What popped out at me is you married. your best friend, you are very wise and that is so nice to hear. I have struggled in that arena my whole life marring variances of my past dysfunction. Like you Arfie, I miss my dogs that have passed on, especially my dear Stanley...I think of him often. Dogs and cats are add such fulfillment to our lives, they are incredible.

I am not too familiar with service dogs, although I get my PTSD service dog in 2 weeks, after waiting 2 years. Clearly there is a shortage of help there. So I will have to post after I find out what life is like with one, the trainer I spoke to says he will literally change my life. They have been producing service dogs for 20 years so we shall see.
Also, now there are therapy dogs, and companion dogs too...confusing but I do know service dogs are different in that they provide a service, let people see, hear, for seizures calling 911 and for PTSD

I wish every abused child, abandoned child and child in foster care could have a companion dog, as well as every wounded human. Animals allow those of us too wounded to trust our fellow humans or let them near to experience the love and comfort that we mammals crave. They allow us to experience and express the tenderness that we might be too guarded to show our fellow humans. It's all good.

As much as I love my critters, dogs in particular, not everyone is cut out to take care of animals. The only service dogs I have known personally were seeing-eye dogs. No matter how well trained the dog, it is still a dog with daily needs of its own. Not too many humans know a dog's needs instinctively. It is a woeful thing when a dog gets treated like a pill bottle.

I am not ready to vote for dogs as a standard prescription for all.

I was thinking when I read DW post, how nice it is when dogs are accepted in more places like Europe. The pubs are full of 4 legged friends and instead of being home and isolated they are part of the community. Also, far better behaved because of this
I agree with you Arfie, some people should not have kids and definitely not have a dog, it is very upsetting to see them mistreated when they are so loving. You would be pleased to know that service dogs are leased to the user. I just found this out last week at my orientation. I think this is good so if the service dogs/guide dogs needs are not being met they association can remove the service dog from the home. Protects the animals. There is also ADI ( assistance dogs International) accreditation at they are very strict guidelines for the care of the service dogs
The pets need more protection and the USA is ahead of Canada on animal laws,

The laws scare me. Veterinarians, too, are starting to sound more like lawyers and insurance agents than doctors. That may be the part of the Service Dog Industry boom which is niggling the hardest.

How long before I need a doggie car seat in order to take Persilly on the road with me? I already need documentation.

I just adore critters as well and dogs are the best!!!

My little Yorkie that I'm holding was with me during the time I was caring for my parents when they were failing and he got me through some of the toughest times of my life..... He was my rock and I adored him.... My best friend for sure

I agree that people need to educate themselves regarding whatever animal that they want to own.... Food sources alone can be what one animal needs but can be poison for another animal.... and also how much care they need..... Some dogs need a lot of exercise and others a little...... We need to educate ourselves before taking on any animal IMHO.......xo

I've worked around a few service animals ....dogs that have been for epilepsy, hearing ear and seeing eye dogs..... They really are awesome
Particularly 'seeing eye dogs'..... They have to be taught to do an action and then go against what their owner might be telling them to do.... for instance if an owner wants the dog to cross the street but the light is red..... Really amazing.... I think it takes about 2 years to train them

All my years growing up we only had dogs in my home, and I was their primary care taker in the house, a role I loved. Then, when I was in my 30s, in the alley behind my apartment building a kitten insisted on befriending me. I had zero idea of how to care for a kitten, but it was as if this kitten taught me what I needed to do for him.

It seemed sometimes to me that he might have been the reincarnation of an English butler or something. Very dignified--I never once saw him hiss, though he cackled aggressively out the window at birds. Seeing that, I offered him the chance to go back out where he'd been born. He looked at me as if to say, "what are you--nuts? You go live in the alley!" Like I said, English butler type, totally indoors dude.

Also, he never liked to be picked up. Being held up with his feet off the floor he would shoot me that English butler "this is undignified" look of his agian. We came to an agreement, that I wouldn't pick him up and he wouldn't try to pick me up, either. If he wanted to get on my lap, he'd jump up there himself. He so did often, and he'd purr happily. Though I loved the tail wagging unique to dogs, I found the unique purring of cats to be really comforting to my PTSD, too.

I ended up having him for 14 years until I was into my 40s and I lost him to a stroke in his old age. He turned out to be a sort of PTSD service cat, if there ever was such a thing.

