#SERVICE ANIMALS

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[brettdoesdiscourse]

Another thing that doesn't get mentioned enough in the service dog discourse is that you're simply not entitled to another person's animal.

A lot of people complain about not being able to pet or interact with an animal they see out in public and claim that it isn't a big deal or it isn't distracting to service animals.

And let's just remove the entire service animal argument for a second.

Let's imagine (for the sake of the conversation) that you petting or interacting with this dog won't hurt a single thing.

"No, you can't pet my dog" and "please stop interacting with my dog" are not big deals.

It is not hurting you nor is it that hard to respect someone asking you to stop touching or interacting with their pet.

You're not entitled to touching or interacting with a stranger's animal.

And you seriously need to work on yourself if you're throwing a tantrum because you can't pet or interact with a random animal out in public.

[cripplecharacters]

Hi! I'm writing a story where a main character has a service dog to keep him grounded during dissociative episodes and anxiety/panic attacks, and the dog also has some other plot relevant details (this is a fantasy and the dog is not a normal dog). But I've found it is incredibly hard to keep the dog present in scenes when she isn't doing anything relevant. I know service dogs are supposed to kinda go unnoticed when they're on the job, but it feels so awkward when I have the dog mentioned in one scene and then as things go on and the characters deal with plot stuff but not dog-relevant plot stuff, I often end a chapter suddenly realizing I forgot to make sure the dog was still present during location shifts.

But going back in to randomly insert "and also the dog is still there" details also ends up feeling awkward in many cases. Any advice on how I can keep the dog relevant and present whenever she's passive?

Hello!

That can definitely be a struggle. On one hand, if the dog isn't doing anything then there really isn't much to narrate. On the other hand, you do run the risk of your readers either losing track of the dog or forgetting the dog exists.

Something you could do is narrating their reactions and actions as you would with any other character. I've seen this done to an extent with more light-hearted books (Or in more light-hearted moments) and it's generally no more than a sentence or two.

For example:

"I'm sure the three of us could find something to do. Maybe a walk or something?" The dog visibly perked up, her tail beginning to wag under the table.

Another thing you could do is narrate the character's reactions to the dog or other interactions of theirs. This doesn't need to be a big thing, it could be mentioned in passing such as a character stepping around the dog or your main character absentmindedly scratching the dog's head.

The dog doesn't need to be treated entirely like a separate entity. They can also be included with your main character in terms of narration.

For example:

He made his way to the door, the dog padding along beside him.

The main thing here is that you want to keep it natural and going with the actions of the characters so it doesn't come across as "and also the dog is still there".

Hopefully some of this was helpful!

Cheers,

~ Mod Icarus

[holy-shit-look]

Okay so like the worst thing ever has happened viewer discretion is advised I need to leave a content warning for gore and violence against animals 😢

My Dog, Kratos, has just been promoted to service dog. I've been so excited bringing him everywhere he's been amazing in training.

Yesterday, we come back and my fiance caregiver and I are all standing in the kitchen when the dog walks down the hall toward the room of someone I can't discuss because of an active court case

He walks back we go into our bedroom and the person walks past our door and Kratos growls at him

Next thing we know he's bleeding profusely

We jump in the car and start running around looking for anywhere to take him for help.

In the car we can see this is a MASSIVE gash

I'm so confused how he got cut so badly by this point I think it must be his harness but then I realize there's no way because the harness is completely clean there's not a drop of blood on it and this isn't a friction burn...and the cut goes BACKWARD toward his ribs..not into his armpit...

We had to spend a few hours crowd funding but finally we were able to get to the vet my caregiver took me outside her work hours

We were there until 2am

The vet says there's no possible way it was the harness it had to have been something he got caught on (except the cut doesn't go the correct direction for that to be the case and he didn't get caught on anything) OR someone cut him with a knife.

They all agreed it looks like a very clean cut like someone cut him with a kitchen knife.

The overall treatment was supposed to cost $2000 but we only raised $400 so they did as much as they could for that price. We do not apply for care credit because our living situation has financially drained us so severely our credit scores are in the 500s.

