Cat named DOG helps train service dogs in St. Louis

A cat with an unlikely name has an important job at a training centre for dogs.

Support Dogs, Inc. in St. Louis took in the black and white cat over the summer and named him DOG (pronounced dee-OH’-jee). He’s more than a mascot — officials say he plays a key role getting the dogs comfortable around other animals. Assistance dogs need to be well-behaved and not be distracted in their job helping people who are deaf or have mobility problems.

Support Dogs president and CEO Anne Klein says DOG is “fearless” around the larger canines and plays with their tails, sleeps in their beds and eats and drinks from their bowls instead of his own.

The dogs go through a two-year training program before they’re given to clients for free.