Why Is There a Dog in the Store?

Today I was shopping for canning jars at Meijer, at a location I don't usually shop at.

There was this little boy, maybe five years old, who asked his dad, "Why is there a dog in the store?'

The dad said, "That dog helps her."

Either the little boy didn't understand or he wasn't sure his dad was right, because he asked his dad again, "But why is the dog in the store? Dogs aren't allowed in the store." His dad assured him this dog was allowed but the kid kept asking why.

I stopped and said, "He's a service dog. He helps me with stuff. That's why he is allowed in the store. He had to go to school for almost two years to learn to be a service dog so he could be allowed in stores."

The dad thanked me for explaining.

I guess the kid was satisfied or he believed me more than he believed his dad, because I didn't hear him asking anything else.

What Kinds of Animals Can Be Service Animals?

Service animals are animals that assist people with disabilities. The animals are trained to perform tasks that their handlers cannot do for themselves. A service animal allows a person with a serious disability to be more independent and to live a fuller life.

It should be noted that, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, animals that provide comfort or companionship for their owners but that are not trained to perform any specific tasks are not considered service animals under federal law. For instance, a person with depression or an anxiety disorder may have a pet and that pet may help the person relax, but that does not mean the pet is a service animal.

Dogs

The most popular service animal is a dog. Everyone is familiar with the image of a blind person walking down the street with a guide dog, but dogs are used as service animals for people with many other disabilities, as well. Dogs let deaf people know when doorbells ring, when alarms go off and when babies cry. Dogs pick up items for people with physical disabilities, open doors for them and turn on lights. Dogs can be trained to perform services for people with mental disabilities, too.

With the exception of miniature horses in certain cases, dogs are the only service animals recognized under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which gives disabled people that rely on service animals the right to take their dogs with them into most public places, even if pets are typically not allowed there. The reason dogs are preferred as service animals is because it has been proven that they can be trained well enough to do their jobs consistently and safely.

Miniature Horses

Some people advocate the use of miniature horses as an alternative to guide dogs for the blind. Miniature horses live longer than dogs, about 25 to 35 years, according to the Guide Horse Foundation. Since it takes quite a bit of training to prepare a service animal for duty, a longer lifespan is a significant benefit. Miniature horses may also be good service animals for visually impaired people that need help with balance, since the horses are able to bear more weight than dogs.

The National Federation of the Blind discourages the use of guide horses for the blind, however. Horses are more easily startled by loud noises or other unexpected things than dogs, despite extensive training. Miniature horses are too large to travel with their handlers by car or taxi, and they cannot curl up discretely under a chair or table as a service dog does in a restaurant.

Monkeys

Monkeys are sometimes placed in the home as service animals for those with severe physical disabilities, such as people with quadriplegia (paralysis from the neck down). Capuchin monkeys are commonly used, though other types of monkeys are sometimes used, as well. The ADA does not require businesses to allow disabled people with service monkeys to bring their monkeys into public places because monkeys are not domesticated the way dogs are and it is possible for a service monkey to injure someone. It may be more difficult to train monkeys to cope with the noise and commotion in public places, as well.

In the home, however, monkeys can provide many services other animals, including dogs, could not provide. They can open drinks, hold drinks for their handlers to sip, put CD’s on the stereo or DVD’s in the DVD player, scratch itchy noses, adjust blankets and pillows, and perform other tasks requiring manual dexterity. Of course, they provide companionship, as well.

Other Animals

While federal law does not allow people with disabilities to take other types of animals into public places that typically ban pets, people have claimed that they use numerous other species of animals as service animals and expressed outrage when told they could not bring their animals into public places like restaurants. Unusual animals claimed to be service animals have included snakes, parrots, goats, pigs, cats, hedgehogs, ferrets and rats. These animals cannot be adequately trained to behave appropriately in a public setting and in some cases pose risks to the public. Of course, they are also very limited in the tasks they can perform.

Would You Benefit from a Psychiatric Service Dog?

Most people are familiar with the concept of a service dog, or guide dog, for the blind. Service dogs can help people with many other types of disabilities, too, including those with psychiatric disabilities.

