds not purebreds. Right now I'm having a brain fart and can't remember the dog's name but she was the smartest little dog and adored my mother. I will forever be grateful to her for the care she gave my mother.

Best wishes to you and Ziggy for your continued success in training and partnership in life.

When Ziggy is on one of his breaks from training please give him lots of hugs and kisses from me!!

Dodie

BruceRoscoe Loc: Arizona

Thank you for taken your time to read it.

BruceRoscoe Loc: Arizona

Thank you catgirl. We have a 205 page manual that the both of us have to learn. It's exciting and humbling.

BruceRoscoe Loc: Arizona

Thank you for your story. I purchased my dog myself. I knew what I wanted, but it took awhile to find the perfect puppy for me. He was ten weeks old when the breeder released him to me. He's been the perfect dog for me. The first thing I taught him was to go up and down stairs. He need to be able to get in and out of our RV.

dancers Loc: melbourne.victoria, australia

Thank you for loving Ziggy. Dogs are amazing creatures.................

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Great portrait!

BruceRoscoe Loc: Arizona

It's easy to love when it's returned. He's quite the partner.

BruceRoscoe Loc: Arizona

Thanks Jay.

dancers Loc: melbourne.victoria, australia

I know the feeling!

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

angler Loc: StHelens England

Excellent shot.

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

That's a great portrait!