#mobility dogs

So I looked up the law just to see for myself and they’re talking about service dogs having a tag that is provided by the State. But as far as the law goes, it only talks about hearing dogs, seeing-eye dogs, and mobility dogs. I couldn’t find anything that talked about psychiatric service dogs so I would assume they have all the rights under the ADA Federal law. So your dog can be any color and wear any color vest and does not have to be issued by the state. They were only talking about a specific service dog tag that they would provide you with. 

If you have a mobility disability as described by the ADA, then yes I think she would be considered a mobility service dog. What I mean by that is: the ADA definition of disability is written in a way that includes those disabilities that have yet to be diagnosed, but are still disabling to the individual. So if you’re currently unable to walk or stand without assistance, and you’re planning on having that dog to assist you with that, then yes, it’d still be considered a mobility dog even without a diagnosis from a doctor.

Mum & I wanted to post about a situation we encounter on a daily basis. People seem to have a great deal more respect for assistance animals working with those who have visual impairment than those animals working to assist in other areas. If we had a dollar for every time Mum has to explain that I have the same rights as a guide dog, we would be billionaires. It seems appropriate to recount an incident that occurred outside Coles at Melbourne Central a little over 12 months ago. As Mum was about to enter, the guard stopped her & said “you can’t have that dog in here”. Mum replied that the commonwealth disability discrimination act of 2009 allowed her entry. The guard stated, “only guide dogs are allowed in here”. This encounter demonstrates the public’s ignorance of dogs assisting those with disabilities other than blindness. We wanted to examine some of the reasons for this, and explore some options for combating public ignorance.

One way of reducing ignorance is through awareness campaigns. The campaigns run by the various Guide Dog organizations in this country have been enormously effective. One potential reason for this is that, guide dog schools are able to achieve a high degree of brand recognition. Thus what they have to say carries some weight.

 Another reason for the success of public awareness campaigns is the identifiable equipment the dogs’ ware. Guide Dogs use the same equipment nationally. This makes it easy for them to produce ads around how to identify a guide dog, and how to interact (or not) with one. Further assisting in this respect is the fact that the 7 guide dog schools in Australia predominately use two breeds, the Labrador & Golden Retriever.

 Unfortunately, creating a similar campaign to educate the public about dogs who assist in other areas will have to succeed on different merits. This is due to a number of factors. Firstly, our equipment is not as recognisable as that of a guide dog. The reason for this is that assistance dogs support people with a wide variety of impairment. Hence, we perform a wide variety of tasks for our humans. The tasks we perform sometimes require specialized equipment to facilitate them. In addition, our equipment is customized according to our partner’s physical capabilities.

 Secondly, what are considered ‘desirable’ traits of instinct and personality will vary depending on the tasks required by our humans. These traits are innate, rather than trained & therefore a large selection of breeds are put to work as assistance dogs. Unfortunately, however, the public perception (in AUS at least) is that only Labradors & Golden Retrievers are suitable for assistance dog work. Though this is far from the truth, the perception persists.

 Thirdly, the coats assistance dogs wear are no longer considered a sure sign that a dog is an assistance dog. This is due to the recent rise of the animal fashion industry. Prior to the beginning of the last decade dogs almost never wore coats, except for the purpose of identifying them as working dogs with a legal right to enter public buildings. Now days, doggie fashion is so popular that the mere presence of a coat no longer conveys the same message it once would have.

 And it’s not just the general public. The government is at it as well. There are obvious discrepancies in the way Victorian legislation treats Guide Dogs, as compared to other types of assistance dogs. The transport act, for example, provides that Guide Dogs & Guide Dogs in training may travel on public transport without the need for any particular documentation; however, other types of assistance dogs require a government issued pass. Discrepancies like this can be found across most pieces of relevant Victorian legislation. How can we expect the public not to discriminate on this basis if the state government can’t do it?

 How then do we go about combating the ignorance of the general public? Firstly, it’s Mum & I’s firm belief that the first step is to always stand up for our rights, regardless of how intimidating the person trying to trample them is. Mum has threatened to call the police more than once. Though it appears to take a lot of ‘guts’ it’s really about knowing the name of the relevant act. It’s also worth noting that mum has never had to actually call the police. Further, even if they are the ones making this threat if you don’t back down they tend to get the message. It’s also worth thinking about contacting the media or posting on social media. In this highly competitive corporate market companies are extremely keen to avoid bad publicity. This may be used to our advantage, as such interactions with the media are often able to achieve results. It’s worked for many a guide dog team.  

 Secondly, finding affective ways to educate the public must be a priority. We pointed out earlier that there are challenges, however, it can be done. One-way might be to create an add campaign demonstrating the ways dogs can be used to help people. Another, more grass-roots-approach is for teams to start shearing there experiences on social media. If enough of us are able to share our stories the diversity will become self-evident.

The following has been adapted from a letter Mum wrote to my puppy raiser.

"The gift of a Service Dog is more than just a dog that can do things to make life easier. It is the gifts of: independence, confidence, and most importantly dignity. When you’re in a chair people have a tendency to either treat you as though you don’t exist, as though you might be contagious, or, worst of all, as though you are stupid.  Before I got my first Service Dog, Toby, people used to cross to the other side of the road to pass me in the street. Now they come right up to me and ask me about him. They even manage to do so without using that sickly sweet voice, where every syllable is pronounced as though it is a separate word – most of the time anyway.

I thought I'd tell you all about the First Aid Kit Mum has for me. While you can buy an animal first aid kit, Mum discovered there was a way she could make her own for less none about $20 AUS. The First Aid Kit contains:

1 roll of vet rap. This is a special bandage for animals that sticks to itself, like cling film/wrap. It can be obtained from your vet. Mum got it for around $10. It will be cheaper @ a rural vet than a city one, as rural vets use more of it and therefore get a discount for ordering in bulk.

1 pair of tweezes.

1 pair of scissors. These can be bought @ the pharmacy but it's cheeper to buy a new pair of office scissors & sterilising them by placing them in boiling water for 10 minutes or so.

1 regular & 1 liner sized mistral pad. These make a great substitute for gauze. It's cheaper & it's sterile.

1 compression bandage (elbow size). These are tubular elasticated bandages that can be used to hold pressure on a wound by tying over the top of gauze.

1 small bottle of betadine for disinfecting wounds. Be sure to dilute it, 1 part betadine to 10 parts water or saline.