People with psychiatric conditions like depression and anxiety often find that having a pet like a dog makes them feel better, but relying on a dog for comfort or affection doesn’t make it a service dog. That’s usually referred to as an emotional support animal, and emotional support animals can be very beneficial to people with psychiatric disabilities, but they are essentially pets. Service dogs are actually trained to perform tasks to help people with psychiatric disabilities, and the Americans with Disabilities Act grants disabled people the right to take their service dogs into public places where pets are normally not permitted, like stores and restaurants. You cannot take an emotional support animal into most public places, however.

So would you benefit from a psychiatric service dog?

Are You Disabled?

To qualify for a psychiatric service dog, you must be disabled in accordance with the definition of disability given under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). That means you must be substantially limited with regard to at least one major life activity; major life activities include things like seeing, hearing, communicating, walking, breathing and thinking. Many people are diagnosed with things like depression or anxiety but are not disabled according to this definition. Even if you receive disability benefits, you may not meet the ADA definition of disability. Talk to your mental health care provider if you aren’t sure if you are considered disabled or not.

Are There Tasks a Dog Could Be Trained to Do that Would Mitigate Your Disability?

A service dog must be trained to do specific tasks that mitigate your disability. Essentially, the dog must be trained to do things for you that you cannot do for yourself because of your disability. For instance, if you take medication for your condition that sedates you so much that you sleep through an alarm clock, a service dog could be trained to wake you up and make sure you get up when the alarm clock goes off. However, if you are able to get up by yourself when the alarm goes off, you do not need a service dog for that task.

To figure out if there are a tasks a service dog could be trained to do to mitigate your disability, make a list of the things you cannot do for yourself because of your disability. Think about how a dog might be able to do those things for you. Talk to your mental health care provider if you aren’t sure if there are tasks a service dog could do for you.

Are You Able to Care for a Dog?

There are some programs that provide service dogs free of charge to people with disabilities. Other programs charge fees for their services. Even if you work with a program that charges no fees, though, caring for a dog can be costly. You’ll be responsible for food, toys and accessories, veterinary care and other services for your service dog. Insurance companies usually won’t cover the cost of caring for a service dog. If you cannot afford to care for a dog, then a service dog is not a good option for you.

Your service dog will need to be fed and walked daily. He will require regular exercise. It’s important that service dogs be groomed regularly since they will accompany their handlers into various public places. Handlers also need to keep up with their dogs’ training or the dogs’ skills may begin to decline. If you don’t have the time or ability to care for a dog, then a service dog is not a good option for you.

What Disabilities Qualify for a Service Dog?

I get questions a lot like can you get a service dog for depression?  For generalized anxiety disorder?  For Tourette Syndrome?  For asthma?  Insert your disability here.

When determining whether or not you qualify for a service dog, it doesn't matter what your disability is.  What matters is how your disability affects you.  It's a matter of how severe your condition is, not what your diagnosis is.

A real simple example is that of visual impairments.  Many people wear eyeglasses.  But most are not disabled by a visual impairment.  With their glasses, they can see all right.  Some people, though, have such poor eyesight that glass don't help or that, even with glasses, they cannot see very well at all.  They have trouble doing all sorts of things due to their poor eyesight.  They are blind or visually impaired and are considered disabled.

The same can be said for many, many conditions.  Lots of people with PTSD are not disabled by the condition.  Many people have anxiety disorders, and maybe they see a therapist or take medication for it, but they aren't disabled.  They are able to do daily tasks with little or no assistance.  Some people, though, are unable to manage basic tasks due to their severe anxiety and they are disabled by the condition. 

Lots of people have diabetes but are not disabled by it.  They have to watch what they eat and maybe they need to check their blood sugar a few times a day and maybe they take medication or even insulin injections, but they are able to see and hear and think and communicate and concentrate and breathe and all those basic life activities just fine.  Some people, though, have severe highs and lows with their blood sugar and for some reason aren't able to feel it when their glucose drops dangerously low (I sure feel it, but some people, often children, don't), and it can be life-threatening.  They might be disabled by their condition, even though many people with diabetes are not.

I could make a list of disabilities for which someone might have a service dog, but it would be a super long list, and I'd be sure to forget to include some conditions.  The bottom line is that it depends on how the condition affects you.  If you're not sure if you are disabled by your condition, whatever, that condition is, that is a conversation to have with your doctor.

And if you're not sure how to go about talking to your health care provider about a service dog, check out this post.

