Q 13: I work as a waitress in a restaurant in Conroe, TX. You came in with another person and two service dogs. I brought some nice meat from the kitchen and bent down to offer it to one of the dogs and you snapped at me, and told me that they could not have people food.

You did explain that service dogs can't eat people food because they go into restaurants and are trained to never eat anything off the floor. You also told me that I was breaking health codes.

You did apologize for snapping at me but I felt so sorry for the dogs that they never get to enjoy people food. Do you remember me?

Allie A 1: It depends on what the dog needs to learn to do to work with the recipient's specific disability. If the dog is being trained for a person like Bill Klotz, a quadriplegic, then we seek $20,000 worth of funding in a two year process of training. Our range is $10,000 to $20,00 and is subject to change.

We ask that you are active in the fundraising for your service dog. It is a process in itself, but necessary because in most cases the recipient can't afford to pay for the dog themselves.

We will have several programs, one of them being that we train you to train your own dog. Check back to the website often to see updates. You can call me direct at 713-703-6924 or 936-588-0770.

Allie A 2: I like to start with puppies so training starts at an early age. I teach them things through play that sets them up for more advanced tasks later. I am thinking about the recipient at all times while training the puppy. It takes time and consistency.

I start with a reason for the dog to go into the cabinet. He must 'get something' out of it for me. Then I tie a soft rope to it, and teach the dog to "pull" on the rope. Once the cabinet is opened, I ask the dog to "get it." Once he gives it to me, I praise him then teach him to "push" and shut the cabinet. Sounds simple huh? All about consistency.

Allie A 3: Anyone that owns a dog and maintains it knows how much it cost. From the time that we pay for the puppy, shots, vet, heart wormer, flea control, neuter/spay, collars, leashes, vest, food, toys, training supplies, gas to drive all over Houston, TX and surrounding area, training, etc., for two years...well, you do the math.

One thing people don't seem understand is how much driving we have to do to keep these dogs in public and train on a regular basis. That's a lot of fuel at sky high prices.

Allie A 4: Yes, they have play time and they all love to play. Molly was taught to self-exercise by sliding down slides, swimming on her own, and she also throws the ball for herself. I taught her this so that I can teach other dogs that may 'have' to self-exercise once placed with their recipient.

These dogs are happy to be working, happy to be playing, happy to be with and take care of the one they love. They do not want to stay behind when you leave, and when they are home they just normally do the things asked to do because it is habit and they love you.

Allie A 5: Not in most cases but maybe in a few situations.

In order to really answer this question I need to explain that the dog, trainers, recipient, and anyone else involved with the service dog has to stay focused and on 'task'. There is play time, but there is also training time, and work time for a service dog. If the other animal is distracting to the service dog when he needs to perform a task, then the answer is "No." Imagine the service dog on his way to retrieve the phone, or push a panic button in case of an emergency, and the other dog distracts him; Not a nice case scenario.

If, however, you had a dog that lived outside or an old dog that just laid around and stayed out of the way, the answer would be "Maybe."

The main thing to think about is why the service dog is needed in the first place, and how you can set up your home to accommodate the service dog. Some people wait until their older dog passes or gives their dog to a loving family. Some people choose to just wait.

Allie A 12: No thank you. It is hard to tell what kind of life a stray has had or the pedigree. It is expensive to have the dog's health checked out and time consuming to test and train the dog.

I had an experience with a young dog that seemed to be a good candidate for a service dog. He did everything just right until after a month of training and expense we ran into a man with a white hat on... he went off on the poor man scaring him to death. We tested him with every color hat and it was only white hats that bothered him. We found him a good home with no white hats and he is happy and a great family dog.

Allie A 13: Yes I remember you as you are the first waitress that has actually bent down to give one of our dogs food without asking permission.

Again, I apologize for snapping at you but your actions shocked me and threw me off. I was not worried that either of the dogs would have actually accepted the offer, but if I had a newer or younger dog with me then many hours of training could have been compromised.

Also, there is no need to feel sorry for our dogs because they can't eat human food as they get to be with us in the first place rather than getting left behind. Besides that human food can be fattening, make them sick, and some foods can actually kill them.