Psychiatric Service dogs?
I want to use my dog as a psychiatric service dog. She is trained (by me) to fetch my anxiety med bag if I’m in panic attack. She (if not in my arms) will stand between a stranger and I to help keep me calm. She does not become aggressive unless I am threatened (as in someone is going to physically hurt me). She also knows the sit/stay command as well as lie down. I can take her to a public area (where dogs are allowed) and she does not sniff unless I tell her to go potty. Basically she is a good dog. I have taught her well.
I have panic anxiety disorder, PTSD, depression, as well as a dissociative disorder. She helps keep me calm when I am able to take her with me.
I was wondering how do I go about getting her certified/licensed as a service dog?
Normally if I am going out I use a carrier for her (as she is a chihuahua dachsaund).
So what would I need to do exactly to be able to use her as a service dog in public is my main question? I am assuming she has to have certification or licensure (as in some form of official ID).
I have become knowledgeable about PSD compared to ESA and she would be used as a PSD.
I’m also legally blind. She also alerts me to someone outside my home (as I cannot see them), She helps me to cross a street safely as well. If she is in a carrier she will paw my hand if someone approaches so I am aware of it. Otherwise she holds a stand/stay posture facing me in order to stay between me and the stranger approaching. Once they speak I tell her sit and she does.
Tagged with: Chihuahua • depression • dissociative disorder • dogs • panic anxiety disorder • posture • psd • psychiatric service • stranger
Filed under: Genuine Designer Handbags
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How is she going to retrieve your medication when you are out in public and she is in a carrier? I can understand fetching something like that when you are at home and wouldn’t necessarily carry something like that with you all the time, but when you are out, you’re going to have to carry it with you or it won’t be there when you need it. If you’re carrying it already, then what do you need her to do for you about it that you cannot do for yourself? And how would she do it from inside a carrier?
Alerting you to someone outside your home is something else you won’t need in public, only at home.
How does she help you cross the street? You’re talking about a pretty small dog, especially if you are used to carrying her. She’s also really small for doing blocking work. She’s more likely to get trampled when someone approaches and doesn’t notice her than to stand as a physical barrier someone has to notice and either stop or go around. How do you intend making this work? You see someone approach, take her out of the carrier, put her on the ground, and this is supposed to stop them from coming close? Honestly, carrying a dog around is going to attract a whole lot more people to approach you because of the novelty. More than you can reasonably expect to be halted by a tiny dog being in their path.
If you live in a state that gives extra protections to a person with a disability who needs a service dog, then you’ll have to apply through your state for that license, usually through animal control. If you really want her certified, you’ll have to find a program with a qualified evaluator to test you. This is hard to do because few people want to certify a dog they’ve known for only a few hours and in a few discrete circumstances. They primarily certify dogs from their own programs that they’ve already observed in training for over a year before they are formally tested. Certification is primarily a test to see if the partnership between the new owner and the dog they trained is going to work effectively. It’s not required under the ADA.
I’m a person familiar with disabilities, with service dogs, with psychiatric disabilities, with ESAs and with PSDs. I’m having difficulty following exactly what it is you expect this dog to do for you in the circumstances you describe with what you say she is trained to do. Ask yourself: if a person who is very familiar with this field is looking quizically at you, how would a total stranger who knows little or nothing about mental illness or service dogs be likely to react to your claims? Under the ADA, disability and whether a dog is a service dog is something that ultimately only a judge can determine. Very few judges know more than the general public about mental illness or service dogs. In otherwords, they amount to a stranger on the streets such as I have described above. What would you say and do to convince such a person you were legitimately disabled and your dog was legitimately trained to do something for you that you cannot do for yourself because of your disability? This isn’t something I or anyone else here can answer for you, but it is something that you need to discuss with your psychiatrist, who needs to be willing to testify in court that you are disabled by severe mental illness and that a service dog is necessary to mitigate your disability.