Best Breeds for Service Dogs

A dog of any breed can be a service dog if he has the right temperament and training, though not all breeds can perform all types of service. For instance, a small dog could not pull a wheelchair or carry heavy items for a physically disabled handler. A small dog could, however, alert a hearing impaired handler to sounds or alert a handler to an oncoming seizure.

Retrievers

Labrador retrievers and golden retrievers are often used as service dogs because they are friendly, laid back, easy to train and enjoy having a job to do. Labs also tend to be very energetic. Of course, not all Labradors or golden retrievers have these traits and they aren’t all suited to being service dogs. In general, though, they often are. They are also large enough to handle tasks like turning on lights (they can easily reach most switches) and carrying heavy items (heavier than small dogs can carry, anyway).

German Shepherds

German shepherds are often used as service dogs, too. Like Labradors and golden retrievers, they are large enough to handle most tasks. One trainer described German shepherds to me as “mouthy,” meaning that they like to hold and carry things in their mouths, making them well suited for retrieving. Some dogs don’t like the feel of metal or fabric in their mouths and have to be convinced to take those materials into their mouths, but German shepherds usually don’t mind. They are also very smart. However, they have a tendency to be protective of their owners, which is why they are often used as guard dogs. Service dogs aren’t supposed to be protective, so in order to become a service dog, a German shepherd has to be carefully trained not to behave in a protective manner at all.

Mastiffs and Other Large Breeds

Mastiffs are sometimes used by people that need help with balance and mobility. Large, sturdy dogs are needed for that job. Mastiffs are prone to hip and elbow dysplasia, though, according to the Dog Breed Info Center website, so they should be examined carefully by an orthopedic veterinarian prior to beginning training to become a service dog.

Small Breeds

Smaller dogs can be used as service dogs for people with hearing impairments, seizure disorders, some psychiatric disabilities and other conditions. There are some disadvantages to using very small dogs as service dogs, though. For instance, very small dogs may have trouble walking long distances and service dogs aren’t supposed to be carried around or pushed in a stroller. Some service dog handlers with very small dogs also worry that their dogs might be stepped on or otherwise injured in crowded places.

Access Issues

People that choose small dogs as service dogs may face more access disputes because business owners and employees may not realize that small dogs can be service dogs. People that choose certain other breeds of dogs may also face more access disputes, such as those that use pit bulls or Rottweilers as service dogs. The law is not clear right now about whether or not you can keep a service dog of a certain breed in areas where that breed is currently banned. In addition, while landlords are typically required to allow service dogs even if they don’t normally allow pets, they usually are not required to allow service dogs of a banned breed if that would cause their insurance to go up significantly or otherwise cause them a significant hardship.

My Relationship with Isaac

It is coming up on two years since Isaac came to live with me.  I've been thinking about our relationship and how it's changed and developed over that time.  I used to hear people with service dogs talk about how their dogs were like a part of them and I thought I understood that but at the same time, I did not feel that way about Isaac.  I loved Isaac.  Well, maybe I didn't love him when I first got him, but I liked him a lot from the beginning, and I soon grew to love him.  But he didn't feel like a part of me.

It's interesting to me, the relationships we have with our animal companions. 

I once had a cat named Eileen, who died eight years ago, that I considered my soul mate.  I told people she was my best friend, and she really was, but I feel like she was even more than that.  I'm sure it sounds weird to many people to say she was my soul mate, but that's really the best term I can find to describe out relationship.

Cayenne is like a family member that I love a lot.  She's not my best friend.  She is not my soul mate.  But I love her.  People often refer to their pets as their babies and maybe she was like my baby when she was younger.  But now she is elderly.  And she seems elderly.  So it doesn't make sense to call her my baby.  She doesn't seem like my baby.  She doesn't seem like a child.  Maybe she seems more like a grandmother.  She feels like family, though.

Isaac, I would say now, is like my partner.  People with service dogs often use that term.  They say things like, "I am partnered with a yellow lab named Isaac." 

They also often refer to themselves and their service dogs as teams, saying things like, "I met another service dog team today."  It is not inaccurate to say Isaac and I are a team, but that brings to mind something like a sports team and that's not what our relationship is like, not at all.

