#assistance dog

[queerautism]

We went to a cool exhibit about Punk on the local museum this weekend! 💜

[quite-right-too]

Gallifrey One prep is going well for the Dogtor

[seven-oomen]

A service dog for Ben

My name is Ben (33 years old) and after 20 years of mental health treatment, I have been discharged from further treatment. For years, I have been struggling with ADHD, Autism, and PTSD. The latter causes me to have multiple dissociations on a daily basis, which are attacks where my body continues on autopilot, and I am not aware of what I am doing. This can lead me to walk into traffic and come face to face with a car. Furthermore, I experience non-epileptic seizures where my legs give way and I fall to the ground. This happens to me in public on the sidewalk, but also along train tracks, in the middle of an intersection, and in other dangerous places. I am also regularly pulled back into flashbacks, old unpleasant memories or emotions. And my nights are filled with nightmares. The happy, creative, adventurous animal friend who enjoys walking, writing, and taking trips with friends has been locked away. Due to my disabilities, I live in isolation and my world has become ever so small.

But there is hope. My dream to reclaim my life as a thirty-something-year-old, expand my social network again, return to work, and spend time with family and friends can come true. How?

Through the help of a psychiatric service dog. I'll dog myself with the guidance and aid of a professional assistance dog school. This is a task I am capable of thanks to my background as a certified veterinary technician with experience in raising assistance dog puppies, and an internship at a police dog training academy.

The dog will alert me in time when an attack is coming, allowing me to go to a safe and quiet place to sit. The dog will be trained to fetch and bring my medication on time, wake me up and provide support during nightmares, lie on top of me to calm me down through pressure on my body, and prevent me from harming myself by licking my hands.

With the dog by my side, I can go out on the street again, visit family and friends, go on outings, do groceries, return to work, and resume living life.

But the training for this dog is costly. It amounts to around 11,000 euros for the training and acquisition of the dog. The health insurance company does not cover this type of assistance dog, and the WMO (Social Support Act) does not provide reimbursement for this process either. Hence, the request if you would like to make a contribution.

Every little bit helps. I greatly appreciate any donations and/or sharing of this donation drive.

For Americans and others that have trouble donating through the platform, I can also receive donations through Paypal or Ko-fi.

[booksandbrainsandsoftthings]

Not so friend reminder that

Being a veteran does not exempt you from service dog laws

Being disabled does not exempt you from service dog laws

If your dog is not trained to perform tasks that mitigate and help manage a disability, and it does not know how to behave calmly in public, it is NOT a service dog.

If your dog is not a service dog, it does not have the right to be in places pets are not allowed.

Following trained service dogs with your untrained pet is not okay.

Being a jackass about it does not change the laws either.

Leave. Your. Pets. At. Home.

[accessimojis]

Could we get a service animal/dog emote? :0 (I love your emotes thank you for making spaces accessible)

Service dog emote! Also an alternate version for uk folks, over here they’re called Assistance Dogs.

[inverseinvert]

He stops me going ghost ☺️

[archerjay2019]

Trying to get an assistance dog funded, been trying for a while and put it aside for a bit, trying again and hoping maybe I can have a dog in training in the new year.

[x22817]

Happy International Assistance Dog Week!

Hekate has improved my quality of life more than I could have ever imagined. I rescued her to be a service dog for my multiple autoimmune conditions along with cPTSD, anxiety, depression, panic disorder, and self harming behaviors. Now, she also assists me with my cardiac and glucose disorders as well.

Bean, I love you more than I ever thought possible. I'm so grateful you came into my life.

[woolywoofs]

Hi there lovely people!

My name is Lovísa and I have epilepsy.

I have hit a point in my health where my neurologist is no longer comfortable with me not having a lifeline of sorts, and moving in with family or friends and having someone constantly around and with me is sadly just not an option.

So after a lot of deliberation with my doctors and the appropriate organization and their people, we have decided an assistance dog is the best option for me.

The work that goes towards getting an assistance dog in Iceland is an incredibly expensive, strict and long process, and it is taxing but so worth it in cases like this.

