On November 16, 2022, Mr. Tyson, a service dog trainer, came to Westlake High School and gave a short presentation on his work and the dogs they train. Tyson brought with him Happy and Dylan, service dogs that graduated from training school. 

 

While in training school, the dogs learn a series of commands: “Got my back; peek-a-boo; block; shake; and kiss,” Tyson explains. Each one is used in order to establish a relationship with the owner. Tyson adds that Got My Back “is a command for someone who is worried that someone is following them. If the dog wags their tail, they are signaling to their owner that there is someone behind them after all.” After training school, all graduate dogs go through tests in order to get a visual of each dog's personality to best assign them to each family. 

 

Team training is a process where the dogs are taken away from their family and trainers for a period of time to see how their personality is with strangers and by themselves. After getting a description of each dog's personality, they have one final test in order for the dog to become a certified service dog. Each service dog must then pass the Public Access Test, which is just to ensure that each dog is safe for society. According to Tyson, part of the test would ensure that dogs are aware of the other commands, such as block, where the dog “separates another person from the owner by creating a boundary to make the owner feel safer,” and Peek-a-boo, where the dog “stands in between the owner's legs for establishing security and being grounded from their past. This command is more specifically for a veteran with PTSD because of their explicit and traumatic past.”

 

After passing the test, they have a ceremony for all the dogs where they salute the crowd and officially begin their certified service dog career. 

 

Before the dogs are assigned to a veteran or person, each person is observed to see which dog best fits the person as an individual. Owners are always recertified each year by a member from the facility that travels to visit them. If they suspect the dog is in any danger at all, removal of the dog is allowed, Tyson explains.

 

Here, at Westlake, All Paws on Deck hosted two of the service dogs, Dylan and Happy. Tyson explains that Dylan is a 13-month-old active service dog to a police officer; he is meant to “help relieve the officer’s stress and help connect the police officer to the community; Dylan is trained to help make the community feel more welcomed by the police officer’s side.” Happy is a retired service dog. She is 6-years-old and was adopted by Mr. Tyson himself after retirement. However, she is still very well behaved and educated in her training. 

 

Westlake students were welcome into Mrs. Goldstone’s room in order to establish their own bonds and learn about the benefits of service dogs. In fact, they even saw one of the best commands in action: kiss, where Dylan and Happy follow the simple affectionate command to help reassure the owner that they are not alone and are loved.