I am still confused what sets an official PTSD service dog apart from the rest of the critters of the world, but in my strictly personal therapy, the grounding connection is the big therapy benefit. Whatever critter I can connect with calms me better than pills.

Of course cats can do this. So can chickens, snakes, gerbils, lizards, goats, pigs, etcetera, etceteri.

It does seem the service dogs for PTSD are less defined.......xo

https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/treatment/cope/dogs_and_ptsd.asp

One thing that stands out for me is that having an animal called a 'service' animal allows you to have the dog with you all of the time

Wow, Dooo, I never framed it that way, as respect for one another, but you're right, that's what it was. Respect, which he was the one always teaching me, of course, always the English butler type that he was. Sometimes I think that he was the master and I was his pet. Ha!

There's more to the story. I named him after an Argentine novelist. I met that novelist, and got him to take a photo with my cat that was named after him. What's more, the novelist later on mentioned me and my cat by name in a novel he published. Pretty cool indeed.

https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm here is a link to the ADA (Americans With Disabilities) website that defines what a "service dog" is. There is, i think, more detailed info at DOJ

A service dog is basically any dog who assists a disabled person whose disability is not blindness/maybe deafness.. not an expert. There are service dogs who assist autistic people, diabetic people, people with dangerous heart conditions, people with life threatening allergies, people with PTSD, etc., etc.

***important note: the only person who might benefit from the help of a service dog, is a person who is able, or has help to be able to have a dog live with them. (when i say dog i mean partner, k9 parner). for purists. ummm. still, not everyone can benefit - only people who truly desire a partner and show benefit from the bond should have the partnership - it is a lifelong partnership - 10+ years of ongoing changes and training - not only for the dog - mostly for the human half.

They must be well trained and well behaved in public. They MUST be clean, well-groomed, - there is no way a service dog would be taken into a public place with any skin condition or fleas, for example - no way, everything about the service dog is reassuring and calm. When the handler is possibly experiencing an anxiety attack - or one is beginning, the dog will de-escalate the attack, or redirect the handler to another place. they are trained to do this, but generally a dog chosen to be trained for this type of service, is also a "natural."

My dog, Hank, is what is known as a natural. he naturally knows to brace for me. if you don't know what bracing is, and why would you? bracing is when the dog locks his posture - he makes sure he is in a good position for himself first so that he can be ready to take my weight - then he locks himself into place - so that then, i can put my weight onto him to pull myslef out of bed, or up off the floor if i'm stuck on the floor. into a chair. different situations that come up. he - we, are working on him catching me asi fall down - he puts himself in the way and breaks my fall. next step - he lies down on top of me while i have a seizure - protects my head/body during seizure.

he already lies on top of me during a seizure in my sleep. he gets between me and the wall or the edge of the bed too.

Hank was alerting me to seizures before i knew i was having them. he was asking me for permission as he was wanting to alert me - he is that smart. as soon as i realised he was doing it? i praised him and encouraged the behaviour - that's how they train these dogs. show them what they want them to do, then treat and praise, (there is so much more to how "they" do it). i look for the sign of behaviour, praise, praise, praise. i look for dogs who have the natural talent. Hank has it in spades. Opie, the littlest one is alerting to shallow breathing or when i do that traumatic breath holding - i do that a lot. little Opie is alerting for it, precious little guy. Hank too, but i didn't know Ops was going to have it. Opie does a few other things too.

Hank also does deep tissue pressure - i love it, found out only today that this is a trained task ^^. he puts his back against the wall and presses my back w/his big feet. i think when he lies on top of me too - his weight - he knows when and how and where.

it sounds cold blooded when put into words - but they needed to do it to make the law work for people who need their partner with them. a service dog is considered a necessary piece of medical equipment. Not by their human partner but by the law.

an emotional support dog is not. they cannot go where a service dog can. they are exempt from housing restrictions and are medically necessary .

I didn't read comments so sorry if I repeat...may be the only one too the way I like to totally miss the bigger picture most days....I just wanted to say that, without trying to sound judgmental here, it feels like therapy dogs are a new fashion statement. Like the new deal is that if you aren't going to therapy you are nobody now. Everyone is self diagnosing themselves to be less accountable for their selfish actions. "My therapist says..." comes up a lot more. Free thinking is taboo and it's all about life coaches and therapists guiding weak minded individuals.