Alright, take a moment to find a box of tissues because it’s going to be one of those videos… but don’t worry, you’ll be crying tears of joy! If you’re familiar with service dogs then you know just how critical they are to people’s lives. Accordingly, each service dog goes through a rigorous training program and must meet minimum requirements. But it’s not easy.
These dogs start getting training since they are first born. They are trained constantly and must learn how to do every day tasks to help the individual they will one day support. This includes anything from learning to open the fridge to turning light switches on and off. This takes a very special dog who doesn’t get distracted easily and can learn things rather quickly.
So what happens when a dog goes through that expensive and long process and it just doesn’t work out? Well, that’s what happened to Judy Fridono and Ricochet. Judy had been training Ricochet since puppyhood and he was a very fast learner. But she eventually came to the realization that Ricochet’s personality just wasn’t suited for a service dog. Although he did learn to do all his tasks very well, she realized that he got distracted by birds too easily (as many dogs do instinctively).
Although disappointed, Judy accepted Ricochet for who he was and that’s when things started to get amazing. “This beautiful story is about what we all want—to be encouraged to discover who we really are… to be accepted… to find our life purpose… and to be celebrated for being different.” Judy helped Ricochet do something incredible that most dogs never get to do. Enjoy the video and don’t forget to share!
