Service Dog

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tawill

Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2014
Messages
20
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
10/2014
Country
Uni
State
IL
City
Vienna
Hi to All. Has anyone had any experience with a service dog for ALS? I have had numerous folks ask me if I had considered it. I am not sure what capacity a service dog would have, or what, if anything, they could assist me with. Opinions, or input is greatly appreciated. I am falling a lot, and have an ADT alarm bracelet, but my family is wanting to check into the service animal option.
 
My husband has a service dog. She picks up items for him when he drops them, opens drawers in the kitchen, refrigerator door, braces for him when he gets up, and sits on his feet when she knows he is having a lot of weakness and he shouldn't get up. The downside to a service dog is the length of time it gets to get one. It can take as much as two years, the waiting lists are long.
 
Tawill why are you falling a lot?
Please address this before anything else as PALS regularly die falling and it is not always a fast death, if you don't die instantly it is a very painful way to go and horrific for your CALS to witness.

Many PALS find it takes too long to get a service dog if there are particular tasks like Mary describes you want the dog to perform. It is intensive training.

Do you want a dog, or is it just what people are saying to you?
 
A service dog would be wonderful. The time to get one is just to long to make it practical for me.
 
My dog is actually registered as a directional hearing dog/therapy dog. I can deduct all his food and any of his expenses on my taxes. I can still hear (was dx with Meniere's.) He had no special training but, now that he's registered, he can travel with me and stay wherever I'm staying. He is very small so is trained to use disposable pee pads.
 
It isn't mandatory to get the intensive training if it is not needed. I trained my dog for directional hearing myself. My doctor wrote a prescription stating the necessity based on a dx of Meniere's Disease (you can lose your hearing with that disease.) Subsequently, I got an Rx from a doctor for psychological therapy necessity. Just google register service animals and you can find agencies that do this. It doesn't mean they certify them...they just register them and provide vests, tags, etc. The deciding factor is if you have a doctor's order that the animal provides a service that benefits your health.
 
There isn't a deciding factor. Registering a service dog is meaningless, anyone can buy a vest for a dog, and having a doctor's order doesn't mean a dog is a trained service dog. That's exactly the problem with the service dog industry - anyone can say they're dog is a service dog and there is not many way to dispute it. In fact, a service dog doesn't even need to have a vest on in public - that is at the discretion of the handler.
 
Mary, I'm not going to get into a pissing contest over service dogs. All I can say is that my dog does provide the directional hearing I taught him and the emotional support a PALS living alone needs. I've provided for him in my Will.
 
That's so awesome Kim!
 
We were told, concerning my son, that if having a pet dog improved a medical condition, for flying and most purposes they are considered a service animal. You just need a letter from the doctor.

To me this is a therapy pet but most use service interchangeable with therapy.
 
Service dogs are so helpful to people with ALS for so many reasons. They are the eyes and ears for the person that has ALS and they are the reason that people can live at home and do so well. The service dog is trained to carry things for the patient because the patient cannot hold it if they are in a wheelchair very easily.
I am a nurse and I have seen these service dogs become very helpful to a lot of people. Thank you for posting this.
 
Service dogs are awesome.

So are companion/therapy dogs.

Mary I see what you are saying as far as a "service" dog, but please don't undervalue the importance of a dog to someone with a terminal disease.

So what if it's only a piece of paper that makes the dog legit?

If ALS sufferers get to take their constant companions with them wherever they go, I'm all for it.
 
Here is my little therapy dog/companion, The little one. When we are in bed I can tell her, "Go get help" and she runs to find whoever is in the house. She is by my side always.
image.jpg
 
azgirl, they are soooo cute!
 
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