[NY Annie]

I'm not sure this belongs in the Pets forum since Service Dogs are not pets, but they are dogs, so here's my issue:

I have a service dog - she hears for me - and goes everywhere with me. As a result of that, people often ask me about her, sometimes out of curiosity but often because there is someone in the family needing one. And it happened yet again yesterday. In the grocery store, I was approached by an employee asking if I knew what breed for a diabetes alert, where to find one, how to choose the right one, and who could train the parents how to train it for their child. The family had reached out to an organization but it was going to cost upwards of $20K and it just isn't affordable at all.

I said I would do some research and get back to her.

So, I have no idea where to start looking for such a dog. I DO have someone I know who does training - albeit 2 hours' drive from here - and I can help the family with basic manners/obedience training locally.

I know that many breeds are used but what breed would be suitable for a young child? Dobermans and standard poodles can be intimidating to young children and those are the 2 that immediately spring to my mind. I think golden retrievers but then there's an issue with their coat needing much care.

So, if anyone knows breeders, has worked with an organization that trains, owns a service dog, please throw in your 2 cents or a dime worth. If there's a website that has all these issues already addressed, please post the link.

Thanks in advance,
Annie