Development of Service Dog Concept
The Bergins then spent two years teaching in Australia followed by travel through Asia where she saw donkeys and burros carrying kitchen-wares for people who also used them as crutches while making their way to a street corner to sell their wares. Her experiences of this and seeing other disabled people in Asia struggling to fend for themselves led her to consider the possibility of using dogs to do tasks that would allow individuals with mobility limitations to live independently as a part of mainstream society.
With no formal knowledge of dog training, she tried to convince others of the validity of this vision. Many dog organizations and dog trainers with whom she shared her idea all said it would not work NS would be bad both for the dogs and for people with disabilities. She left teaching to work in a dog kennel for $2 an hour to learn about dogs and dog breeds after which she began the experiment that has resulted in the internationally acclaimed “service dog” concept.
Read more about this topic: Bonnie Bergin
Famous quotes containing the words development of, development, service, dog and/or concept:
“John B. Watson, the most influential child-rearing expert [of the 1920s], warned that doting mothers could retard the development of children,... Demonstrations of affection were therefore limited. “If you must, kiss them once on the forehead when they say goodnight. Shake hands with them in the morning.””
—Sylvia Ann Hewitt (20th century)
“Creativity seems to emerge from multiple experiences, coupled with a well-supported development of personal resources, including a sense of freedom to venture beyond the known.”
—Loris Malaguzzi (20th century)
“Finally, your lengthy service ended,
Lay your weariness beneath my laurel tree.”
—Horace [Quintus Horatius Flaccus] (65–8)
“The old dog barks backward without getting up.
I can remember when he was a pup.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Behind the concept of woman’s strangeness is the idea that a woman may do anything: she is below society, not bound by its law, unpredictable; an attribute given to every member of the league of the unfortunate.”
—Christina Stead (1902–1983)