It's more a partnership, I think.  Almost like a marriage.  I love Isaac deeply, I feel responsible for caring for him, and I feel like I can trust him to take care of me.  It's an intense relationship and probably somewhat codependent, but then, it's designed to be that way, isn't it?

Isaac and I communicate like a couple that's been together for a long time, I think.  Longer than two years, really.  But I think that has a lot to do with the fact that we are together all the time.  Most couples don't spend nearly the amount of time together that Isaac and I do.  Also, dogs are really sensitive to body language and I've tried to be very sensitive to Isaac's body language, since he can't communicate verbally.  But we can often communicate with just a look.  I have a look I give him that means "sit" and he knows that look.  He has a look he gives me that means he needs to go out to pee and I know that look.

And we can often anticipate each other's moves and needs and desires.  He knows when I need him to pick up something for me.  I know when he is thinking of chasing a rabbit.  I love how well I know him and I love how well he knows me.

I should add that it took a long time to get to this point.  The first year of our relationship was rather rough.  I'm told that's common in service dog partnerships.  I mean, we liked each other the first year, but we didn't fit together instantly and seamlessly.  It took time and work to get to that point.

I'm not sure it's accurate to say he feels like a part of me.  But I'd say it's close to that.

Can a Therapist Write a Letter, Making Your Pet a Service Dog?

I have a friend, not a close friend but a friend, who is a therapist.  A couple days ago she asked me a question.  She said she sometimes has clients that ask her to please write them a letter saying they need their pet to be a service dog so they can take their dog into public places.  They say their dog  helps their depression or anxiety, so they want their dog to be a service dog.  She was wondering if a dog is really a service dog if it just makes someone feel better or feel less anxious or less depressed.

It's a great question.  The answer is no, if all the dog does is provide comfort or emotional support, it's not a service dog.  It might be an emotional support animal, but it's not a service dog.

A service dog must be trained to perform specific tasks that mitigate a person's disability.  And the person must be disabled in order to have a service dog.  Not everyone that suffers from anxiety, depression or other psychological problems is disabled by their condition.

An emotional support animal is a pet (doesn't have to be a dog) belonging to a person with a psychiatric disability (like anxiety or depression) that is recommended by their doctor, therapist or other healthcare provider as part of their treatment plan.  Again, the person must be disabled, and not everyone with anxiety or depression is disabled by their condition.

Service dogs have to be trained to perform specific tasks to mitigate a person's disability but emotional support animals don't need any special training.

Service dogs are allowed to go most places with their handlers, including restaurants and stores.  Emotional support animals are not.  In most cases, landlords must allow people to have emotional support animals, even if they do not normally allow pets (some landlords are exempt from this law, however), and people are allowed to fly within the U.S. with an emotional support animal in the cabin of the plane.  Same goes with service dogs.  You cannot take an emotional support animal to a restaurant, grocery store, hotel that does not allow pets, doctor's office, movie theater, etc. though, unless you get permission from the manager (and in some cases, the manager cannot legally give permission; health codes prevent them from allowing an emotional support animal in a restaurant, for instance).

You don't need a letter from your therapist to take your service dog into public places.  In fact, it is illegal for business owners to ask to see such a letter.  If you are disabled and your dog is trained to perform tasks that mitigate your disability, then you are allowed to take your service dog with you.

If you are not disabled, though, or if your dog is not trained to perform actual tasks that mitigate your disability, even if you have a letter from your therapist, you are not legally allowed to take your dog into public places where pets are not permitted.  A letter from your therapist does not override the law.

If you have an emotional support animal, you may be required to provide a letter from your therapist or other healthcare provider in order to fly with your emotional support animal or in order to live in no pets housing with your emotional support animal.

Here are links to some articles with more information about emotional support animals:

Where Can You Take Your Emotional Support Animal?

Keeping an Emotional Support Animal in an Apartment that Doesn't Allow Pets

Flying with an Emotional Support Animal

More Stuff You Might Not Know About Service Dogs

Last month I posted some facts you might not have knownabout service dogs.  Here are a few more.

• The full cost of a service dog is usually about $20,000.  Depending on what the dog must be trained to do, it can be twice that much.  Most people with disabilities do not get service dogs given to them for free.  Most programs that train and place service dogs cover a lot of the cost themselves (through donations and occasionally grants) but it’s common for a person with a disability to have to pay somewhere between $2000 and $5000 for their service dog.  Health insurance doesn’t cover the cost of a service, either, at least not in most cases.

