Stories

Jolene Jackelen has volunteered with Helping Paws MN for 15 years, helping make the world more accessible for people with physical disabilities and post-traumatic stress disorder

Jolene Jackelen always loved dogs and always loved volunteering in the community. A chance encounter with a family friend in a grocery store 15 years ago set her on a path to meld the two passions.

“She had a service dog she was training, and as she told me about it I realized it was something I wanted to do, too,” said Jackelen, who has gone on to volunteer thousands of hours and trained two service dogs through the nonprofit Helping Paws MN.

Training a service dog is no small task. It takes about two and a half years to teach the dog the 70-90 cues it needs to eventually help its owner further their independent living and quality of life, including opening doors, turning on lights and retrieving phones and other items. The dogs can brace to help someone stand up, or provide comfort during a nightmare. They are also trained to go get help. Once a service dog is matched to their owner, there’s often additional training specific to that person’s lifestyle – whether it’s a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder who wants to drive their kids to school with less distress or someone with a disability who needs assistance opening doors.

The training is “all about teaching the dogs the skills they need to assist their person, and training in a positive manner,” Jackelen said. “The coolest thing about the human-animal bond is that the training prepares them for different things they may experience, but in real life you really see how the dogs intuitively sense the needs of their person and innately respond.”

As part of the training for both of her service dogs, Jackelen worked with her manager and building management to secure permission to bring the dogs to the office once they reached the appropriate skill level.

Jackelen on what to know about service dogs:

• Service dogs are different than therapy dogs or emotional support animals. Service dogs are the only ones covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act because they provide a specific service to help someone with a disability.
• When you see a service dog in public, ignore it. “Just think of the dog as an assistant who is helping that person. That dog is with that person for a need, and if you’re distracting them from their work it’s hard for them to concentrate.”
• If you ask to pet a service dog and the owner says no, please don’t be offended. “They’re just asking the dog to focus on their job at hand.”
• People often wonder if service dogs ever get to have fun, and the answer is yes. “Just like any other dog, they’re very much a part of the family. But when they’re in public, they’re working.”