Meet Sampson, a Golden Retriever who performs as a service dog and helps their neuroscientist owner in the lab.
Sampson must wear full personal protective equipment (PPE) while working, however. He is a very good boy.
Sampson is the first service dog to be granted access to a lab.
They are normally not permitted but that is changing. Sampson doesn’t just pop in every once and again, though, he’s there regularly, helping to contribute to our growing body of scientific knowledge.
I like sciencing! I wear the same PPE mom wears. Sometimes we don’t have to wear goggles. Those are days we are writing reports. I still help her everyday though. #servicedog in #science #neuroscience #research #laboratory #molecular #cellular #biology pic.twitter.com/S2TbYTheEu
— Sampson the Service Dog (@sampson_dog) October 9, 2019
Sampson sports full PPE.
Sampson and his owner, Joey Ramp, were featured in an article in PEOPLE.
Joey is a former horse trainer who suffered a serious accident while riding in 2006. Unfortunately, the accident left Ramp with permanent life-altering injuries.
Sampson’s owner’s injuries are quite extensive.
Ramp suffered permanent nerve damage on the left side of her body. She also broke 23 bones in the accident.
Additionally, Ramp sustained damage to her prefrontal cortex that would ultimately serve as her motivation to learn more about neuroscience.
Hi!
That’s the Tweet! No news – just hi! And I’m working. Oh. And I love you! #dogs pic.twitter.com/Xnq7JxWxTh
— Sampson the Service Dog (@sampson_dog) March 2, 2021
Her accident gave her motivation to return to school.
Ramp wasn’t going to let her injury set her back. She opted to go back to school in order to learn more about the human brain.
After her injuries, Ramp has obtained two BA degrees in the field of neuroscience. She’s also working towards a PhD.
As part of her education, Ramp is required to work in a lab setting.
Unfortunately, service dogs like Sampson aren’t permitted in labs. This represented a significant obstacle for Ramp, who needed her service dog by her side.
Ramp wasn’t going to let this get in the way of her getting her degrees in neuroscience, however. She had a plan.
Caution: Incoming happy floof!
My limpy paw feels all better!
Best! Day! Ever! #dogs #happy #Friday pic.twitter.com/uh1FqqnEcI— Sampson the Service Dog (@sampson_dog) March 5, 2021
She helped erect guidelines to allow service dogs in the lab.
Ramp created a series of guidelines that her academic institution could follow in order to permit service dogs to work in labs.
She spoke to PEOPLE about how important it is for service dogs to be granted access to labs so that they can help their humans.
“I couldn’t possibly navigate academics or a neuroscience program without his assistance. There’s more focus on the dog than the service they are providing, and they were barring an entire population of students from entering lab work and ultimately the STEM field.”
Thankfully, Ramp was able to design a series of guidelines that would allow dogs to be in labs in a safe and practical way.
This required some effort on the dog’s part too, though.
They’d have to be trained to wear full PPE, including shoes on their paws, a coat, and eye goggles. Sampson might look adorable in his PPE, but it’s there to serve a very good purpose.
Sampson spent 9 months training to be able to follow the guidelines and work in a lab. He had previously spent 18 months training to be a service dog, in general.
Some of his training including being exposed to sirens in case of a laboratory emergency. He was also trained to wait in a safety shower and not pick up any loose items located in the laboratory. This is all to prevent contamination.
“They are trained to enter safety showers, to not automatically retrieve items from the ground, and to wait patiently for hours under benches,” Ramp wrote on Facebook.
Sampson is a trailblazer for service dogs in labs.
Although Sampson may never realize this, he’s a real trailblazer in his field.
Ramp is another pioneer in helping to create academic environments that are inclusive to people with disabilities. She has taken her guidelines to other schools in the hopes of making them more inclusive as well.
Ramp is hoping to help more academic institutions develop guidelines to allow service dogs into labs.
“It takes the mystery out of what a service dog does and how you can accommodate them in a lab. It also gives handlers an idea of what training their dog requires, because learning to wear goggles takes time,” she told PEOPLE.
We're a team/partners. I'm a Service Dog. My girl is disabled, she's healthy/happy here. She is a scientist/researcher. She can do this because I do my job. If you see us ignore my floof, smile, say hello to her. She'll respond. Because she can, you already told me I'm a good boi pic.twitter.com/tRaXc2WWhU
— Sampson the Service Dog (@sampson_dog) March 8, 2021
You can watch Sampson in adorable PPE in the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
