Q & A No. 9, Retiring? Is she sick?

So what happens when a service dog retires? Well, like so many things about service dogs, that’s a complicated question. Some service dogs are trained by their handlers. Some are trained at a facility. And some service dogs are reassigned to a different job than the one they were originally “hired” for.

A lot of service dog handlers can’t keep two dogs for one reason or another. And so, these facility trained service dogs are often brought back to the facility where they were trained when they retire. Some remain with their handlers and simply live the rest of their lives as pets or therapy dogs. If they’re handler trained, they may be re-homed with family or with a therapy dog facility.

As for Billie, she with stay with me and my mom. She become an office dog and a part-time neighborhood ambassador. Frankie will inherit the service dog job and the two will spend nights together at home. Basically, Billie won’t be going anywhere and I mean “retirement” literally.