Am working up an entry on this, for my blog Plato's Nightmare / Aesop's Dream*

So this line snagged my interest, just now:

"And a little dog to follow me, and gather what I lief..."

So, perhaps, the idea of service dogs are not as new as some might think...

*For discussion images of Disability in in Folklore, and Classic, pre-WW1, Lit., and how the images reflect or distort actual lived experienced by disabled people