munkinmama
Silver Member
I had done a post a while back (cant find it) about my story being read in the legislative assembly. Well here is what I wrote:
I am writing this email to bring to the attention in regards to the process of trying to get a Service Dogs. I have been in touch with the Minister of Person's with Disabilities but was not happy with the response I got which I will include in this email.I recently got a dog back in May who I am training on my own and in my experience when out in public is that many do not have any idea what a Service Dogs is or does. This includes businesses as well that do not know what their rights are when it comes to Service Dogs.I have had business ask me what their rights are and i could not tell them. The public does not know what the difference between a therapy dog, an emotional support or companion animal compared to a Service dog. Many people think they are the same thing. Therapy and emotional support animals do not have public access rights.Service Dogs are task trained so if someone says oh my dog keeps me calm and less anxious , the question would be what tasks is it trained to keep you calm and less anxious? If someone can not answer the task question then the dog is an emotional support animal.Many do not know how to respond when they see a Service Dog or that there are many types of Service Dogs. Also Service Dogs are not robots they have their good and bad days just like we do.
my story on what I needed to get a dog
I am writing this email to explain my story on what it took for me to finally get a Service Dog. I am writing this letter hoping it would help others and hopefully they will not go through the humiliation, disappointment, frustration I did. I suffer from PTSD, anxiety and depression from many traumas in my life, as well as I have mobility issues. I discovered that there were dogs that were trained to assist people with PTSD. I was excited but that turned into a journey of frustration and ultimately a feeling of being discriminated against because my PTSD was not from combat or being a first responder. It saddens me the government is only focusing on veterans and first responders and only give them the ability to access the vital tool in a treatment for PTSD. I am not saying they do not deserve this because they do but it would be nice for those of us who have PTSD from other traumas to be able to access these Service Dogs.The way the Service Dog act is setup is discriminates, determines who can and can not have a Service Dog, causing a shortage due to lack of resources. Also many programs do not cross train meaning in my case I would have to pick a PTSD Service Dog or a mobility Dog but I need both for my disabilities. Why is in the US there are more resources to assist those seeking a Service Dog such as schools to help those who want or have to owner train their own Service Dogs? I had so many barriers trying to access a program dog
(1) being turned down by many ADI accredited programs that trained PTSD Service Dogs because I was not a veteran or first responder. I was finally told that because PTSD Service Dogs are fairly new in the Service Dog world not many programs have the resources to train these dogs.
(2) some programs had dogs ready however they were charging anywhere from $10 000- 60 000 for their dogs. I am on AISH so not an option,
3)programs who had dogs and did not charge often did not train many dogs to meet the demand.They often have waiting lists that are up to 5 years with no guarantee of the person getting a dog.
4) I opted to get a dog on my own and train her as my Service Dog. The next barrier i encountered was trying to find a trainer that was associated with the ADI (Assistant Dogs International). I found that any ADI accredited program wants NOTHING to with anyone who is owner training. So how is someone decides to owner train dog suppose to be tested under the ADI standards because of the shortages?Call Dogs with Wings here in Edmonton and find out for yourself.The same programs who refused to help me get a dog were now refusing to help train my dog because I did not get a dog from them. I need my dog to function, she is more then just a pet. She is my lifeline and has saved me many times. She has given me a somewhat normal life. I am not isolating myself and able to do day to day things most people do without a second thought.
5)I also found that many programs do not understand what a PTSD Service Dog is. When I called Dogs with Wings the man I spoke to told me to apply for a mobility dog because any dog can be a Companion Dog. It was clear by this advice that he has not idea what tasks a PTSD Service dog does. My dog is trained to as a couple examples to do crowd control by standing in front or behind me so no one can sneak up on me as this is a huge trigger, preform deep pressure therapy when I am having a panic attack
I know the government is aware there is a shortage that programs can not meet the demands for those who need a Service Dog.As it was brought up in the Question Period on September 8,2014.
Objections to the Service Dog Act qualifications
ID cards can me forged and 99% of the public are not aware of what the cards are or look like. Having an ID card does not guarantee someone will not be denied access. It is the task training of the dog and the maintenance of that training that makes a dog a Service Dog not a piece of plastic. I could train a dog for a program if that dog is paired with someone who does not maintain the task training by getting the dog to practice what s(he) has been trained for then that dog is no longer a Service Dog. It is similar to if someone learns a language if they do not use it they lose it same with a Service Dog. An ID card does not provide anything other then identifying the dog on the card as a " Service Dog" and the handler if on AISH can get a $50 Service Dog allowance.There are many online websites someone could buy an ID from. Why is it those of us with a disability that use a Service Dog have to show ID at all? Is this not discriminating against people with disabilities? When was the last time an able bodied person had to show ID just to be able to eat in a restaurant, watch a movie?
