Earle The Service Dog Garners Nationwide Following

DANVERS, MA – Earle was partnered with Chris Slavin on Christmas Eve last year to be her mobility assistance dog. Earle can help Slavin, who is a wheelchair user, by pushing elevator buttons, finding her phone, and even picking a dime up off a linoleum floor.

When Slavin began her job at The Residence at Pearl Street – an independent and assisted living facility in Reading – she realized that Earle served more than her needs. His presence comforted many residents, and has even drawn some with dementia out of their shells and into communication.

Slavin ended up getting so many requests from people to connect that she made Earle his own Facebook page: Earle The Service Dog, where people can follow the adventures of Chris and her yellow lab companion.

You wouldn't guess the long journey it took Earle to get to Chris by the way he looks to her for queues with his big brown eyes: It almost seems that he was raised by her side. But Earle was in the JJ Moran Medium Security Facility in Rhode Island for a year starting when he was 10 weeks old, learning skills from an inmate named Ryan.

Earle's training was facilitated through NEADS, or National Education for Assistance Dog Services. On the weekends Earle did public access training so he could safely be around toddlers, the elderly, and stressful situations. Slavin remembers a ceremony when a cannon went off right next to Earle, and while everyone else jumped, he didn't budge.

Slavin works at the Reflections Memory Care program at The Residence at Pearl Street, which cares for residents with alzheimer's and dementia. Earle works there too: playing fetch with the residents, letting them pat him, and greeting the especially dog friendly residents by rubbing his face on them.

"Earle gives them a way to communicate," said Yolanda Douglass, Reflections Director. "They've been a very welcome addition to Reflections."

Slavin said being with Earle and petting him serves as a grounding experience. Residents will recognize Earle first, then Chris, then begin remembering other things. "There's no judgement with Earle," Slavin said. "A lot of people need that."

Earle has been trained to stay by Chris unless she says otherwise. He doesn't say hello to residents unless she says it's okay, and doesn't jump up on furniture without permission. He's been bred to have a certain temperament, and he and Chris were trained thoroughly. She said that while the bond formed quickly, it took about six months for the two to get in sync.

Chris and Earle recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to talk to their representatives about public access for service dogs. Chris said that faux service animals actually hinder her public access because they're not trained to be in certain situations.

For instance, if a dog owner brings a dog into a restaurant and claims it to be their emotional support animal and it acts out, that business owner might decide to block public access for all service animals: Real and fake.

"People have this idea that they can throw a vest on a dog and call it a service dog," said Slavin. But the level of discipline and temperament – the kind that keeps a dog from jumping after a cannon has gone off – doesn't happen by accident.

Slavin and Earle are working to change that perception with NEADS.

Phyllis Holmes is one of Earle's favorite residents. She feels Slavin and Earle have brought a warmth to The Residence that has changed the lives of the people that live there.

"Earle runs the place," Holmes joked. "He's exceptional. He just has a quality about him that makes him special." Holmes had dogs for the majority of her adult life, and has seen firsthand the impact that Earle makes.

"There's just so much going on in the world today that things like Earle and Chris are needed," Holmes said.

Image via Earle the Service Dog