We still need to take Kratos to a vet on Monday and get some quotes for finishing his treatment.

We have home care instructions, antibiotics, and pain medication but we need to finish getting him stitched up because when he stands up his skin dangles off his muscle

This looks like it was clearly done with a knife.

Kratos is resting now he's on his pain meds all zonked out and doesn't want me to leave his side for a single second 😭

I'm going to contact the charity based veterinarian on Monday and hope they can help if not I'll ask around and post the quote for stitches. For now everything is closed so I can only make him as comfortable as possible for the weekend.

At this point we need to just get out of here. This is a major escalation within our living situation and I'm just horrified that this happened.

A police report has been filed and we have a GoFundMe that will go toward more vet bills and application fees to escape this living situation.

Please please please donate anything you can and if you can't please share 😭

All proceeds are going toward further veterinary care and application fees so we can get out of here. We are enrolled in Rapid Rehousing through the VA but we have to be able to apply for places.

If someone is willing to hurt my baby I don't want to know what else they're willing to do... I'm distraught.

Thank you thank you thank you for your help 😭😭

And thank you for sharing

[alchemocha]

Hiya!

I’ve posted this in a couple spots already but

My wife and I need to make a sudden trip to the US next month to get them the medical care they can’t get here in Canada, and my in laws (their bio parents) have decided to suddenly change their mind and we can no longer stay with them while situating because we’ll have our two cats (who are service animals!!), and now we have to scramble for hotel funds within a month so that we have a place for us and the cats to stay safely. I’d be happy to give some little draws in return for the help. Even just sharing this around would mean the world to me. Thank you from both of us.

[autisticdreamdrop]

this user wants / needs a service dog

[transfaguette]

i went to a store the other day that said “service animals welcome” on the door and like,

[youngchronicpain]

Hi! I have an example of a book that terribly represents disability. My red flag is the misrepresentation of service dogs. Here are some things books frequently get wrong about service dogs:

Easy to access: Right now in the US it takes at least 20k to get a trained service dog and most reputable organizations have a wait time of like five years. I don’t know as much about owner training, but I know it is also expensive and it takes at least two years to get a dog to the point that you can really rely on it in public. 

Dogs work perfectly: A big part of getting a service dog from an organization is training the disabled person how to handle the dog and teaching the dog how to recognize specific things about the disabled person (scent of a seizure, signs of distress, etc.). Service dogs are a lot of work. In some ways, they can make life harder and handlers need to continue training the dog until it retires. 

Bad behavior is okay when it serves the plot: The worst thing that books get wrong is when they make service dogs aggressive. The dog growled to scare off a bad guy who was intimidating their handler? That makes sense in fiction, but in real life that is never acceptable, because in real life service dogs need to be able to interact with the public and even (especially?) aggressive people should not be threatened with dogs. Oh, the service dog bit someone and saved the day in a climactic fight scene? Cool, it can absolutely never work in public again. You no longer have a service dog once it bites in aggression. Books don’t seem to get that. When books spread the myth that service dogs can be aggressive in certain situations it can have real world impacts on disabled people, because people rightfully don’t want to let a dog that might be aggressive into their business. 

Anyway, the book I’m thinking of is “The Headmaster's List” by Melissa de la Cruz. It makes pretty much all of the mistakes I described. It’s also just a really terrible book that needed some serious editing. 

I’m glad your friend is interested in this issue and thank you for collecting all these perspectives!

This is fantastic! :) Thank you for the information.

[spacefinch]

¿which pokemon would make the best service animals? (i think you’re the mutual best qualified to answer this question)

I think it depends on what kind of service you need!

Umbreon and Espeon: Guide Pokemon and/or emotional support, since both of them evolve with high friendship.

Sylveon would be good for regulating anxiety or panic attacks, since they use their ribbonlike feelers to calm others.

Chatot can mimic human speech, so it could be used alongside an AAC device for nonverbal Trainers.

For people who can't really use their hands, Pokemon such as Simisage, Simipour, and Simisear would be helpful.

