WASHINGTON — Go pay, Gina Goldblatt commands, holding out her wallet to Jinks, her yellow Lab.

Most dogs, given such an order, probably would stare back or walk away. Not Jinks. He's special.

Jinks takes Goldblatt's wallet in his teeth, walks across the mall food court, stands on his hind legs and puts his front paws on the counter. The cashier takes the wallet and completes the sale. Jinx then carries the wallet and a package back to Goldblatt. He wouldn't even think of tearing open the plastic bag and helping himself.

Jinks is a trained service dog. Just as guide dogs help the blind, service dogs assist people with physical disabilities. The animals are trained to open doors, pick up things, even pull on their partner's socks — all tasks that someone with a physical limitation might find difficult, if not impossible, to do alone.

Jinks, for example, can pick up something as small as a dime or as large and heavy as a gallon of milk.

Goldblatt, 23, says Jinx "is everything" to her. "He makes my arms and legs do as much as they can."

Goldblatt has cerebral palsy, a disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. She uses a wheelchair, so Jinks is often her arms and legs.

Jinks, who is 5, has been with Goldblatt for three years. He goes everywhere with her, even school. Jinks can hold papers (gently!) in his teeth and take them to the instructor. (No excuses of "the dog ate my homework.") If Goldblatt drops her pencil, Jinks will pick it up.

The best part? No slobber!

"Most of the breeds we use have really dry mouths," said Darlene Sullivan, founder of Canine Partners for Life, a program in Pennsylvania that trains young dogs to help the disabled.

In the past 18 years, the program has matched dogs with about 300 people in 40 states, Sullivan said. A few dozen of the dogs have been for kids. The minimum age for receiving a service dog is 12 years old.

Puppies spend a year with volunteers who get them comfortable around people and train them to respond to basic commands. Goldblatt's family also volunteers, and has helped train five dogs, including Chantilly, who lives with them in McLean, Va.

Marta Goldblatt, Gina's mom, says anyone can learn to help with the training, even kids. "The only thing they have to know," she said, "is that you have to part with (the dog) after a year. That is one of the hard parts."

If the dog then passes a series of tests, it is sent to the Canine Partners school in Pennsylvania to learn to be a service dog. After a year of this specialized training, the dog is matched with someone who is disabled.

Like guide dogs for the blind, service dogs wear harnesses or backpacks when working so that people will know the animals are on duty. If you see a working service dog, Gina Goldblatt said, don't distract it.

"Don't assume it is okay to pet it," she said. Ask first. "And don't be offended if (the owner) says no. Jinks needs to be focused on me."

But Jinks isn't all business all the time. As soon as his harness comes off, he knows he's off duty and romps around like any other dog.

"Jinks loves the water," Goldblatt said. "When he is allowed to, he'll even jump off the diving board!"