Pets in Space Supports Hero Dogs
Each year, the Pets in Space® anthologies present brand new science fiction romance stories, and several new authors. However, one element remains the same: Pets in Space supports Hero Dogs.
You might say it’s a match made in the stars. In the stories, the pets, whether alien, human, or unidentifiable, help the main characters. For example, warning the heroine about trouble, or helping the hero meet the soon-to-be love of his life. The nonprofit Hero Dogs trains service dogs for disabled veterans and first-responders. The dogs help their partners regain independence and improve their quality of life.
Hero Dogs Are More Than Pets
Hero Dogs started out training service dogs, but have branched out. Now they train dogs for several types of partnerships with humans:
- Service dogs, according to their website, help people with disabilities achieve independence. These dogs are allowed in many businesses where others are not because their humans depend on them for basic life activities.
- Skilled home companion dogs, on the other hand, are pets. They’re trained to help in the home, not outside. At Hero Dogs, these are often dogs who aren’t suitable for the exacting range of skills needed to be a service dog, but they’re still a smart, clever, and loving companion to their human.
- A third type is a facility dog. They’re placed with staff members in residential or health care facilities. They’re available for animal-assisted therapy and general morale-boosting. I love this option for trained dogs who love everyone.
Pets In Space Pets Are Heroes, Too
Pets are often the heroes in the Pets in Space anthology stories. They uncover crimes, alert humans to opportunities, and bring justice to villains. Of course, because these are science fiction romance stories, pets—even very alien pets—help humans find love, too. I’m convinced that if we humans can’t take our pets with us to space, we’ll make pets of any suitable creature we find along the way.
The anthologies are limited editions, so they’re only available for a short time. Fortunately, many authors have published the stories separately, so you can put together your own pets in space collection. To get you started, here are the pages for the previous anthologies that have links to the stories:
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Carol Van Natta
Editor, Pets in Space