• Churches are exempt from the Americans with Disabilities Act, which means they are not required to let a person with a disability bring a service dog to church services.  The same goes for other places of worship, like synagogues and mosques.  Some do welcome service dogs, but they are legally permitted to disallow them.  (They must allow service dogs at events that are open to the general public though.  For instance, if a church holds a community craft show or allows AA groups to meet in their building, service dogs must be permitted there.)  Do you know if your church allows people with disabilities to bring their service dog to services?
  
•  Hotels must allow people with disabilities to stay there with their service dogs, even if they do not normally allow pets.  They are not allowed to charge an additional fee for the service dog, even if they typically charge an extra “pet fee” for pets (because service dogs are not pets).  If a service dog does any damage to a hotel room, though, the owner must pay for that damage.
  
• While most businesses must allow a person with a disability to bring their service dog into that business, they are not required to provide any special supplies or services for the dog.  For instance, restaurants must allow me to bring Isaac in with me.  However, they do not have to provide him with a dish of water (and in fact, I should not be giving Isaac food or water in the restaurant at all.  I keep water, and if necessary, food, in the car and feed or water him before or after I go in to eat).

Things You Might Not Know about Service Dogs

I thought it might be fun to post some facts about service dogs that aren't real well known.

Did you know?

• Any breed of dog can be a service dog.  While golden retrievers, labs, and German shepherds are perhaps most commonly used, any breed can be a service dog, including small breeds.
• Service dogs can help people with many different kinds of disabilities, including visual impairments, hearing impairments, physical disabilities like trouble walking, autism, seizure disorders, and psychological disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia. 
• Service dogs are not required to wear any kind of special vest or harness.  Many do, some because the special harness helps the handler (like a special harness used for someone that needs a service dog to help with balance), and some just because it reduces the likelihood of access disputes when going into a public place that doesn't allow pets, but it's not required by law.
• Service dogs don't have any special rights under the law.  It's the person with a disability that has special rights, like the right to take their service dog into a store or restaurant.  It's a small but important distinction.
• It is a violation of federal law for a business owner or manager to ask a person with a service dog what kind of disability they have or to ask to see documentation proving the dog is a service dog.  They are only allowed to ask two questions: Is that a service dog required due to a disability?  And what tasks is the service dog trained to perform?
• It takes about 18 months to train a service dog.
• In most places, people with service dogs are required to obey laws that say dogs have to be on leashes and that people have to pick up their dog's poop.

Dogs That Like Their Jobs

Yesterday I wrote about how service dogs are not always on duty.  Even when they are, though, they are usually having fun.  That's right, most service dogs like their jobs.  Do they all like their jobs?  I don't know.  I don't know all the service dogs in the world.  I know that Isaac loves working, I know that other people I know and have spoken to that have service dogs say their dogs love working, and I know that Isaac's trainer told me all the dogs she's trained love to work.  For the most part, a dog that didn't like working wouldn't make a good service dog.

Isaac is a Labrador retriever and labs make great working dogs.  They were bred for working.  They like having a job.  They tend to get bored if they don't have a lot to do.  I occasionally have days I don't want to do much and would prefer to just lie around the house, but Isaac doesn't like that.  He will bug me.  On those days, I usually end up spending some time training him or practicing some of his tasks with him, just to keep him happy.  He loves his job so much he does not like to take days off!

How do I know Isaac loves to work?  He's very expressive and it's easy to tell.  When I tell him, "Get the light!" he races as fast as he can to the light switch.  When I open the dryer and tell him "Get it!" he sticks his head right in, pulls out an item of clothing, and hands it to me.  Sometimes he is so excited he gives it a little shake first.  Sometimes he is so excited he dances around a bit and I have to catch the item he's holding.

Believe me, he does not act like that when I tell him to get in the tub for a bath or when I pick up his foot to cut his toenails!  He gets in the tub and lets me pick up his foot, but it's clear he is not enjoying himself.  He has a ball doing tasks for me, though.

Service Dogs Off Duty

The other day I read an article in which the author commented that she thinks service dogs are "like regular dogs with the spark snuffed out."  She admits she's only had limited exposure to service dogs and that's been when they were in public, working.  I guess she thinks they are on duty all the time.

