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So what exactly is a disability and who is put under the category of having a disability? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a disability is a condition such as an illness or an injury that damages or limits a person's physical or mental abilities. People with a disability are those who are blind or partially sighted, have trouble learning, are deaf, have a long-term illness, and have mental or psychological difficulties (What Is a Disability?). Some of the common known disabilities are Autism, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Down Syndrome. People who are mentally or physically ill or known as disabled have a hard time taking care of themselves or have problems with being lonely because people tend to avoid them. Parents and/or guardians usually take care for the disabled, but with service dogs, they do not just take care of them but provide love and support for the disabled.
Different dogs have different qualities that are inherited in a certain type of a dog breed. There are over a dozen types of service dogs (Kea). These different service dogs provide different types of assistance to the disabled. One of many types of service dogs are guide dogs. Guide dogs must know how to assist the blind or the visually impaired by getting them around places safely and know the important regulations when assisting the blind. Some of the important regulations that the dog must know are the commands of their owner and impulse control from the distractions around them. It is important for the guide dog to know the commands of the owner, because it is the owner who needs to get from point A to point B and it is the dog's responsibility to get the person there safely. It is also important for the dog to have impulse control because if it gets distracted when somebody wants to pet or talk to the dog, it can break its concentration impairing the handler's ability to get around in his or her surroundings (Harris).
