I agree that regular pet owners with off leash dogs can be a major problem for service dogs. But to be perfectly honest.... In this case, the way its been told, it very much sounds like the dog was not a good choice for service dog work. It also sounds like they did all the correct things in training and raising the dog, but that really isn't enough. The most important thing for a service dog is to have whats called solid nerves. One of the reasons for this is because the dog is then confident, and gains confidence from its handler, and so doesn't have a problem with trying any sort of new or strange situation that may be required of a service dog. The other reason for this, is to be able to shake off bad experiences. Again, being perfectly honest here, a strong nerved dog would not have had the same reaction in this experience where it then cost the owner 2 years to fix. Temperament in an animal is very much based on genetics and does not change through the lifespan, behavior does being a combination of the temperament and life experiences. This is why its SO important to have a dog with a temperament suited for service work. Most dogs honestly just do not have what it takes to be service dogs. Thats one of the reasons why its so expensive to acquire a service dog, all of the washouts. For example the organization Fidelco places its wash outs for the adoption fee of $10,000 to help offset the money lost in training of these dogs.
In the US, the federal law allows for owner trained service dogs. It also does not restrict what defines a service dog training organization, and there are more organizations out there that are NOT reputable than ones that are. I am fully for the reason the laws were written the way they are, which is to give the maximum protection and support to the person with a disability. But the downside is the huge amount of dogs out there working as service dogs that should not be. In extreme cases, these dogs may (and have) been aggressive themselves and bitten their handlers, family members, and strangers. In other extreme cases some people put their lives in the hands of a service dog (not a good idea. They help, but cannot be responsible for a human life. They're still a dog. Even with guide dogs its the handler making the decisions based on the information they receive from the dog, the dog is not making decisions) that has been promised to have abilities that it does not.
In this case, it was the handler who had to pay and I'm very sorry for that. I know what its like to suddenly not have your service dog there to perform their job, for me during periods of illness and now death. But as someone active in service dog education and advocacy I have to admit that this situation could have been prevented by the handler or one of the dog's trainers, if they had enough experience to say that this dog didn't have the temperament to be a service dog. And the way temperament works, I'm sure there were small signs along the way. I also know how crushing it is to admit that your dog doesn't have what it takes to be a service dog, and AFTER putting years of effort and loads of money into training. It was crushing when I had to wash-out Emma and admit she just didn't have what it took and would not be Tessa's successor.
Temperament is incredibly hard to determine in a puppy. Even the best breeders are only making guesses from experience in their pups. Temperament is not solid until adulthood, and in many cases a year may have already been spent in training by then. And in cases like the one in the blog, an attachment formed with the handler. Thats the downside of being involved in raising and training of your own service dog. And it gets even more complicated with the fact that most reputable organizations will not place a SD in a home with another dog. There are valid reasons for this, but I wish more places would/could consider this on a case by case basis. So if you have a washout, not only are you starting from scratch but have some very big decisions to make about the washed out dog and where your future SD will come from.
Lin
Assistance Dog Advocacy Project