As I read that article, Isaac was busy tearing around the living room, happily destroying a stuffed frog.  Too bad she couldn't see him.  I think he has plenty of spark!

See, service dogs aren't on duty all the time.  Isaac might work a total of four to six hours a day in a typical day, and that's not all at one stretch, either.  He might work for ten minutes to help me unload the dryer, then take a nap for an hour, then work for ten more minutes to help me get another load of clothes out of the dryer.  We might spend two hours running errands, but he's not working that whole time; he spends part of it lounging in the backseat of the car, looking out the window or napping.  Now, it's true that some service dogs work more hours than Isaac does, but they still get time off duty, as well.

Service dogs off duty are just like any other dog.  They play.  They act silly.  They forage in the garbage can, chase cats and squirrels, dig in the flower beds, roll in smelly stuff, beg for belly rubs, lick themselves, and snooze.  They have fun.  I'll add that most service dogs enjoy working, too, but I'll talk more about that another day.

I'm sure not all service dogs are well cared for, just like not all pets are well cared for, but all the people I know or have spoken to with service dogs make a real effort to ensure all their dogs' needs are met, and that includes a dog's need to play, socialize, and have fun.  They buy their dogs lots of toys.  They take their dogs to dog parks or other places where they can run and play.  They join play groups so their dogs can play with other dogs, dogs they know aren't too aggressive or poorly behaved.  They spend lots of time playing with their dogs.  Those service dogs might have more fun than the average pet does, come to think of it.  They don't seem deprived at all, to me, and they have plenty of spark.

Ridiculous Service Dog Stories

This has to be one of the most ridiculous service dog stories I’ve heard to date.  In fact, it has to be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard, period.

Here’s the article.

New Addition Ready to Sniff out Disaster

The gist of it is, some service dog program placed a “service dog” with a little boy that has poorly controlled diabetes.  The program told the little boy and his parents that the dog was trained to alert him to changes in his blood sugar.  Apparently the family bought that.  The article says that in time, the dog will be trained to bring the boy a juice box if his blood sugar gets low, but it hasn’t been trained to do so yet.

There are so many things wrong with this story, it’s hard to know where to start.  But I’ll give it a shot.

1. The article says the dog is only seven weeks old.  I thought that sounded too young for a puppy to be taken from its mother, but to make sure, I did some googling.  Numerous websites state that puppies should not be taken from their mothers until they are at least eight weeks old.  I did not find a single reference that said it was OK to take a puppy from its mother before it is eight weeks old.  Why on earth is this program placing a seven week old puppy with anyone?
   
2.  The article says the dog is only seven weeks old.  It’s too young to be trained to do anything.  It’s not even old enough to be housebroken; some additional googling tells me that puppies are not ready to begin housebreaking until they are about eight weeks old. 
   
3. Dogs cannot be trained to alert to changes in blood sugar.  Some dogs do seem to be able to detect changes in blood sugar, just like some dogs are able to detect an impending seizure, but no one teaches them to do it.  Experts don’t even know how they do it, though they assume it has something to do with scent.  Plus, you can’t reliably produce the changes in scent or whatever it is in order to train a dog to recognize it, at least not without seriously endangering a person.  Hopefully the parents in the article were not feeding their child lots of sugar in order to make his blood sugar rise to a dangerous level in order to allow the dog to sniff him in order to try to train it to alert to that. 
   
4. Dogs can be trained to respond to changes in blood sugar, if they possess the innate ability to recognize those changes.  They can be trained to signal their owners with a specific behavior, like repeatedly nudging them, if their blood sugar gets too high or too low.  A seven week old puppy can’t be trained to do that, though.  It’s too little to be trained to do anything.
   
5. Dogs can be trained as diabetes response dogs, meaning that if their owners begin to display certain behaviors, the dogs know to go fetch the glucose monitor or juice or something like that.  This article states that this dog will eventually be trained to do those things.  It’s not trained to do them yet, though, because it’s too little to be trained to do anything.  If it’s not trained to do anything, it’s not a service dog.
   
