I must say, having grown up on a farm, we always had dogs. Some of my closest friends...and in fact one of the police officers in my hometown is the dog man, as they say, and he has trained several animals and used them in the course of his career. He has given evidence before this committee. His name is Sergeant Duane Rutledge.
Time and time again when the subject comes up, which it does on occasion, the public is overwhelmingly in favour and supportive of anything that would protect a service animal. There is, I think, a tremendous and even growing respect for the service animals, police dogs in particular. You're seeing all sorts of different animals. When you go to the United States, for example, you see giant poodles being used at airports, which are not dogs you would normally associate with that type of work, but their olfactory senses are very accurate. So different types of animals provide different services.
There are the comfort animals. Some will sleep in the same room as a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress and wake them up when they're having night terrors, and they will provide the type of comfort and companionship that is so very important to somebody who is feeling anxiety. The dog can actually sense that anxiety, whereas another person might not. That is a gift, and, I would suggest, what those animals do is of great value and is in need of protection.
You referenced the bond that's formed between persons and animals. It's a very real thing.