Service Dog Training

Michelle Barlak, a spokeswoman for The Seeing Eye in Morristown, N.J., said a class to pair dogs and clients was in progress when the state shut down most businesses. The organization accelerated the training, got the dogs into homes with clients and has been following up by phone, Skype and email, she said.

An immediate challenge, Barlak said, is that the organization’s in-house veterinary clinic also was forced to close. That means local veterinarians end up handling problems, a more costly option eating into existing funding.

Another concern is making sure essential workers who rely on guide dogs can keep doing their jobs, said Thomas Panek, chief executive of Guiding Eyes for the Blind. If for some reason such a worker needed a replacement dog, he said, handoff could be tricky — and their critical work put in jeopardy.

“Right now, there are people who are blind and on the front lines in this crisis,” he said. “I know four people who work in the federal government. They have to go into places like the emergency response centers. They’re using their service dogs to get to work. They’re part of the crisis response team; they just happen to be blind.” How quickly future cohorts of service dogs can be ready remains an open question. Training programs are run on schedules, and those schedules are set back every day the pandemic goes on. Dogs living in foster homes may be safe and content, but some are losing skills.

“Many of our dogs need to learn how to work around adaptive equipment like wheelchairs,” said Sarah Birman, national director of training and client services at Canine Companions. “I don’t have a wheelchair in my house to practice with. I don’t have the special light switch to practice with, like the one that’s specially constructed at our center.”

The longer the crisis persists, Barlak said, the harder it will be for the dogs to get back on track. For now, she said, “I think our dogs are going to be able to catch up quite easily. If we’re all still sitting here a year from now? Then, I would be concerned.”

Teal Morris, a family caseworker for the Indiana Department of Child Services, is waiting out the worry with her golden retriever-Lab mix, Phil. She got him through Canine Companions in 2011 to help with her lifelong spina bifida. Phil picks up things she drops, and she uses his leash to maintain balance if she stumbles or trips.