Synopsis
The movement to train animals to assist people with disabilities began in early 1900s with dog guides for the blind. Over the years, interest in animal helpers, or service animals, grew, and animals learned how to help people with other types of disabilities including deafness and paralysis. Read about the history of animal helpers and learn how these animals are trained and how they help people with disabilities in their daily lives.
School Library Journal
Gr 4-7-A clear, easy-to-read book on dogs that help people. Kent defines many dog guides: assistance dogs (for the disabled), companion dogs (for the old), hearing dogs (for the deaf), and therapy dogs (for the emotionally disturbed). She describes the first school in the U.S. to train dog guides in 1929 in Nashville and mentions other dog-guide schools that have opened around the world. This is more useful for reports than Sally Hobart Alexander's Mom's Best Friend (Macmillan, 1992; o.p.) or Alice McGinty's Guide Dogs: Seeing for People Who Can't (PowerKids, 1999) because it includes a bit of history and information about training. Kent also mentions using horses and monkeys to help people but explains why dogs are best. Average-quality, black-and-white and full-color photos appear throughout showing the guides at work. An informative addition.-Linda Beck, Indian Valley Public Library, Telford, PA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.