If you have visited the Archives this semester, you might have noticed a new sign at our reference desk:
Service Dog in the Archives sign, Sept. 2013
One of our graduate assistants, Karis, is involved with the student organization 4Paws4Ability WSU, a branch of the larger 4Paws4Ability, which socializes and trains future service dogs for people with disabilities. The dogs live with a foster for a semester, and the foster and co-handlers take the dog with them everywhere they go (work, class, restaurants, shopping, etc.), to help acclimate them to the many people, places, and situations they will encounter in their work as a working service dog.
This semester, Karis is helping to socialize a Golden Labrador puppy named A’Kos. And, as part of his socialization, A’Kos accompanies Karis to work in the Archives on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons (and sometimes Thursdays). So, you may see A’Kos at the reference desk sometimes on those days:
Karis and A’Kos, Sept. 2013
The 4Paws4Ability folks use a naming convention to name all the puppies in a particular litter. A’Kos and his siblings are all named after types of hawks. A’Kos means “white falcon” is Turkish. He has a brother named Falcon who is also being socialized at WSU. The naming conventions can vary widely; for instance, in the past, there have been litters named after cookies, aircraft, and Dr. Seuss characters, to name a few.
A’Kos wears a leash, a gentle leader, and a little red 4Paws4Ability vest at all times. Most of the time, he just hangs out underneath the reference desk:
A’Kos under the reference desk, Sept. 2013
He’s very quiet and calm. You probably wouldn’t even know he was there except for the sign!
Here are a few things to know if you’re visiting us when A’Kos and Karis are at the reference desk:
- A’Kos is not an on-duty service dog yet, so it’s okay to pet him. (Actually, it’s encouraged!)
- If you are allergic or otherwise averse to working in the reading room with a dog present, please let us know. A’Kos would be sad if he thought he was making anyone uncomfortable (and so would we)!
- A’Kos is usually here for a few hours on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons and sometimes on Thursdays. Feel free to call ahead to find out if A’Kos will be around during your intended visit.
- If you have any questions about A’Kos or about the 4Paws4Ability program, just ask Karis! (Or if you have questions and Karis is not around, ask any of us, and we’ll find out!)
We just love having A’Kos around. It’s like having Fuzz Therapy every week! We hope you’ll stop by and visit A’Kos—and us!
ADA allows Service Dogs anywhere people can go. It doesn’t matter if people are allergic or not.
Thank you for your comment! You are absolutely right! We only meant that since A’Kos is not actually a working service dog yet—he is still being trained how to do the job—we can at this stage still make exceptions if someone is truly averse to having the dog in the room with them. But you are absolutely correct that an actively working service dog is allowed to go anywhere with his/her owner, whether people mind or not.
If I drop by at the Archive, it will be to pat A’kos. He looks so amiable and adorable. He just might take a fancy to me too. Dogs somehow can sense if you like them.
Thanks, Micky! Yes, A’Kos was pretty adorable. Actually he’s moved on to the next phase of his training, but we have a new pup here a couple days a week named Isra. She’s pretty cute too!
A’Kos is going to be coming home with my son Kender this month to be his autism service dog! How awesome to see his puppy pictures here, and as a family of rebellious readers it was even more awesome to see he spent so much time around books and purple hair! Thank you so much for taking good care of A’Kos for us!
Hi, Elayne, thank you so much for sharing an update on A’Kos! We loved having A’Kos around the Archives. If you would like to have any of the photos, please let me know.
I didn’t see your comment until today. We would love to see more pictures of puppy A’Kos and be able to share them with our friends. A’Kos is such a wonderful help to Kender. The past few months with him have been absolutely amazing.
That’s great! We’re so glad to hear that you all and A’Kos are doing well 🙂