Sampson the service dog is a very good — and smart — boy who deserves lots of treats for learning an important new trick — how to wear PPE so he can help his disabled neuroscientist mom.
The scientist, Joey Ramp, conducts her lab work at the University of Illinois, but says she wouldn’t be able to do her job without the aid of her assistant … the first pup ever granted access to the college’s chemistry lab.
For safety reasons, Sampson, a golden retriever, is required to wear protective gear just like the humans do, and as you can see … he’s mastered it.
Joey suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 2006 horse-riding accident and now studies the human brain, and she says her good boy’s crucial to her research. She explains that he’s not only there for her if she drops something and needs support kneeling down to pick it up … but he’s also trained to spot signs of her PTSD.
Joey says, “I couldn’t possibly navigate academics or a neuroscience program without his assistance,” and she’s advocating for more service dogs to be allowed in labs for students with disabilities … with guidelines like making the pups wear PPE.
Clearly, Sampson’s setting the best possible example possible.