Support dogs have become more common in our society since there are more people who need their help. Support dogs can be almost anywhere, whether it's bus or train or hospital. Recently, a new black Labrador has come to our school and started his training so that he can become a support dog in the future. His name is Reid, his caretaker is Miss Sheil. She has the responsibility to train him into a good support dog.

 Reid will move on to his support dog life if he is successful in his test. If support dogs fail their test after their one year training, they could return to their instructor or someone new as pets. Normally, support dogs would work to 10-11 years old and then retire. Which means the time he spends in our school is only 1/10 of his lifetime. As a black fur Labrador, Reid is very energetic and Miss Sheil would walk him around the school and train him. When they are training or walking, please don’t interact with Reid without Miss Sheil’s permission.

As for now, Reid still annoys Miss Sheil quite a bit. He is still a young dog and is curious about many things around our school. An interesting fact is that Reid’s vest has a L plate on it, this shows that he is still learning how to be a support dog. Reid is very sensitive to noise, this could benefit him when he becomes a support dog. Many people misunderstood how support dogs work, they don’t work all day 24 hours. They could relax, play and socialise, they only come in and help when their partner needs them. In the end, let’s hope that under the care of Miss Sheil. Reid could pass his guide dog exam and be an incredible guide dog and when he retires, he might come back to us again.