[jpea]

I think it would be a great idea for cost, but is not comparable to a properly-trained animal in most scenarios. My mother is blind and also has a cochlear implant (basically is just shy of being deaf) and has had a service dog for the last 7 years. The dog was in training for 18 months specifically to aid blind and deaf (combo) people, then my mother had to fly out East from Minnesota for 6 weeks just to train with it without the distractions of home. Her program was solid and both of the owner and dog know their roles very well. It would be extremely tough and cost prohibitive to do this without a track record and support structure behind the whole process.