Comments on: Pet Talk: Assistance dogs offer a new sense of freedom http://rockrivertimes.com/2011/03/02/pet-talk-assistance-dogs-offer-a-new-sense-of-freedom/ The Rock River Times - THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1993 Wed, 22 May 2013 21:52:05 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Davina http://rockrivertimes.com/2011/03/02/pet-talk-assistance-dogs-offer-a-new-sense-of-freedom/comment-page-1/#comment-2213 Davina Fri, 11 Mar 2011 20:06:56 +0000 http://rockrivertimes.com/?p=29164#comment-2213 I agree with Jeff; I loved this article, but wish it had included information about dogs trained to assist with neurologic and mental disorders. As someone with severe PTSD, who is not a Vetran, I have had to train my own animal (who may be experiencing a career change, due to tempermant requirements) because unless you ARE a Vet, you cannot aquire a psychiatric service dog. Having to train my own animal has been stressful enough (not a good thing, with PTSD), but I have to endure endless questions and challenges regarding my disability because of it's nature. I would love to see an article similar to this one that deals with unseen disabilities. I agree with Jeff; I loved this article, but wish it had included information about dogs trained to assist with neurologic and mental disorders. As someone with severe PTSD, who is not a Vetran, I have had to train my own animal (who may be experiencing a career change, due to tempermant requirements) because unless you ARE a Vet, you cannot aquire a psychiatric service dog. Having to train my own animal has been stressful enough (not a good thing, with PTSD), but I have to endure endless questions and challenges regarding my disability because of it’s nature. I would love to see an article similar to this one that deals with unseen disabilities.

]]> By: Jeff http://rockrivertimes.com/2011/03/02/pet-talk-assistance-dogs-offer-a-new-sense-of-freedom/comment-page-1/#comment-2133 Jeff Thu, 03 Mar 2011 03:43:13 +0000 http://rockrivertimes.com/?p=29164#comment-2133 As someone who is in the process of getting a service dog I greatly appreciate this article. However I feel it left out an important and growing segment of service dogs, those for people with neurological disabilities especially those on the Autistic Spectrum. All of the examples in the article were of physical disabilities, yet there are many places that are dedicated to training service dogs specifically for Autism type disorders. This article is great for raising public awareness, especially going into the laws protecting service dogs and their owners. However it would be rare for someone to question the rights of a guide dog for a vision-impaired individual or a hearing dog, but an apparently healthy child accompanied by a dog is more likely to be questioned. It is hard enough dealing with disorders in which the stares and comments from an unaware public can be as difficult as the disorder itself. I am hopeful that once we get a service dog we will not have to continue struggling with an uninformed public. I just wish this very good article for awareness would have included this type of disability. As someone who is in the process of getting a service dog I greatly appreciate this article. However I feel it left out an important and growing segment of service dogs, those for people with neurological disabilities especially those on the Autistic Spectrum. All of the examples in the article were of physical disabilities, yet there are many places that are dedicated to training service dogs specifically for Autism type disorders.

This article is great for raising public awareness, especially going into the laws protecting service dogs and their owners. However it would be rare for someone to question the rights of a guide dog for a vision-impaired individual or a hearing dog, but an apparently healthy child accompanied by a dog is more likely to be questioned.

It is hard enough dealing with disorders in which the stares and comments from an unaware public can be as difficult as the disorder itself. I am hopeful that once we get a service dog we will not have to continue struggling with an uninformed public. I just wish this very good article for awareness would have included this type of disability.

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