No doubt my wife, Ali, and I will cry and experience a deep sadness and loss when we finally give up Harley in August of 1992. But I also think of what he is going to. There are over 20 million handicapped persons in the United States. Two million people who are living a life more difficult than you or I could imagine. Two million people, a great many of whom are facing their handicap with a dignity that you and I have ever known.
Service dogs can assist handicapped persons to gain a sense of self-esteem and freedom.
The job is massive. Canine Companions for Independence is the largest and most widely recognized organization for training service dogs. And even for them, in the ten years that they have been operating they have only placed some 600 dogs. That leaves 1,999,400 handicapped persons who haven't known the love and dedication of a service dog. I'm interested in playing.