Zido Goes to Preschool!

   There are many many blessings and perks of having a service dog. I mean, aside from the fact that he has kept me conscious for 580 days, he also provides constant support, never-ending laughter, wake-up kisses, safety, happiness, peace, love, cuddles, smiles, and goodnight tail wags, just to name a few. Of course, there are always trade-offs so along with these blessings come many frustrations.

   For example, just yesterday I had to take my friend, Sam, to a testing center. She's from California but will be living with us this summer as she scopes out jobs in Washington DC. She hasn't bought a car here yet and I had no issues with bringing her to the test, waiting two hours, and bringing her back. I was looking forward to the quiet time with my cross-stitch and my Zido.

   Unfortunately, while I was waiting, we ran into an issue. The guy that worked there acted as if he had never seen a service dog and said he couldn't "believe the building would allow pets." I patiently told him "Oh he's not a pet, he's a service dog." He then went back to his desk (mind you, I'm sitting RIGHT next to him and can hear him mumbling to himself...) when about 15 minutes later he received a call. No one had walked by us, so you can imagine my surprise when I heard him say "I guess it's a service dog...they got here about 10...I don't know I guess she has nothing better to do." Again, I'm RIGHT freaking next to him (behind this whiteboard that was sitting in front of his desk) and I'm furious. First of all, was someone watching me on a camera? If so, I hope they were enjoying my dog laying utterly silent at my feet while analyzing the details of my peacock cross-stitch...and second of all, seriously dude? I'm RIGHT HERE!

   After taking a few breaths and reminding myself that this man is just ignorant when it comes to service dogs, I approached his desk and said "Excuse me, who were you just speaking to?" He whipped around and said, "The CEO" to which I replied "Okay, well I can hear everything you just said and I don't appreciate being talked about, so if he has anymore questions I'm happy to talk to him." With a nice little deer-in-the-headlights look, he said "Oh okay no he just didn't know you were allowed to have a pet in here." I took yet another deep breath and said, "Again, he's not a 'pet', he's a service dog and is working for me. And by the way, it's very rude to say that I have nothing better to do. I'm here with my friend who's taking a test and I'm waiting until she's done. So again, if your CEO has any further questions, tell him I'm happy to speak to him." And walked away.

   The sad reality is that as a partner with a service dog, these situations are not all that uncommon. Through them, we learn different ways to combat the difficulties. Aside from speaking to the individual in the moment that the event occurs, I also take advantage of the fact that my mom is a preschool teacher at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and School. I believe that the BEST time to start learning anything is while a child is still young, so once a year I go into her classroom and give a service dog presentation for the 4-year-olds.

   Now, let me tell you, there is NOTHING funnier than a bunch of 4-year-olds not only guessing how old I am (I'm 22...they guess either 12 or 48...) but also hearing what they think his harness is for. We like to start the presentation with those kind of questions just to see what they think! My favorite answer? Last year when we asked what they thought his harness was for, this little boy raised his hand and in a VERY matter-of-fact way said, "It's his jetpack."

   The presentation serves three basic purposes for the kids. Primarily, I make sure they understand that it doesn't matter if it's a service dog or not! They should NEVER walk up to a dog and start petting it. Secondly, I want to teach them how they should act when they are around someone with a service dog. We tell them that they just have to act like the dog isn't even there and always talk to the person, not the dog. This is something I run into almost everyday where people only see the dog next to me and forget that there is a human being connected to it. Hopefully, this plants the seed of respect in their young minds and then they can bring it to any of their circles of influence to teach others! Finally, we like to do little demonstrations of what Zido does for me. Here are some pictures of this April's group of students and the skills Zido showed them:

We love meeting our new friends and showing them how well Zido can lay there quietly

Showing them how he can sit, lay down, and stand helps remind them of their own dogs at home

This is when we show how well he stays while I walk away. Even when they're making noises, he's able to focus on me

And then of course he gets a treat when he comes to me

Yeah...Zido loves his treats...

This wasn't a real alert, but I like to have him sit on me so they can see what an alert looks like!

The kids LOVE this one: he's helping me take off my socks so I don't have to bend over

They love seeing how gentle he is with my toes

This one is their favorite: he's jumping up to close the door for me! Such a gentleman :)

This is called a go-pay. I don't use it too much, but it's always important to keep his skills up!

We like to end with his LEAST favorite...carrying a plastic baggie

The children like to see him walk next to me while he carries it across the room

As any gentleman would...

   It's so humbling and absolutely amazing to see how their eyes are opened to the world of dogs. They probably won't remember my name or even Zido's name by the time they're older, but at least the seed is planted. It sounds cheesy, but these kids really are the future of our society and if we can teach them how to handle interactions with people who are a little "different" than they are, then hopefully society will learn the same.

   Up next on Zee and Me: Video Update!

Love and blessings,
Zee and Me