These Service Dogs Are So Well-Behaved While Watching Stratford Festival’s ‘Billy Elliot’

Buying a movie ticket always means betting that the people who watch in the same studio as you will not be bringing their nonsense along. But unfortunately, some people can stop chit-chatting, blasting their phone’s brightness at max or put their legs on the chair in front of them.

It doesn’t take much to be civilized, but at this point, maybe dogs are better. Yup! Recently, service dogs from K-9 Country Inn Service Dogs can be sighted in Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada watching Relaxed Performance of ‘Billy Elliot’ the Musical on August 15.

Stratford Festival’s official account posted the following four pictures with the caption on Twitter as follows:

“ICYMI: We had some pawsitivly adorable audience members from K-9 Country Inn Service Dogs during last weeks Relaxed Performance of #sfBillyElliot.”

More info: k-9countryinnservicedogs.com | stratfordfestival.ca | Facebook

K – 9 Country Inn Service Dogs also posted this picture of their dogs’ training during Stratford Festival on their Instagram account. In an effort to make sure these dogs perform well when they are in the hands of “first responders, front line workers, and victims of trauma with PTSD”, here they are.

The show has been tuned and adjusted as a ‘Relaxed Performance’ that won’t accidentally startle the dogs. They are also on an important mission to train their concentration and patience which is to sit quietly.

The theater describes a Relaxed Performance as follows:

Relaxed performances are specifically designed to welcome patrons who will benefit from a less restricted audience environment. Patrons of all abilities are welcome, including but not limited to those with intellectual or learning disabilities, sensory processing conditions or autism. There is a relaxed attitude to noise and movement within the auditorium, and some minor production changes may be made to reduce the intensity of light, sound and other potentially startling effects. Babes in arms are also welcome to our relaxed performances.

Speaking to BoredPanda, Laura MacKenzie, the woman behind the service dogs training organization talks about why she started it, ”I made the move to training service dogs years ago because I wanted to give back to society and found a great need within the service dog industry.”

As to the experience of getting the dog trained at the theater, here’s what she has to say, “The theatre allows us to work the dogs through various stimuli such as lights, movement, loud noises, and crowds. All the dogs behaved wonderfully at the Stratford Festival.”

She even recalled, “Throughout the performance, some of the dogs would peek through the cracks of the seats to watch the show!”

Under the same tweet, Stratford Festival also posted another service dog, Goose, who was present during the opening night for ‘Crucible’!

Obviously, every single one of us loved the pictures!