When thinking of service dogs, large breed dogs, like the German Shepherd, usually come to mind. Who would imagine that an under 10-pound Chihuahua would be trained and licensed as a service dog for asthmatic children?

Missouri Western nursing student Katelynn Crawford is the owner and trainer of the tiny Dexter. Crawford’s entire family believes in animal therapy, and they believe pets, specifically dogs, can be very therapeutic.

Dexter, a full-blooded Chihuahua, is one-and-a-half years old. Dexter has spent approximately half his life (nine months) in training to be a therapeutic source to mentally handicapped children who suffer from asthma and other breathing disorders.

“Dexter, and other dogs like him, can be a huge source of comfort and therapy to someone who suffers from asthma,” Crawford said. “He has trained with my mother, Shirley Catlett, at Savannah Middle School learning life skills with the children.”

Dexter is specifically trained to help regulate the breathing of a person having an asthma attack. By lying on a person’s chest and breathing with the person, the person’s natural body response is to relax its breathing, as Dexter relaxes his. Dexter is not a magical dog, he cannot save a life by performing CPR, but he can be a source of therapy in regulation of someone’s breathing.