I am personally disabled and completely unable to work due to my illnesses, and am on disability. Therefore it is absolutely impossible for me to fund this assistance dog on my own if i want to do it within the next 10 years. So i am reaching out for support, no matter what form that support is (financial, advice regarding assistance dogs or training, a share, an encouraging comment, anything!). Any and all support is welcome! ❤️

Crowdfunding is a sore subject because asking for help is so incredibly difficult. But after talking with friends and family I see I need to recognize its okay to need help sometimes. This will be my second attempt of an assistance dog but this time we are going through actual professionals and under better guidance and I have high hopes for this.

There is no magic number but training alone (base training and then training with the assistance dog trainer) will most likely be costing a minimum of 500000 ISK (approx 3500 USD) and that is excluding the cost of the dog itself and everything else the process entails. I will be paying for as much as I can myself but realistically I need help with this.

Coming to terms with my epilepsy has been an impossible process, since I was diagnosed as an adult absolutely out of nowhere. Having my life turned upside down and trying to adjust to this new reality of my epilepsy not being controlled anymore is hard and terrifying.

There are a lot of unknowns and having the reassurance of an assistance dog will help me immensely, both in keeping me safe if (when) something happens, giving my family peace of mind, and making me feel safer in this reality.

Sadly I only have PayPal for my foreign friends, but please dont worry if you cant donate!

You can click here for my paypal

As ive said, every type of support is welcome. No gesture is too small ❤️

[bodymodificationnation]

My service dog died in July and I’m still so broken. I feel like I will never be happy again. He was not only my best friend but I considered him to be my son. He was my whole world and I’m so angry that life took him away from me. He never did a single thing wrong. He didn’t deserve this.

[seven-oomen]

Exciting news! Found a service dog training institution that's affordable through a donation drive and help from foundations, and my mom who wants to back me up with a loan. And I have an intake on April 9th!

Very excited to see what they can do for me.

9-10K (and 2K for the puppy) is a lot of money, and I will be holding a donation drive for a good chunk of that money. But it's not impossible to fundraise a good chunk of that.

[queerautism]

Dog is PASSED OUT on his little blanket while we kill some time until we get on our train. It's loud as hell here, there's load of people, someone playing a piano nearby, and he doesn't care at all. He even ignored some other dogs passing nearby, which we usually struggle with a bit!

He was such a good working boy all day and it really tired him out 💜

[blindbeta]

What mobility aids might a multiply disabled blind person use if they had a need for a stabilizing cane?

Thank you so much for running this blog!!

Mobility Aids For Multiply Disabled People

A few ideas include: sighted guide, a guide animal, or a white cane.

Sighted guide would require a person who was available to help when someone decided to travel. It usually comes with the bonus of having things described as they walk.

A guide animal would require some white cane skills to obtain. I believe it is 6 months of cane use and O&M instruction. Some animals can also be trained to offer some stabilization, although I don’t know if mobility assistance dogs can also be guide dogs. Read about mobility assistance dogs here. The link also says that an assistance dog can be used with a walking cane. I assume an assistance dog could also be used with a white cane. So the person has the choice of which service they would like a dog to perform, depending on their needs, and go from there.

Guide horses can also offer guiding and bracing services. While I am not sure, I remember coming across the idea that this type of combined service is useful for DeafBlind people (written this way for the ease of screen-readers), as some DeafBlind people can have balance difficulties. But what your character chooses will probably depend on how often they need bracing or what other device or devices work best for them.

Guide dogs are trained to walk on the left side. I am not sure if that might be an issue for someone using a stabilizing cane, depending on which side they use it, or if a guide animal could be trained to fit specific requirements for that person.

If you want to learn more about guide dogs, YouTubers Molly Burke and Lucy Edwards both have guide dogs.

A white cane can be used with a stabilizing cane. This page details the differences between canes and how they are not interchangeable.

Depending on the remaining vision someone has, they may be able to use a white cane only at night or when crossing the street, meaning they could put it away the rest of the time. Some people can use a red and white stabilizing cane or a symbol/identification cane that identifies them as having less vision. The red and white stabilizing cane should let others know that person has low vision. The symbol/identification cane serves the same purpose. It’s a short cane not meant to touch the ground.

What you choose as a writer will depend on the character’s level of vision, comfort, and navigation needs, perhaps even time of day or distance someone wants to travel.

If anyone has experience they would like to add, please feel free to share and I’ll copy the message here.

This has been cross-posted on WordPress.