Any of the canine Pokemon (Growlithe, Rockruff, Yamper, etc...) would be good "service dogs."

As far as types go, I think psychic-types and fairy-types would make the best service Pokemon.

Below is a full list of "service animal" Pokemon.

Jigglypuff

Wigglytuff

Meowth

Persian

Growlithe

Arcanine

Lapras

Eevee

Flareon

Jolteon

Vaporeon

Furret

Hoothoot

Meganium

Lanturn

Mareep/Flaaffy/Ampharos

Togepi/Togetic/Togekiss

Aipom/Ambipom

Umbreon

Espeon

Snubbull/Granbull

Delibird

Chansey/Blissey

Poochyena/Mightyena

Ralts/Kirlia/Gardevoir

Skitty/Delcatty

Absol

Turtwig/Grotle/Torterra

Buizel/Floatzel

Glameow/Purugly

Chatot

Riolu/Lucario

Leafeon

Glaceon

Snivy/Servine/Serperior (they can use their vines to grab things their Trainers can't reach)

Oshawott/Dewott/Samurott

Lillipup/Herdier/Stoutland

Purrloin/Liepard

Simisage

Simisear

Simipour

Munna/Musharna

Pidove/Tranquill/Unfezant

Swoobat

Leavanny

Gothita/Gothorita/Gothitelle

Deerling/Sawsbuck

Alomomola

Fennekin/Braixen/Delphox

Fletchling/Fletchinder/Talonflame

Skiddo/Gogoat

Furfrou

Espurr/Meowstic

Sylveon

Rowlet/Dartrix/Decidueye

Litten/Torracat/Incineroar

Popplio/Brionne/Primarina

Oricorio

Rockruff/Lycanroc

Rookidee/Corvisquire/Corviknight

Yamper/Boltund

Sprigatito/Floragato/Meowscarada

Fidough/Dachsbun

Maschiff/Mabostiff

Finizen/Palafin

Cyclizar

[angelxd-3303]

I wonder how long it'll take for poor Wario to feel like a sixth wheel...

[fayeandknight]

Been thinking about service dog tasks and how which ones I use most have changed over the years. Specifically thinking pressure therapy/grounding and fmp.

With my first service dog I used pressure therapy/grounding pretty heavily. It's also one of the first tasks I taught my current service dog. However I use it much less in public these days. And that is because of other people.

They were seldom ill intentioned. But curiosity would get the better of them at the sight of someone sitting with a dog in their lap. So they would come over to ask questions about the dog or about service dogs in general. The problem was/is that at those times I was in the middle of having an episode and the dog was actively tasking. Not to mention, due to my disabilities, being loomed over by a stranger made things worse.

It's gotten to the point where the idea of me sitting down for pressure therapy/grounding actually causes panic all on it's own. Thus rendering that task less effective at mitigating my disabilities a lot of the time.

Mostly I use fmp to have my current service dog lead me to the exit/my car.

There are instances where I don't have time to fully leave where I am, so I try to find an as out of the way space as possible. But I don't recover as well and often stay just long enough to be able to then exit.

It's an extra thing I have to navigate/plan for.

Anyway just something I've been thinking about.

Fellow service dog handlers - have you had to alter or change a task you use due to practicality?

For non service dog handlers, let this be a gentle reminder that a team on the ground likely isn't doing nothing and it's probably not the time for questions.

[tuptastic]

STOP RISKING SERVICE DOGS AND THEIR HANDLERS.

Yesteday, while trying to access a non-pet friendly location with my seizure and cardiac alert SDiT, we were charged by a pet dog. The owners had no control over their dog, allowed it the full six feet of the leash it was on, allowed it to rush up towards my service dog, and when I was shouting "back up, back up" and moving away they laughed at the situation and at us. They gave no apologies - only a "oh guess we have to go this way" as they dragged their dog away from my service animal.

I got inside and collapsed against the check in kiosk. I avoided a medical episode by actual slivers. My service dog behaved phenomenally for this being the SECOND TIME she has been charged and or lunged at by a dog on duty this year, but i could hardly talk or think for the entire time I was at the location, trying to get something important fixed.

