Fake assistance dogs?

[Nanny71]

Jasper was originally intended to help DS2 with his emotional issues. I have fibromyalgia but I'd been let to believe that lurchers just needed a couple of half-hour walks a day so I thought he'd fit in.

Long story short, he didn't help DS2 at all as his social anxiety still prevented him from going out, and the issues that J developed meant the stress levels in the house increased a lot! But we stuck with him, and he basically became mine. I now had to get out the house and walk twice a day, as well as doing all the training & constant monitoring that a puppy entails. Having to build up his walks gradually to project his joints meant that my fitness gradually improved too... but he definitely wasn't going to be satisfied with two walks a day!

Pain and energy levels have a mental component as well as physical, and having to do all this meant I did do it, rather than sitting around at home getting more and more achey, and going back to bed for naps in the day. And of course he really distracted from my focus on what was happening in my body.

Eight years on, I think nothing of walking for three hours a day, and I also manage to fit in work and housework. Sure, I have rough patches, but I am overall so much healthier that I've no doubt it's extended my life expectancy. I'm still knackered by the evening, but that's OK! When J is no longer with us we will have to get another dog just so we don't end up walking no further than the local shops.

We have also discovered so many local (and more distant) beauty spots, seen some wonderful wildlife, and made new friends. Rain is no longer an excuse to stay indoors. I feel really guilty that we didn't go to these places when the children were young but back then I didn't have the energy and the boys loved their technology far too much.

DS2 has also sorted himself out and now has a good job and a lovely girlfriend, and they've bought their first house.

I'm certainly not saying conditions like fibro are all in the mind - they're certainly not, and not everyone with fibro would even be able to contemplate doing what I've managed.

Also, I've discovered emotional strength I didn't know I had from dealing with Jasper's issues. And discovered all over again just how wonderful OH is. He didn't even want a dog, but even when J bit him badly and we were really struggling, he never suggested we should get rid of him. And when I had a health scare last year, he said without a moment's hesitation that if I wasn't able to care for J for whatever reason (including if I just wasn't around any more) then, as we couldn't trust J with someone other than us, he'd resign from work if necessary to care for him.

It is strange how quickly they become a real part of your life. My husband did not really want a dog and when we finally had Dudley permanently he was adamant he wouldn't walk him, feed him and definitely not pick up pooh.
When I had to have surgery in January he did all of those things.
My lovely dog walking friends did a lot of the walking but my husband fed him, spent time with him and picked up his poo.
He also said if anything had happened to me he would have kept him

 

[leashedForLife]

Yeah, but if it was required [that Jasper help Judy], he for sure would be more than capable.

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??? - capable of what, precisely?
We already know he's perfectly capable of embarrassing his owners, LOL - that's not in doubt!


Seriously, as a trainer who's previously helped clients train their SDs & Hearing-Ear dogs, i would never consider a dog as an SD candidate when he's so anxiety-ridden & reactive, he flees the room b/c "there's a fly" - SDs & any other public-access working dogs must cope with the random surprises of the environs, within reasonable expectations, & flies, skeeters, birds, planes, & other flying objects are perfectly normal events.

Nobody expects an SD to be immune to the rare truly-bizarre events, such as quakes rated at 6 or more on the Richter scale, or tornadoes & similar outlier events, but chain-saws, ambulance sirens, motorcycles with glass-packed dual pipes, drunken passersby, etc, are all standard happenings.
An assistance dog who can't cope with them is a pi**-poor candidate, IMO.

- terry

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[Violet Turner]

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??? - capable of what, precisely?
We already know he's perfectly capable of embarrassing his owners, LOL - that's not in doubt!


Seriously, as a trainer who's previously helped clients train their SDs & Hearing-Ear dogs, i would never consider a dog as an SD candidate when he's so anxiety-ridden & reactive, he flees the room b/c "there's a fly" - SDs & any other public-access working dogs must cope with the random surprises of the environs, within reasonable expectations, & flies, skeeters, birds, planes, & other flying objects are perfectly normal events.

Nobody expects an SD to be immune to the rare truly-bizarre events, such as quakes rated at 6 or more on the Richter scale, or tornadoes & similar outlier events, but chain-saws, ambulance sirens, motorcycles with glass-packed dual pipes, drunken passersby, etc, are all standard happenings.
An assistance dog who can't cope with them is a pi**-poor candidate, IMO.

- terry

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I know but with specialised training he could become something amazing.

 

[JudyN]

I'm still not sure if you realise that it's Jasper who needs the support, not me, Violet... Jasper already is something amazing, but regardless of what specialised training you have in mind, there is no way in the world he could be trained to be reliable walking up and down supermarket aisles, or being petted by strangers on crowded public transport.

 

[Violet Turner]

@JudyN i understand what you mean

 

[Mad Murphy]

As expected the fakers are being called out..
The Era of Flying with Your Fake Service Dog May Be Over