Tag: Disneyland

Aww! Service Dog-in-Training Poses for Caricature at Disneyland

Yahoo, a service-dog-in-training, got a unique Disneyland souvenir — for dogs, at least.

A photo of the young yellow Lab calmly posing as an artist draws a caricature of him riding a surfboard is going viral.

Yahoo lives in San Marcos, Calif., with a volunteer from the nonprofit Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), according to Buzzfeed News. He’s currently learning basic obedience and socialization skills. When he’s ready in a couple of years, Yahoo will be given free of charge to someone with disabilities.

The photo was taken Oct. 14 by the parents of a woman named Katie, who shared it on Twitter. As of Tuesday morning it’s been liked over 132,000 times and shared over 53,000 times.

“Based on that photo, Yahoo is practicing basic obedience commands as he waits for his photo [to be] taken,” Jeanine Konopelski, a spokeswoman for CCI, told Buzzfeed News. “That’s a perfect training and socialization for one of our dogs to get used to waiting and sitting at attention.”

The volunteer told Buzzfeed News that’s exactly why she and a friend took their service dogs-in-training to Disneyland. The always-crowded theme park would provide plenty of high-level distractions for the dogs, but also be a “fun trip,” she said.

Disneyland is not only the Happiest Place on Earth, but apparently also the Best Place for Training Service Dogs on Earth. In February, a guide dog-in training was treated to an obedience lesson from Pluto.

By next February, Yahoo will be trained to open doors, turn on light switches and pull wheelchairs — but not necessarily to ride a surfboard.

Watch a Guide Dog in Training Get Schooled by Pluto at Disneyland

Ace, a young pup being trained to be a guide dog, got an obedience lesson from a very famous dog during a December visit to Disneyland.

In a viral video with nearly 10.7 million views as of this afternoon, Ace can be seen assuming the down position at Pluto’s command.

 

“We went to Disneyland for a few hours as a socialization experience,” Sandy Steinblums, who raised Ace as a volunteer with Guide Dogs of America, wrote on Facebook. “What you didn’t see AFTER the 14-15 second video where he settled in a DOWN was his DOWN/STAY for a few minutes while Pluto tried to break his stay.”

Steinblums was too far away from Ace “to do a proper correction, but golly-be….he responded anyway,” she wrote.

Ace began his formal training at the end of January. It will take six to nine months of working with licensed trainers before he’s ready to graduate and become someone’s guide dog.

“That is my boy and I am proud of him, and love the Disney characters for being so kind and helpful!” Steinblums wrote.

Photo via Facebook

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