I had a service dog. He passed away last year. Loki was great. I trained him myself with the help of a dog training program out here called Pawsabilities. They offer training from everything from basic obedience to agility to service dogs (service dog training is free with obedience).
Loki was part Austrailian Cattle Dog and part pit bull. He was a stray who was thrown out of a car on the freeway. Having him was a blessing. At that time I could barely leave my house. The panic attacks were worse because I am deaf in my left ear. I could not hear people walk up behind me or beside me. It really freaked me out.
He was the coolest dog. I always knew I was safe with him. He would always let me know when I was going to have a panic attack and he could usually pull me out of one. If not he could be counted on to give me an excuse to get out of a room. Loki also let me know when I was going to have migrane headaches (which was a bonus because mine come on suddenly). Loki could open doors, call 911, he was my security system, and he could read people like I have never seen.
One of the coolest things I ever saw him do was when we were getting on the bus one day. The usual routine on the bus was that he would wait for me while I was paying and then go crawl under a seat. But this one day we got on the bus and he immediatly went up to this guy who was sitting in the first seat. He started sniffing and gently pawing at his knee. Then he started to whine and cry. I apologised all over the place, he had never acted like that before and as a service dog was not supposed to act like that.
A couple of weeks later we got on the same bus and there was the same guy. He said that after Loki went crazy on his knee he had gone to the doctor (had been having problems but thought it was nothing). Doctor said he had cancer. He said that he would not have gone to the doctor except for Loki. But because of him it was caught early enough that he was probably not going to lose his leg.
Anyway, now I have Jerron. She is a Border Collie/Lab Mix. Very smart. I am considering training her as a service dog but have not made up my mind on that one yet.

Loki sounded like ONE HECK OF A DOG. I find it so amazing what dogs can do for us and you know sometimes I do not think we give them enough credit. I will share a story with you that is very touching at least to me anyway LOL. I had a siberian husky named Blade I got him for my 5th aniversary as a present from my hubby. He was an AWFUL puppy LOL, but turned out to be a wonderful freind. I have always been a dog trainer and always tried to offer service dog training to people that needed it at no cost to them, I wanted to show how a SNOW DOG could make a great helper. He learned all the tasks very quickly but we mostly were doing threapy work and one day at the nursing home I worked in I had him with me. Blade got very excited over a particular woman not typical of him, well he would not leave her alone he kept tugging at her sleeve and I was trying to stop him, well he tugged until he got her to sit on the floor, sure enough with in seconds she had a seizure he layed there by her and was barking or should I say WOO WOOING Sibes don't really bark LOL, untill someone other than me came. It shocked me I would have never guessed he could have done that. Blade unfortunatly died in 2004 because of his love for people someone felt the need to show him not all People are kind. I will not go into detail. I miss him very much.

I call my greyhound Strategy (affectionally called Snoopy) my furry Buddha of love. He comes up to me when I am about to or am having an attack. He watches me very closely. Lets me cuddle with him when I am having a hard time. Let's me cry on him. HE is such a comfort. I would be lost without him. He and I are alike. We are reserved, but can love deeply, but we don't wear our heart on our sleeve. We have a connection that goes beyound words or logic. It's spiritual actually. My other greyhound, Hannah has actually helped me be more affectionate and emotionally vulnerable. Sometimes I can't be around them when I am really really wound up, irritated or angry for whatever reason. I love them enough to know when to keep them away from me.


They are both 5 years old

I have a dog that I would LOVE to train to be a service dog.
He already does most of the things already: comforts me, allows me to drive for errands, nudges and encourages me to get up when I'm depressed, braces his body for me to pull myself up, braces and stands so I can lightly sit on his rump and regain my energy during walks, brings me things, watches the front door, runs through my house on voice command to check for intruders...
I've already managed to teach him to open the fridge since I read this thread, he's eager to learn and "help his mommy". :)

Cheers
Y&A