28 years after deciding to give a guide dog a shot, Karen Ann Young found herself in Hollywood accepting an award presented by Betty White for her guide dog, Jingles, exceptional service.

 Jingles was named American Human’s Hero Guide Dog of 2013, in honor of being the first service dog to work in tandem with another.

Young says the award ceremony was “an experience of a lifetime.”

Jingles served as Young’s guide dog for her blindness while Mazie, Young’s second service dog, was trained as a diabetic alert dog.

 Mazie was trained later on to signal when her sugar levels dropped too low after being diagnosed with Hypoglycemia Unawareness.

Both Mazie and Jingles retired last September after 13 years of service. Young is now in the process of training Zeke, a friendly Golden Retriever, to be both her guide and medical alert dog.

For handlers like Young who have the companionship of a service dog, their dog is an extension of themselves, providing independence from others.

“Service dogs are important because they allow people with life-limiting disabilities the chance to live a more independent life with dignity and safety. Working with a service dog partner allows for much less dependence on humans to assist or do things for us,” Young said.

Providing independence is a big task for a four-legged friend, but not impossible.

Young reiterates the importance of not breaking a service dog’s concentration when approaching them in public, because it could put the handler in danger.

“When I’m being guided by Zeke, even if it’s just in a grocery store, if a person whistles or makes kissy noises or runs up and tries to pet Zeke, it takes his focus off of his guide work and even a split second that he looks toward a distraction could mean my bumping into something, or someone,” she said.  

Encountering a service dog can be both intimidating and exciting making some wonder the best way to approach them without being intrusive.  For spectators looking to cure their curiosity, Young puts it simply:

“Always talk to the handler, not the dog.”

 The misconceptions that surround service dogs can be one of the biggest hurdles for handlers and bystanders to overcome.

One of the most common misconceptions being that service dogs are only trained as guide dogs for the blind.

The definition of a “service animal” under the ADA National Network Disability Law Handbook is, “…a service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.”

Individuals with mobility troubles, sensory troubles (D/deaf, blindness), diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, cancer, autism, epilepsy, bone and skeletal troubles and post-traumatic stress disorder, could all potentially benefit from having a service dogs, according to the U.S. Dog Registry online.

Depending on the person’s disability, the training of the service dog will vary.

Desiree “Cherie” Evans is the owner, breeder and dog trainer of Top Gun K9 Training in Hollister, Fla.

Top Gun is a family-run business, that  has gained reputation for being the place to go in Hollister for training law enforcement K9’s; but after seeing a need for service dog training, Evans and her family decided to take on the task.

“I see how much a service dog can bring to their life,” said Evans.

When a dog is picked for service, a training organization usually picks the dog from a shelter, Top Gun picks their service dogs from their own litters.

“A lot of places that train service dogs, most of them don’t breed their own dogs.” Evans said. “Many times, we find several in each litter that would be great for service work.”

Dogs like the ones at Top Gun are trained for each individual person’s needs. Beginning with basic obedience training, over time, the handler will be “completely bonded with the dog the entire time.”

Some trained tasks for service dogs include, picking things up, opening things, medicine reminders, touch assistance, how to serve as a watch and a source of balance.

Depending on the person and the dog, and how well they work with the handler, training can take up to three years on and off.

For organizations like Top Gun, bringing advocacy and education to the community is a significant part of their mission.

“I think it’s good the community understands because they need to appreciate the job the dog does,” Evans said. “Even though the disability community is a large community, up against the rest of the world, it’s very small.”