Six Feet to Independence (Understanding Life With a Service Dog)

Getting into the service dog world can be like entering a cold pool with no descriptor of how deep the water goes—shocking, unnerving, and you hope you're not drastically underestimating the depth, but you probably are all the same. That's where Six Feet to Independence comes in. With knowledge and input from every stage of the journey—from first-timers' family members to trainers who have been in this world for years and years and the dog world even longer—this book is meant to educate new potential handlers and their support people. Six Feet to Independence explores six areas that most people getting into this world either don't know they should look into or are overwhelmed by. A service dog and its trainer need to become one organism, moving with six feet, not just a dog and a handler. This is much easier to let yourself become when you know how to walk, which you will learn one step at a time. This book is not just full of answers to questions, but questions the future handler and those around them have to ask themselves. This is not a be-all, end-all lifestyle choice, and it is certainly not for the faint of heart or something to do "for funsies."