It might not seem like a big deal to you to bring your dog out with you. But untrained, uncontrolled pets can cause serious harm and damage not only to service dogs but to their HANDLERS. My closest medical alert contact is an hour away. If I had had a seizure that required an ambulance (anything over a minute unresponsive as per my seizure plan), it would have taken an hour until one of my people could have gotten to the hospital to collect my dog and to help me, someone with severe and extreme medical trauma. MY HEALTH AND MY DOGS SAFETY MATTERS MORE THAN YOUR WANT TO HAVE YOUR PET.

Please. PLEASE. Stop bringing your pets places they don't need to be. It is stressful for them, stressful for us, and not fun for anyone except for you. It is selfish and cruel and terrifying for the service dog handlers who leave every day wondering if today their dog is going to be hurt. ours dogs are our best friends.

Do not take her from me.

[cripplecharacters]

Alright, so long story short, my oc has a autism service dog (who is kind of also her familiar) and is a witch. What can I do to make this character realistic?

(sorry if this is vague, I have no other idea how to express this.)

Hi asker!

The most important thing would be to do research on service animals and how they specifically help people.

First, service animals are also a huge investment, both in terms of time and in terms of money. Owner training is expensive, but so can a professional trainer. Someone who gets a service dog via a charity will still be on the hook for things like food and vet bills. This means that someone who doesn't have enough time or money might not have a service dog because they're a pretty big commitment. They're not generally a first resort, because while they are very useful and can really help many people, they are also an alive being. And anything that's alive needs more care than things that aren't. Dogs have to eat and poop and pee and that needs consideration; and they can get sick, distracted, develop allergies to foods, and whatnot while machines can't. So thinking about how your character navigates these things will help them feel more realistic.

Not that you have to include or even know every detail of how they paid for training or how many hours they spent on it! But just knowing the general idea will be good.

Second, what tasks does the dog do to help your character? Basically, what does she need help with that the dog can do?

The International Association of Assistance Dog Partners has a list of tasks a service dog could perform for psychiatric conditions; it mentions depression, anxiety, and PTSD specifically but are not exclusive to those. From that list I'm including a couple that could be relevant to an autistic character, although it's in not exhaustive.

Bringing medication

Summon help from designated people

Assistance leaving an area by finding the exit

Providing deep pressure therapy to calm/ground handler

Help 'unfreeze' handler from dissociation or similar

The organization Ella's Animals also has a list of tasks a service dog for specifically autism could do; again, not exhaustive:

Providing deep pressure therapy to calm/ground handler (mentioned again!)

Trained tactile stimulation to ground handler

Behavior interruption, like of harmful stimming

Alerting handler of something they're not responding to

"Buffering" in crowds

Retrieving items

Alerting of elopement (NOTE: tethering and body-blocking are sometimes mentioned as something a service dog can do for autistic handlers, particularly children. But generally speaking, this shouldn't be done. It can be dangerous for the dog and the handler.)

You'll want to think of what tasks your character will generally need from their service dog, and while you don't have to describe them all in great detail, mentioning them when relevant will be pretty important and make your character feel more real.

Also, depending on your character's witchiness, too, you could add a little flair. Like maybe your character needs extra assistance after they cast spells because it's overwhelming, or they had to train the dog to recognize what they look like when they're casting spells so the dog doesn't interrupt!

I hope this helps!

– mod sparrow

[dreamdropsystem]

Dream (systemsona) and our alter Bubbie as their service dog!! having borzoi as a service dog would be a future life goal, were looking for a golden retriever atm, but brozoi would be amazing if we live long enough for it.. we daydreaming with Bubbie a lot lately... - shane/angel/locket/theo/bug

close up Bubbie below!!

[macgyvermedical]

Writing a fic about two people one of which is an EMT and the other has Vasovagal syncope, and anxiety causing them to pass out frequently. (They have a service dog)

I was wondering what (even if off-duty) an EMT or just a person in general would be supposed to do in one of the situations when they do faint? Right now they’re still strangers so they dont want to be super confrontational about it but do want to help.

