Main image via Twitter
 
Seeing people in personal protective equipment (PPE) has become the norm since Covid-19 took over the world last year.
 
But it looks like humans aren’t the only ones wearing PPE as one adorable golden retriever is showing off his protective suit!
 

Yes, yes, and absolutely! I always wear boots in the lab pic.twitter.com/JZOlA63gxs

— Sampson the Service Dog (@sampson_dog) January 6, 2021

Sampson the service dog is an adorable golden retriever that has been trained to assist his owner in a neuroscience laboratory.
 
He is the first-ever canine to be granted access into a laboratory at the University of Illinoise where his owner, Joey Ramp is currently studying for a PhD.
 
To assist his owner, the golden retriever has his own specially-fitted PPE that includes a lab coat, little dog boots and goggles that he wears while helping out with Joey’s lab work.
 

Just watching Mom do science. #dog #science #ServiceDog pic.twitter.com/hdFOy4zp3v

— Sampson the Service Dog (@sampson_dog) February 24, 2021

 
After suffering from traumatic head injuries during a horse-riding accident in 2006, Joey who is a neuroscientist, went back to studying to learn more about the human brain and its functions.
 
Sampson learnt how to wear the PPE so that he would be able to continue doing his job as a service dog and help Joey out around the laboratory.
 
“If I drop something in the lab, he’ll come to my side and I can use him as a brace to kneel down and pick up what I need,” Joey shared.
 

I pick things up only when Mom ASKS me. She doesn’t ask me to in the Lab tho b/c of chemical exposure. B/c of her #TBI bending over can cause her to black out. In the Lab I stand/let her brace on me so she can kneel down, not bending over, to pick up dropped items. #science #dog pic.twitter.com/5DaAmolQTx

— Sampson the Service Dog (@sampson_dog) February 16, 2021

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

Joey has long been advocating for service dogs to be allowed into laboratories. For the past few years, she has been arguing that this restriction has barred “an entire population of students from entering lab work and ultimately the STEM field.”
 
For Sampson to enter the laboratory, he has to follow strict guidelines such as wearing the same PPE as his human colleagues and constantly being in his owner’s direct sight.
 
Besides learning how to wear PPE, the golden retriever also had to learn to lie on a rubber-backed matt for up to four hours and retrieve items on command.

Service dog handler equal access to science! More like hours! pic.twitter.com/82yTj3rCPw

— Sampson the Service Dog (@sampson_dog) February 5, 2021

While Sampson may look adorable in his little PPE, Joey doesn’t want his cuteness to distract from the seriousness of his job.
 
“I really want people to start understanding that service dogs have a very high level of training,” she said.
 
“People with disabilities do want to study science, and to look at people with disabilities and service dog handlers with a view of making things more accessible to them is really important, and it’s time,” she added.
 

I’m a service dog that does real science in a real science lab with a real scientist who helps disabled scientists!!! All while bringing the happy with my best pal Mr. Blue Octopus! pic.twitter.com/5zGqYhjCY8

— Sampson the Service Dog (@sampson_dog) February 24, 2021

 
We can’t get over Sampson in his adorable little PPE! Bonus points that he’s advocating for a serious matter too!
 
Have you ever seen other animals in PPE? Let us know!