Great source of companionship

A close friend just found the doggie of her dreams. She's been looking for some time and is delighted to have found Ashurst (photo to right). Ashurst is a flunked-out service dog (which is a little like saying a ballplayer didn't make the Mariners but is good enough to play AAA ball--most ballplayers in the world never even make it to a farm tryout).

A fair percentage of dogs that are trained to assist people with hearing, seeing and movement disabilities don't quite make the grade. Though unable to meet extremely high standards, these would-be service dogs still make great pets, such as the "Fabulous Flunkies" of the National Education for Assistance Dog Services in Princeton, Mass. Because so much care and training has been invested in them, adopting such dogs may require several hundred dollars as a donation to the charity. You'll have to network to locate them, and that includes contacting facilities near you to find if they have "dropouts." The Delta Society Web site (www.deltasociety.org) lists service dog agencies.