The Labor of Working Dogs: Take Time to Reflect This Labor Day

August has arrived. Summer will soon be waning, and Labor Day will signal a return to work and school; less play, more focus. Labor Day is traditionally a day for final barbecues and get togethers with friends and family eager to celebrate the last moments of summer fun. But as an observation and day of remembrance, Labor Day signifies much more. It's a day to honor the achievements and impact of workers. You don't have to look very far to see evidence that humans aren't the only species hard at work on this planet. Dogs have many critical occupations in today's world. Labor Day is every bit as much the working dog's holiday, too!

Dogs have been employed for a wide variety of purposes throughout history. Some types of working dogs are:

• Service Dogs: Service dogs for the disabled, such as injured veterans returning home from war and rejoining society, are a true blessing. Whether the service dog's master suffers a physical disability or an emotional disability with a physical manifestation, these patient animals are more than just faithful companions. They play an important role in bringing normalcy to otherwise disrupted lives.
• Guide Dogs: Intelligence and loyalty make dogs ideal partners for the blind. Around the world service dogs are trained for this purpose, helping to be the eyes for their blind masters and keep them safe from harm. It's a busy, chaotic world. Guide dogs enable their masters to live remarkably normal lives despite their lack of vision.
• Therapy Dogs: Most dogs can become therapy dogs, with the right personality and some training. Therapy dogs bring countless smiles to those who need them most. Therapy dogs visit hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes and other places where people could use comfort. They spend time with the ill, the recovering and the elderly, and they spread joy and healing wherever they go.
• Police Dogs: You've surely heard of K9 units. Dogs have been employed by emergency services for many years, as they are as determined and brave on the job. Unique canine abilities, such as keen sense of smell, make dogs the ideal solution for sniffing bombs or drugs, tracking missing people, and more.

This is but a small sampling of working dogs. There are dogs that herd livestock, dogs that rescue people on mountains and jump out of helicopters to rescue drowning victims, dogs that track and retrieve hunted prey, dogs that guard property, dogs that are used as transportation such as sled dogs, and a great deal more.

The majority of types of working dogs require intensive training to learn the tasks they must perform. Sometimes this training is provided by non-profit organizations and community volunteers, and donations are required to keep operations going. From volunteering your own dog to become a therapy dog to fostering service puppies before they are old enough to enter into training, adopting retired service dogs once their job is done to donating goods or money for service dog training, there are a lot of ways that dog lovers can become involved in the continued proliferation of working dogs in today's society.

If this Labor Day you are moved to help with a working dog's mission in honor of the work that our canine friends do, there are many service dog organizations in and around Washington, DC that you can look into. Some include:

• Hero Dogs, Inc., who train service dogs for veterans 
• Shore Service Dogs, Inc., who train mobility assistance and other service dogs 
• Fidos for Freedom, Inc., who train assistance and therapy dogs

The web sites for each of these organizations feature ways that you can volunteer, donate or otherwise support them in their work with working dogs.

To show our appreciation for working dogs everywhere, Pet Peeps wants your 'likes' for charity on Labor Day. If the Pet Peeps Facebook page receives 250 likes on Labor Day, we'll donate $500 to Pets 4 Vets, an organization that trains service dogs for veterans. We invite you to visit the Pet Peeps Facebook page and like us on September 3^rd, and spread the word to your Facebook friends!