Davis often has to stop and take time out of her day to educate the public. “This little dog makes my bed and does the laundry. I don’t know what I’d do without him.” It was worth the two years of training, Davis explains, to get her former Service Dog Peek, to his skill level.

The manager remained mute and a bit stunned to learn this fluff ball was a service dog, capable of performing a task in spite of his non-traditional appearance. Like many business owners, this man had never seen a legitimate Service Dog so small.

Small breed Service Dogs are often seen as the exception rather than the rule.
But that isn’t the truth.

SD Peeks helping pull off a jacket.

Many small breed Service Dogs and their owners tend to stay away from the public spotlight, unlike Debi Davis, who makes it her mission to educate the public rather than go on the defensive, or even worse, into isolation, as some small Service Dog owners tend to do for fear of altercations and out-right rejection.

The media fuels small breed Service Dog discrimination

With the media coverage of “fake,” poorly-trained or insufficiently-trained Service Dogs it has made it even more difficult for the small breed Service Dog owners. Often, they have to work twice as hard to get an accepting audience and admission into restaurants and on public transit.

The public is used to seeing large breeds doing service dog work, but a small breed dog is almost immediately thought of as a charlatan, a fake, a toy masquerading as a Service Dog.

Even Service Dog programs can sometimes overlook the abilities of small breed working dogs. The Golden Retrievers, Labs, and Shepherds tend to take over the spotlight. They are known for their even temperaments, size, and strength for pulling wheelchairs, opening heavy doors, and bracing, for maintaining a person’s balance, or for help with getting up and down.

However, not all disabilities require assistance with tasks involving heavy doors and a person’s dead weight. If it is an issue of mobility, the Service Dog may be needed only for the following tasks:

• retrieving objects

• sound alerting

• seizure alert

Small breed Service Dogs are often the better option for many disabled individuals

In many cases a small dog may be a better option, as a Service Dog, especially in large cities where most city apartments tend to be small dens – rather than grand mansions.

Many disabled seniors prefer a small breed Service Dog. Travel by car, cab, or plane is easier, the amount of food consumed is considerably less, and living quarters less crowded.

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) regulations define ‘Service Animal’ as any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability and perform many disability-related functions, including but not limited to:

• guiding individuals who are blind or have low vision
• alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to sounds
• providing protection or rescue assistance
• pulling a wheelchair
• fetching items
• alerting persons to impending seizures

Small breed Service Dogs are just as capable of performing a specific task as a large Service Dog and must be taken just as seriously.

So please don’t judge people — or dogs — solely on their appearance.  And remember, great Service Dogs can come in SMALL packages.