You can also do an internet search for “Dog rescue organizations” in your area and find out more. Some organizations specialize in one breed rescue, and it’s a good way to learn a lot about a specific breed from them.

Also, you could try doing doggie day care at a Petsmart or seeing about interning at a vet’s office, too.

You could also have your mom contact a guide dog or service dog school that need puppyraisers. That would be a lot of time commitment, and you do need to take the puppy to obedience classes and follow their rules, and puppies need somebody home during the day during the first 6 months.

I’m glad you’re asking those questions! At your age I didn’t know who to ask and we didn’t have the internet then, either.

I want you to learn about dog training and behavior, because it’s not easy picking the right dog for assistance dog work. Most trainers don’t really know much about temperament testing.

Some shelters really do test their dogs, and that’s a good way to get a basic idea of temperament testing, but you need to learn from an experienced temperament tester. As you live in NY, The ASPCA has a really thorough program on temperament testing you could learn a lot from, I think.

I think the best thing ever is to work with dogs that have the right temperament and also the dogs that don’t, so you know the difference.

An assistance dog must have very low fearfulness and not be aggressive, be in good health (sound joints, no thyroid problems) because an sick dog can be more apt to fall apart emotionally and mentally. Low prey drive is preferable for program dogs.

Beyond that, an assistance dog candidate can vary in intelligence, playfulness, personality, and energy level a lot.

In general, high-energy dogs are not preferred for assistance dog work because they’re too much dog for most people. High energy dogs do excel as hearing ear or medical alert dogs, though and have good work ethic.
I worry that sometimes by selecting for medium-low energy dogs, a program may accidentally select dogs that have hidden health problems or low work ethic.

I trained my own hearing dog from a shelter rescue, and I picked the right dog for me after looking at over 12 dogs that were all wrong for me. I developed my own temperament test, and my impression was good. The shelter’s temperament test was given to me and we discussed how to train him.

It takes a very strong person not to take every dog home just because they’re so deserving. It’s not fair to the dog to put it in a job it didn’t ask for if it’s not mentally or physically ready to do it.

Of service dog candidates selected from a shelter, 2/3 that pass the first temperament test will wash out due to health or temperament problems that appear as the dog gets used to training and working.

I was lucky to get it right on the first dog I picked. I had very high standards anyway, and as an owner-trainer I could work with a high-energy, one-person dog (which would wash out of a program), and in fact WANTED such a dog.

If I was picking for another person– I have a friend who would like a service dog– I would pick a much more submissive, gentle, low-energy dog that is smaller, perhaps not quite as intelligent and doesn’t improvise so much.

The reason being, this friend is not experienced with dogs, and she doesn’t need a dog that will figure out how to train HER instead of vice versa!

And even then, you’ll have assistance dog trainers disagreeing on if a dog can make it as an assistance dog or not. Ultimately we don’t know what makes for success; we only know what will likely cause a dog to fail on the job.

Good luck! Being an animal behaviorist and a vet is a worthy calling. If you want to know about animal behaviorists, check out

I suggest learning about clicker training, dog psychology (Excel-erated learning by Pam Reid and others), and joining a few service dog usergroups.

You need quite a bit to be a puppy raiser for the disabled. Here is a good place to start:

The entire family must be involved because it is a serious responsibility and a 24/7 job.

In the meantime, study all you can about animals so that you can be prepared when the time is right to do something more involved.

My recommendation is that you stick with the kitties for now and keep volunteering at the shelter. That way you will learn a lot about both dogs and cats before you take an animal into your home that might have problems you aren’t prepared to handle. You could also contact some of the rescue groups in your area and see if you can volunteer to work with them.

Keep fighting the good fight. No one can save them all but sometimes we can save a few. Hugs!

If you want to get a dog that will be trained as a working dog for the handicapped, you usually get in touch with a volunteer organization that trains dogs for the handicapped. Usually, it takes 2 years for the dog to become a working dog. You would get a puppy or a rescued dog and you would be responsible for training him his basic manners the first year, then giving him to a trainer who trains him in the seeing eye/helper jobs. The best way to find these organizations is online. I bet there are tons in NY.

I haven’t ever trained a seeing eye dog, but I foster dogs that are adopted,and it is one of the most rewarding things you can do. It’s so great to know you are helping a dog find the good home they deserve. Good luck!