service dog

plural service dogs

1. A dog which serves people by helping them with activities of daily living, with search and rescue, or with other (non-draft and nonfarming) tasks.
   1. governmentA dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers.

      A suspected burglar was tracked down by a police service dog and bitten early today.

      1991 March 20, “Dog tracks, bites suspect in burglary”, in The Press-Courier, USA, retrieved 05 Dec 2011, page 11

      2 more examples

      The German Shepherd probably is the top all-round service dog. He had an enviable record with the K-9 Corps during World War II.

      1959 August 6, Walter R. Fletcher, “Specialty Club German Shepherds' Best Friend”, in New York Times, page 23

      Dago, a retired Army service dog, served as a bomb detecting dog with the 28th Military Police Detachment at Ft. Wainwright, Alaska for eight years.

      2008 May 16, Pfc Alicia C. Torbush, “Service Dogs Retiring”, in Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System, retrieved 05 Dec 2011

      Synonyms: assistance dog, aid dog

   2. CanadaUSA dog which assists a person who has a physical disability or a mental disability such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

      Reggie was a “release” from Guiding Eyes; he kept leading his trainers into light poles, so he was deemed temperamentally unsuited to be a service dog.

      2011 June 11, Robin Finn, “Sunday Routine: Jessica Walter”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 18 Sep 2023, retrieved 05 Dec 2011

      1 more example

      A spinal cord injury will confine him to a wheelchair for life. […] He has a service dog and lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment, although there are relatives nearby.

      2007 April 18, Rita Healy, “Echoes of Columbine”, in TIME, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2012

      Synonyms: assistance dog, aid dog, aid dog, assistance dog, helper dog