I am writing this email to bring to the attention in regards to the process of trying to get a Service Dogs. I have been in touch with the Minister of Person's with Disabilities but was not happy with the response I got which I will include in this email.I recently got a dog back in May who I am training on my own and in my experience when out in public is that many do not have any idea what a Service Dogs is or does. This includes businesses as well that do not know what their rights are when it comes to Service Dogs.I have had business ask me what their rights are and i could not tell them. The public does not know what the difference between a therapy dog, an emotional support or companion animal compared to a Service dog. Many people think they are the same thing. Therapy and emotional support animals do not have public access rights.Service Dogs are task trained so if someone says oh my dog keeps me calm and less anxious , the question would be what tasks is it trained to keep you calm and less anxious? If someone can not answer the task question then the dog is an emotional support animal.Many do not know how to respond when they see a Service Dog or that there are many types of Service Dogs. Also Service Dogs are not robots they have their good and bad days just like we do.
my story on what I needed to get a dog
I am writing this email to explain my story on what it took for me to finally get a Service Dog. I am writing this letter hoping it would help others and hopefully they will not go through the humiliation, disappointment, frustration I did. I suffer from PTSD, anxiety and depression from many traumas in my life, as well as I have mobility issues. I discovered that there were dogs that were trained to assist people with PTSD. I was excited but that turned into a journey of frustration and ultimately a feeling of being discriminated against because my PTSD was not from combat or being a first responder. It saddens me the government is only focusing on veterans and first responders and only give them the ability to access the vital tool in a treatment for PTSD. I am not saying they do not deserve this because they do but it would be nice for those of us who have PTSD from other traumas to be able to access these Service Dogs.The way the Service Dog act is setup is discriminates, determines who can and can not have a Service Dog, causing a shortage due to lack of resources. Also many programs do not cross train meaning in my case I would have to pick a PTSD Service Dog or a mobility Dog but I need both for my disabilities. Why is in the US there are more resources to assist those seeking a Service Dog such as schools to help those who want or have to owner train their own Service Dogs? I had so many barriers trying to access a program dog
(1) being turned down by many ADI accredited programs that trained PTSD Service Dogs because I was not a veteran or first responder. I was finally told that because PTSD Service Dogs are fairly new in the Service Dog world not many programs have the resources to train these dogs.
(2) some programs had dogs ready however they were charging anywhere from $10 000- 60 000 for their dogs. I am on AISH so not an option,
3)programs who had dogs and did not charge often did not train many dogs to meet the demand.They often have waiting lists that are up to 5 years with no guarantee of the person getting a dog.
4) I opted to get a dog on my own and train her as my Service Dog. The next barrier i encountered was trying to find a trainer that was associated with the ADI (Assistant Dogs International). I found that any ADI accredited program wants NOTHING to with anyone who is owner training. So how is someone decides to owner train dog suppose to be tested under the ADI standards because of the shortages?Call Dogs with Wings here in Edmonton and find out for yourself.The same programs who refused to help me get a dog were now refusing to help train my dog because I did not get a dog from them. I need my dog to function, she is more then just a pet. She is my lifeline and has saved me many times. She has given me a somewhat normal life. I am not isolating myself and able to do day to day things most people do without a second thought.
5)I also found that many programs do not understand what a PTSD Service Dog is. When I called Dogs with Wings the man I spoke to told me to apply for a mobility dog because any dog can be a Companion Dog. It was clear by this advice that he has not idea what tasks a PTSD Service dog does. My dog is trained to as a couple examples to do crowd control by standing in front or behind me so no one can sneak up on me as this is a huge trigger, preform deep pressure therapy when I am having a panic attack
I know the government is aware there is a shortage that programs can not meet the demands for those who need a Service Dog.As it was brought up in the Question Period on September 8,2014.
Objections to the Service Dog Act qualifications
ID cards can me forged and 99% of the public are not aware of what the cards are or look like. Having an ID card does not guarantee someone will not be denied access. It is the task training of the dog and the maintenance of that training that makes a dog a Service Dog not a piece of plastic. I could train a dog for a program if that dog is paired with someone who does not maintain the task training by getting the dog to practice what s(he) has been trained for then that dog is no longer a Service Dog. It is similar to if someone learns a language if they do not use it they lose it same with a Service Dog. An ID card does not provide anything other then identifying the dog on the card as a " Service Dog" and the handler if on AISH can get a $50 Service Dog allowance.There are many online websites someone could buy an ID from. Why is it those of us with a disability that use a Service Dog have to show ID at all? Is this not discriminating against people with disabilities? When was the last time an able bodied person had to show ID just to be able to eat in a restaurant, watch a movie?
