When my daughter was just 10 months old, she was diagnosed with infantile spasms. This is a very rare and dangerous form of epilepsy that affects children under the age of two and is notorious for changing forms as the child grows.
By the time I got my daughter help, damage to her developing brain had already been done. I was devastated, exhausted but determined to do all that I could to give her the best shot at independence. I began searching and discovered that service animals could be trained with scent and body language to detect seizures. I spent hours reaching out to different service dog organizations and finally found 4 Paws For Ability, which is based out of Xenia, Ohio.
As I looked more into the program, I found that it provided a wide range of services including seizure alerts using scent detection as well as behavior, mobility assistance and behavior disruption.
My husband and I applied to the program and were thankfully accepted. After a year of fundraising, we met our goal and started waiting for our turn to attend in-person classes in Ohio, and have recently returned home with our service dog Babe.
In these classes, I learned a lot of helpful information about service animals that I’d like to pass on to you. Here are some of those things:
Service animals are trained to do tasks, and not for comfort. Babe is trained to alert to the scent of seizures, push buttons to open doors, and to disrupt behaviors.
Service dogs are trained to assist one individual, not multiple people like therapy dogs.
They are working dogs and should not be touched while in public, because while they’re in public, they are working.
Service Dogs cost on average between $60,000 and $80,000 to train and raise. Families often have to pay to pick up the service dog and keep up on additional training requirements as well.
Service animals have to pass multiple assessments in order to legally do their jobs.
A business is only allowed to ask two questions in regard to service animals: “Is this a service animal?” and “What tasks has your service animal been trained to do for you?”
Allergies to dogs or cleanliness is not a valid reason to deny service to someone with a service dog. They are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act and are allowed anywhere that is publicly accessible.
In Utah, misrepresenting your animal as a service animal is a class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and six months in jail. It can carry additional penalties if a service animal is harmed or the counterfeit service animal causes damage to property because they’re not properly trained the way a legitimate service animal is trained.
Service animals are a wonderful resource allowing individuals with disabilities more freedom and independence, and we are excited to do just that for our daughter.