6. The article states that the puppy will not be going to school with the little boy.  That’s good to know, because a seven week old puppy hasn’t had all its shots yet and should not be out in public much.  Also, a seven week old puppy is not housebroken, and I don’t think a puppy should be using the potty in the classroom.  Or in the school cafeteria.  Plus, service dogs are supposed to be trained to be well-behaved in public before you take them into public places that typically restrict pets and a seven week old puppy has not been trained to behave in public because it’s too little to be trained to do anything!
   
7. The article says that even though the puppy will not be accompanying the little boy to school, it will still be able to alert to changes in his blood sugar.  The article states that the puppy can detect these changes from half a mile away.  I tried googling to find out from how far away a dog can smell something but I couldn’t find the answer.  However, I am quite certain a dog cannot smell someone’s blood sugar level from half a mile away!  This is the most ridiculous claim of the article and it’s hard to believe the child’s parents are naïve enough to believe it.  But apparently they are.
   
8. Even if this untrained seven week old puppy could alert to changes in the little boy’s blood sugar from half a mile away, how would it alert the boy in order to be of any help to him?  Is the puppy supposed to signal one of the parents if the little boy’s sugar gets too high or low?  Does that mean one of his parents will stay at home with the puppy all day while he is at school?  Because while a person with a disability that needs the assistance of a service dog has a legal right to take that dog into public places with him, the parents of a person with a disability do not have a legal right take that person’s service dog into public places with them.  So the parents could not take the puppy to work with them (unless their employers agreed and it did not violate any local health codes), or to the store, or to a medical appointment, etc.
   
9. And if the parents did sit at home all day with the puppy, and the puppy did signal them that the little boy’s sugar had dropped or gotten too high, what would the parents then do with that information?  Call the school?  Let the school secretary know?  And then the school secretary could go to the boy’s classroom to let him know that his dog says his sugar is too high or too low?  How much time would that take?  Wouldn’t the boy have figured out his sugar was too low or too high by then?  If he didn’t recognize it by how he felt, probably the teacher would have recognized it in that much time because he would have passed out from low blood sugar or something!  So how would the dog be helping him?

What is a Service Dog?

And why do I want one?

A service dog is a dog that is trained to perform tasks that mitigate a handler’s disability.  A service dog handler may have all sorts of disabilities, a visual impairment, a hearing impairment, a mobility problem like multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy, a medical condition like a seizure disorder, a neurological disorder like autism, or a mental illness like post-traumatic stress disorder or schizophrenia.  Under a federal law called the Americans with Disabilities Act, disabled people that rely on service dogs must be permitted to take their dogs into most business and other public places, even when pets are not normally allowed.  That’s because a service dog is not a pet; it’s something entirely different.

In order to be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), though, your condition must cause significant limitations in regard to at least one major life activity.  Major life activities include things like walking, hearing, seeing, communicating, thinking and breathing.  That means not everyone with conditions like multiple sclerosis, seizure disorders or PTSD would be considered disabled under the ADA.  Some people have those conditions but they are not very severe, or their symptoms are well-managed.  In that case, they would not be allowed to take service dogs into public places under the ADA.

It’s important to note that service dogs must be trained to perform specific tasks that mitigate the disabled handler’s disability.  For instance, I could train a dog to open my refrigerator, get out a bottle of water and bring it to me.  That sure would be convenient, but I have no trouble getting my own drink so it would not be mitigating my disability in any way.  Being trained to do that would not make my dog a service dog.

It’s also important to note that while a dog might make people with conditions like depression or anxiety feel better or provide companionship for them, those are not trained tasks and do not make a dog a service dog.  Those would be known as emotional support animals, not service dogs.

So now you know what a service dog is.  But why do I want one?

Primarily because I have major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  I have some other issues I think a dog could help me with, but those are the main ones.  I want to be able to be more independent, and I think a service dog could help me get there.  

At one time, my partner Mike worked from home so he was available to help me whenever I needed help.  Then he had a job outside of the home, but he had some flexibility.  He could usually arrange to take time off work if needed, and he was usually available by phone during the day if I needed a little help.  He has a different job now and his schedule is really strict.  I can’t reach him by phone when he’s at work, he can only phone me on his break.  When he calls during his break, he only has a limited amount of time he can talk before he must be back at his desk.  All of this means I must spend more time alone and I think a service dog could provide a lot of assistance.

What exactly would a service dog do for me?  I’ll tell you what I’m hoping a dog could do for me in my next post.