Jose Luis was taking the train to work day when he noticed a woman with a German Shepard getting on the train. This made nervous. What if that dog attacked someone? Jose didn't know that people could bring pets with onto trains. It seemed unsafe. He stepped closer the dog. The German Shepard seemed friendly enough. as he put out his hand to pet dog, the woman stopped him.

"Please don't pet . He's working," the lady told him. Jose Luis 't understand. The woman explained that she was blind that the dog Hampton acted as her eyes, her navigate her way around the city. The pointed out the special vest that Hampton was . The vest was printed with the words "service ".

Jose Luis had never heard of service animals . "Service animals like Hampton are allowed into public that most pets are not. Hampton is more a pet. He helps me be self-sufficient and the things that I need to do in city," the woman explained. The woman also told Luis that service animals had to go through training so that they learn how to behave public places and do not get distracted. "People to help too though, by not petting him," woman added.

The woman continued to explain that animals do not just help the blind. Some act as therapy animals. Therapy animals go into and nursing homes. These animals lower the stress of people who are very sick or who just had operations. They also encourage people to . Therapy animals are especially popular in children's hospitals. really can be man's best friends.