I hope you do understand that businesses are unlikely to take you seriously with a small dog in a carrier as a service dog. There are far too many people with purse dogs or tiny dogs they use as fashion accessories a la Paris Hilton and the tendency when someone claims a small dog as a service dog is to assume they are lying to take their dog where dogs are not permitted. Expect more confrontations about public access than those with more traditional dogs experience.
In all honesty, I think the situation you are describing is going to create a lot more anxiety than you experience now because of the increased contact with people and because of the increased frequency of confrontations.
— edited to add —
It’s a bit more complicated than the first answerer suggested. While certification cannot be required, businesses are permitted to inquire about the dog’s training.
"Businesses may ask if an animal is a service animal or ask what tasks the animal has been trained to perform, but cannot require special ID cards for the animal or ask about the person’s disability." http://www.ada.gov/svcanimb.htm
This right of businesses to ask about the training has already been upheld in court several times, including Grill v Costco and Thompson v Dover Downs.
Aggression is not the only reason a dog can be excluded from a business even if claimed as a service dog. It can be excluded for many reasons, including being disruptive (such as barking), being out of control (such as making uninvited contact with people, jumping up, tripping people, etc.), any time the dog would create a fundamental alteration of the goods or services offered (including certain areas of hospitals, food preparation areas, some ambulances, etc.). There are also many places exempt from the ADA, including all Federal buildings (court houses, SSA, etc.), military bases, jails, Native American Tribal Council offices, and more. http://servicedogcentral.org/content/node/346
You do not have to have any professional certification for her in order to bring her places (check the information on the Americans with Disabilities Act). No one in a commercial establishment is allowed to force you to remove the dog from their premises if you tell them she is a service dog. No one is allowed to require certification or proof of certification. The one exception to this is if the dog is aggressive and may endanger other patrons, which doesn’t sound like a problem for you.
Hope this helps.
Best of luck.
EDIT: For those of you who gave me the thumbs down, here is the official ada website FAQ:
http://www.ada.gov/qasrvc.htm
First, you need a written statement from your psychiatrist stating that you are disabled. It’s not as easy as you think.
**Only a judge has the authority to decide whether or not you are disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). A judge generally makes such a determination when a civil, criminal or administrative legal case is filed with the court and it has been determined that the ADA is the appropriate law for the case. What this means for you in practical terms, is that in the absence of credible disability documentation, your planned use of a service dog rests entirely upon your own assumption of disability. If this makes you feel vulnerable, then your instincts are right on. Short of a judge’s ruling, there is something you can do to protect yourself. Read the question after next titled, "Why do I need a doctor’s letter in order to begin training my PSD?"**
Here is some other information:
http://www.psychdog.org/faq.html#get
http://psychiatricservicedogs.pbworks.com/ESA-vs-PSD
ADD:
Service animals are DIFFERENT that Psychiatric service dogs.
Is it an emotional support animal or a psychiatric service dog?
(read more about psychiatric service dogs at: Service Dog Central or join the PSD list)
The difference between emotional support animals and service animals is threefold:
http://psychiatricservicedogs.pbworks.com/ESA-vs-PSD
What the poster is asking about is ESA (emotional support animal – NOT a service dog. Service dogs do tasks. ESA’s are for EMOTIONAL SUPPORT.
*My dogs alert me when someone is outside, too. ALL dogs do that. Something about your question leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
in canada, you would need your psychiatrist to fill out a form for your dog to be considered a psychiatric service dog … they do not get the same privileges as a person who is blind for example, who has a service dog in that they would not be allowed in food stores, restaurants, etc., but other places, such as pet-unfriendly apartments, you would be allowed to keep the dog, most stores you could bring the dog into … but in all honesty, you have a little dog and can do that now anyways …
If you’re legally blind, why don’t you get a guide dog from a program and add on other tasks yourself after completing team training? There are dozens of programs in the USA, one of them is bound to be able to work with you. I’m confused about why you would want a dog to alert you to people approaching, but not assist you with obstacle negotiation. I’ve been legally blind for 10 years and it’s a lot easier to hear a person approaching than to hear a lamppost I’m about to crash into. If you’re having trouble crossing streets, can you contact your rehabilitation counselor to see if you can get some additional O&M training?