On a recent trip to visit my mother in Las Vegas we encountered a variety of people at the airport while we were waiting for our flight home who were either very helpful or very interested in Rambo.
First I have to say thank you to the fine employees of Southwest Airlines. The minute I walked through the airport door with my dog and lugging three suitcases a Southwest employee rushed over to help me. She didn't even know if I was a Southwest passenger and apparently that didn't make a difference. She grabbed my suitcases and asked where I was going. When I told her we were flying Southwest she took me directly to a ticket agent at the counter. It doesn't sound like much but it really was a major help at the time that came without request.
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| Rambo likes to look out the window during landings! (Note his hearing protection!) |
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| Rambo watching out the window as we taxi into the gate. Almost potty break time! |
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| Rambo has tucked himself nicely into the corner of the bulkhead. |
One of the main reasons I fly Southwest Airlines, besides the low fares and friendly staff, is because of their seating policy. Southwest does not assign seats, only boarding order. Consequently they have no problem letting Rambo on the airplane first and holding a bulkhead window seat open for us. I've never had a single problem with the staff of Southwest and they have all welcomed Rambo with open arms. I really can't' ask for any more than that! Just try flying with an airline that not only has assigned seating but charges extra for prime seating and you will know what I'm talking about. The FAA regulations require that an airline allow service dogs and their handlers to sit in a bulkhead seat upon request. Sure, the FAA says that but just wait to hear who says what when a paying passenger is asked to move to another seat. Its probably not going to happen and then Rambo would have to squeeze into a space where I'm supposed to put my feet if there were even enough room for my feet to begin with. Thus, Southwest Airlines should be the official service dog airline.
Now on to a short tale that Rambo's trainers should find very encouraging: While waiting to board at the Las Vegas airport for our return flight home several people became interested in Rambo. Some wanted to just visit with him and others wanted to know more about what he does for me. I welcome questions like that when I'm hanging around and waiting like everyone else. Its a good opportunity to educate people about service dogs and veterans with invisible wounds and it keeps Rambo well socialized.
One visitor in particular really stands out. She was just a toddler, barely able to stand on her own. I just happened to stop to wait right next to her and her mother. The girl was on my right and Rambo was at a heel position in my left. The little girl started to get excited about Rambo's presence. She was pointing at Rambo, pulling on her mom's arm and making happy noises. So I brough Rambo up to this tiny girl. Face to face, Rambo outweighed this little one by 70 pounds and he has more teeth than she will ever have. Even if Rambo is just curious and bumps the girl with his nose he'll topple her over. That is just enough to scare a toddler and teach her to fear dogs and I certainly don't want that to happen!
I was very aware of the hazards of putting this large dog up against a toddler. Partly because, when I brought Rambo home a year and a half ago, he would lunge at little children. He wouldn't bark, growl, show his teeth or any other defensive behavior. He would just jump at them. I don't know if he was trying to play or if he felt threatened because he was at eye level with another living creature who made direct eye contact with him. Regardless of the reason this was a behavior that I found wholly unacceptable.
On the advice of Rambo's trainers, I asked my friend to bring his little girl over and help me teach Rambo to behave properly. We did this a couple of times and it went well. I learned one trick very quickly which I will demonstrate shortly.
Back to the airport.
So there was Rambo, standing face to face with this little girl. The first thing I did was to immediately give Rambo a "down/stay" command. This simple step removes the incidental danger of Rambo knocking the toddler down. Rambo also seems calmer when he is in this position. This is partly due to the fact that dogs recognize this as a submissive position.
After Rambo got down on the floor, I kneeled down at his side. I told Rambo to "be nice" which he understands after being told this every time he has ever chomped on my hand when getting a treat or showed any other kind of unintended aggressive behavior.
Then I reminded Rambo to stay then told him to "visit," This let him know that he is now allowed to divert his attention from me and to greet whoever is in front of him or whoever I point to. He is always very good about this and, after about 30 seconds of getting loved on from a stranger, he will swing his attention back to me, awaiting whatever command I use to bring him back. Not only does this help keep Rambo socialized it often diverts the persons attention away from me which is helpful when I don't feel like talking to someone.
Rambo is now in a down position, stretching his neck to sniff the toddler and his tail in happy wag mode. Standing to Rambo's right is a woman who felt she needed to voice her opinion about the situation. Loud enough for the whole world to hear no less.
Just as the mom of the toddler let the little girl get close enough to Rambo to pet her, the other woman said, "I wouldn't let my kid close to a dog like that!"
Ugh!
Rambo was in full Service Dog gear with his JLAD vest and his bright red Halti. It wasn't like some unkempt Pit Bull was snarling and growling in this little child's face. Rambo was as calm as he could be and the little girls face was filled with wonder and joy. Even to the uniformed this wasn't a situation that screamed "Danger, Will Robinson!"
I admit, her statement put me a little on the defensive. I found it hurtful and certainly uncalled for. I simply could not let her comment stand without saying something. While the toddler was petting Rambo without incident I looked up at the woman with an obvious look of distaste on my face.
She had not only insinuated that my dog was a danger to this child, she denigrated my personal judgement. If I thought for one second that Rambo presented any sort of hazard to this cute little human being I would never let him anywhere near her. I don't want the child hurt and I don't need put myself in a liable position. But, I know I can trust my dog. That's more than I can say for a lot of humans I've known!
I looked up at the naysayer and made sure we made eye contact. Then I calmly informed this obviously uninformed person, "I am willing to trust my life to this dog. Trusting him to be gentle with this little girl isn't really asking all that much!"
This didn't seem to phase her so I elaborated. "This dog comes from an accredited service dog organization. He is very well trained which requires a great deal of continual time and effort on both our parts. Please don't insult me or my dog when you don't understand the situation."
Obviously rebuked, she didn't say anything at all which was fine by me. Opening her mouth was what put her on the short end of the stupid stick in the first place. Hopefully now she is just a tiny bit more aware of the depth of a service dog's training. I know the people around her were certainly aware as I saw many give her the hairy eyeball glance after I spoke my mind.
I might add that I was also just a little miffed that this woman had managed to divert my attention away from my dog when I should have been monitoring his behavior regardless of how much I trusted him. I wasn't worried that Rambo would do anything like bite the girl but the possibility still existed that he could accidentally overpower the little one just by standing up.
In the meantime, Rambo was wagging his tail as best as he could in a down position. The little girl was all smiles and giggles as she got to pet Rambo. I was very proud of my dog at that moment. Rambo and I have gone through a lot of training struggles. My heart always swells with love and pride when I see the effort to overcome those struggles come to fruition. His JLAD trainers have been involved with helping me with fine tuning Rambo's training from the very start and I know they are always just a phone call or email away if I ever have any questions. That gives me peace of mind knowing that, when it comes to dog training, I am not alone.
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| A little guy visits with Rambo during a fundraiser for the Oregon Humane Society |
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Rambo is a JLAD Dog! He comes from The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs (JLAD) in Salem, Oregon. They are an Assistance Dogs International (ADI) accredited organization that is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to raising and training assistance dogs and placing them in positions of service, including veteran's with PTSD.
Joy St. Peter, Founder and Director
(503) 551-4572
Mail: The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs
PO Box 12023
Salem OR 97309
E-Mail info@joydogs.org
The leash itself is made with a "braided rope called Dyneema® which is extremely strong and lightweight while maintaining a soft hand feel. Size for size, it is the same strength as steel." 
