Daisy is a service animal that came to us via Joys of Living Dogs in Salem, Oregon in the winter of 2022. She worked hard to receive her licensure, being taught skills daily for hours at a time by experienced incarcerated trainers, and volunteer socializers (the failure rate for service animals is approximately 40% for breeding lines specific to service animals and trained by experts; the rate of failure for self-trained animals is unknown). After two years of intensive work, Daisy met Dr. Hsia and worked together for an intensive two week period, culminating in the Public Access Test which they passed. Together, they are a certified team, accredited by Assistance Dogs International and required to recertify every two years. She knows approximately 50 commands.
You may see Daisy wandering the halls of the office, always eager to meet new people (unless they’re squirrels) and always looking for a belly rub. In the office she often sits with patients who are anxious (especially new patients), helping people overcoming their fears by either moderating intense exposures both in and out of office, or being the source of fear for those who are anxious around dogs.
In her off hours she enjoys snacks, playing with other dogs, snacks, taking long walks, and snacks.