Service dogs perform many tasks, helping law enforcement, those with medical conditions and the visually-impaired. One program is giving them free help to keep on working.

"Rusty is kind of a combination assistance/guide dog, not so much on the guide dog side, but Hannah is legally blind and she has developmental disabilities,” says Sheri Thilking of Omaha.

It took three years for Rusty to come into daughter Hannah Thilking's life. Now the two are inseparable.

"She must have sat and petted on him and rubbed him for a good 40 minutes and just kept saying, this is my buddy, this is my friend." A friend who helps get Hannah down and around the path of life.

"We walked down the whole length of the mall, just me and her and him and we got down to the end and I just started crying and they said what's the matter and I said this is the first time that I have not had to hold on to her, guide her around people, guide her around objects, she just did it by herself with his help."

Hannah has some independence for the first time with the help of Rusty's eyes. "His eyesight is probably his number one thing that we have to take care of and always make sure because basically he's Hannah's eyes."

"The week of May 4th is the National Service Dog Event for the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists,” says veterinary ophthalmologist Dr. Tonya McIlnay, which means free eye exams for trained service dogs.

“Basically checking for any kind of disease such as cataracts or retinal problems or potentially tumors or anything that may prevent them from performing their service, what their job is."

Dr. McIlnay's office is doing the free service dog exams this week, but you need to register online.