ABOUT THE BOOK

Working Like Dogs: The Service Dog Guidebook was awarded Best Pet Book and Best Health Book for 2008 at the National Best Books Awards sponsored by USA Book News.

More and more individuals with disabilities are choosing to enhance their lives by utilizing the services of assistance dogs. Marcie Davis, a paraplegic for over 30 years, made this choice more than thirteen years ago bringing Ramona and later Morgan into her life. These service dogs, a type of assistance dog trained to help individuals with mobility limitations, transformed her life, enabling her to pursue her dreams.

Working Like Dogs captures personal stories from Davis and other assistance dog recipients while also offering checklists and practical tips to provide the reader with an A-Z guide about service dogs. It is a must read for anyone who is considering a service dog, has a service dog, is raising or is responsible for the care of a service dog, as well as all dog lovers who want to connect with the power of the human-animal service dog partnership. Extensive appendices include References, Service Dog Resources and Training, Behavior, and Performance Standards for Service Dogs.

Marcie Davis

Marcie Davis is a writer, public speaker, advocate, and activist. She is the Chief Executive Officer of Davis Innovations, a public health and human service consulting firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico that specializes in program development, policy, research, and advocacy. Marcie has been a paraplegic for over 30 years and has been partnered with a service dog for over thirteen years. She holds a Masters degree in Library Science from the University of Southern Mississippi and has  received numerous awards and accolades for her tireless advocacy on behalf of  individuals who cannot advocate for themselves.

Melissa Bunnell

Melissa Bunnell holds a Masters Degree in Social Work from The Ohio State University and has specialized in family and crisis counseling. As an animal lover she became interested in the subject of service dogs through her colleague and friend Marcie Davis, a service dog recipient. For over five years she has researched service dog resources and interviewed service dog partners, veterinarians and other professionals in the dog world and in 2003 co-founded Working Like Dogs, LLC an organization dedicated to working dogs around the world. She lives with her husband and daughter in Texas and New Mexico.

Foreword by Betty White    
Preface    
 1  History of Service Dogs         
 2  Making the Decision to Get a Service Dog    
 3  They Don’t Call it Boot Camp for Nothing    
 4  Access to the World         
 5  You, Your Service Dog and Your Veterinarian         
 6  Keeping Your Service Dog Healthy and Happy         
 7  Illness and Retirement    
 8  The Death of a Service Dog    
 9  Surviving the Loss         
10  Successor Dog         
11  Behind Every Great Service Dog is a Great Puppy Raiser         
Conclusion and Reflections         
Appendix I:  Training, Behavior, and Performance Standards
Appendix II:  Service Dog Resources