Instructions
Read the following passage and answer the questions given after it.
Passage:
Twenty five years ago, while travelling and teaching in Turkey, Nepal and Iran. Bonnie Bergin noticed self-sufficient disabled people
going about their tun‘emarkable daily business. often using donkeys to hold pots. pans and other wares to be sold. She later retru‘ned to
the United
States to begin work on a master's degree in special education.
"I thought hard about what can be done to get people out of institutions and onto the streets. getting jobs. and it came to me: dogs."
says Bergin, who today has a doctorate in education and is the founder of the Assistance Dog Institute and originator of the servicedog
concept.
She ran into fierce resistance from academics and professionals at first: Dogs spread disease. Dogs are stupid. The disabled can't take
care of dogs, how could dogs take care of them? But the long list of negative reactions didn't stop her. Her first trainee was Abdul, a
golden retriever puppy someone had given her.
Her first dog-assistance client was Keny Knaus. a soft-spoken 19-year-old woman who had a nem'omuscular disorder that had left her
unable to move her legs and much of her arms. If Knaus accidentally fell forward in her wheelchair. she could not get 11p. She clearly
lacked the physical force to train and maintain a dog. But Bergin was undeterred.
Bergin and Knaus concentrated not on physical gestures. but on verbal cues such as "sit" or "stay," using variations in tone of voice and
facial expression to get Abdul to help Knaus.
By the end of his training. the dog could push Knaus up from her inchair falls. open doors, turn on lights, retrieve food and push levers to
help her operate the chair lift to her van. Most important. Knaus developed a trusting emotional bond with Abdul simply by spending
time with him. much in the way humans get to know one another and develop subtle. complex relationships based on mutual
understanding.
Today, more than 150 programs provide similar services. and an estimated 3,500 service dogs are in place worldwide. Waiting lists for
the dogs. who are worth around $10,000 by the end of training. can be long--sometimes five years--because of the extensive breeding.
training and bonding required.