Also possibly any tips on what the service dog would do?

A faint is a brief loss of consciousness caused by a very temporary loss of bloodflow to the brain, usually due to a sudden drop in blood pressure. The faint itself is not dangerous (once someone is lying on the ground the brain gets its blood back), but certain things that cause fainting can be, for example a heart rhythm change (some options include a-fib with RVR, PSVT, V-tach, heart block causing bradycardia) or severe dehydration. The fall itself can also cause injury.

The EMT's main goals would be to make sure the person was safe, make sure it was a faint and not a seizure or other cause of unconsciousness, figure out what caused the faint, and figure out if the person was injured by the fall.

To make sure the person is safe, they are probably going to roll the person into recovery position and put something soft under their head. That way if they throw up or jerk (which can happen sometimes with fainting), they wont breathe in puke or injure themselves further.

The biggest indicator that someone fainted and didn't have a seizure or pass out from another reason is the length of time they are unconscious. With fainting, it is usually less than a minute, especially if the person falls into a lying position. So pretty much they'd wait until the person woke up, and ask them if they'd ever fainted before and if they knew the cause. While it is possible to jerk a couple of times after falling with a faint, it is not the sustained tonic-clonic action seen in a seizure. That would vaguely rule out a seizure for the EMT. If the person didn't quickly wake up, the EMT would probably call 911 or their local emergency number.

In figuring out what what caused the faint, an EMT with no equipment is basically going to be able to take a pulse, determine if it is in the normal range and whether it is regular or irregular, and take other vital signs as able, such as respirations and skin temperature, color and moisture. They would also interview the person once they woke up, asking about what happened to cause the faint, if it has happened before, etc...

Now, a person who has a service dog is probably also going to have information about their condition on them, such as a medical alert bracelet or more detailed information in a pocket on the dog's vest, which an EMT would know to look for.

In figuring out whether the person was injured by the fall, they would feel around the head for any indentations or soft spots, and do a "primary assessment" or feel briefly across the rest of the person's body for signs of injury. Once the person woke up, they would also probably ask them whether anything hurt. Fortunately, a young person falling from a standing position likely is not going to have a spinal injury, unless maybe they fell with their neck directly on something like a low fence. An EMT would also know to look for this and assess how likely it was that this happened.

As for what the service dog could do, it depends on what it was trained for. Going off the service dogs trained for people with POTS, they could alert the person that they were about to faint, they could roll them onto their side once fainted, they could go get help/call attention if trained to do so, and they could help the person to stand if they needed assistance after waking up.

[nivalingreenhow]

I feel like this is probably Important information for people on this site, but like if you are looking into getting an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) please be careful about getting scammed. If a website says they'll 'certify' or 'register' your ESA for a fee, that is a scam! There is no such thing as a certified ESA. That does not exist. Anyone who says that is either misinformed or actively trying to get money from you. ESAs fall under the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Fair Housing Acr, not the ADA. The documentation requirements are different.

Under HUD guidelines, a housing provider (and this includes university housing) may ask for certain information including if the disability substantially impacts your life and whether the animal addresses that impact. You also may be asked to prove you have a relationship with a provider. This means it can't be a one time visit or a form you fill out online. It needs to be a provider who can accurately determine the need for an ESA.

Service Animals are a different category. You do not have to provide any documentation, but housing providers (and other establishments) are allowed to ask what task the animal is trained to perform. Service Animals are almost always dogs, but miniature horses are allowed in some.l circumstances. If it is not a dog or a miniature horse, then it is not a service animal. Service Animals are allowed in public places, but ESAs may be barred. If someone says their ESA is covered under the ADA, they are wrong. If you ask what task the animals is trained to perform and the answer is comfort or emotional support, then that animal is not a service animal. People will put service animal vests on their ESAs and take them in public places where pets are not allowed. This puts actual Service Animals and their owners in danger as ESAs are rarely trained to the same level and often misbehave in public.

Moral of the story, know your rights and know what rights someone else does not have