Service dog

@allit

I don't have a service or emotional support dog experience but have been around the concept through my association with autism families for years.

You'd need to decide if you want a service animal or more of an emotional support/companion dog. A service animal is one who performs a specific task(s) for a person with a disability. This might be a dog who guides a blind person, picks up subtle blood sugar issues for a diabetic helps their person with seizures get into a safe position ahead on onset. A friend who is a teacher had a student with severe mobility issues who had a Capuchin monkey trained to assist his student in gathering materials and tech from their backpack and setting up his lunch. Service animals pretty much are allowed anywhere. Other "helper" animals are not.

Training is extensive and expensive, so these service pups are in short supply with significant waiting lists. One consideration is that your wife would need to be able to appropriately manage her assigned animal after training. Given the wait-time to either buy or train one, she's likely progress to a point where she wouldn't be able to reliably do this.

Training does take time. I have a colleague whose family does the initial socialization training for The Seeing Eye organization. They tend to be labs as a rule. The family has the pup for about 18 months before they are graduated to start their person-specific training. About half their pups have failed— either they're do "friendly" or not reliable. Their first girl was highly prized for her petite size, but she was "indiscriminately friendly" and ended up as a breeding bitch for a couple litters before being spayed and adopted out. Those who flunk out often make great companions.

I have another friend who is a professional dog trainer. She left law when it became apparent her son has high functioning autism. She's an accomplished trainer who mostly does Canine Good Citizen, but she's also trained her own labs for the agility circuit. She did attempt to train one of her girls as a service dog for her son— she was specifically to be a guide for safety on stairs, escalators and sidewalks as her son, bright as he is, has major issues with proprioception. It didn't go well for her as the dog she selected didn't seem to trust the son as her person. He's a terrific young man; they just went to Sweden to see him graduate with his Masters Degree but socially the dog was uneasy as he could be unpredictable. I could see this as a problem for a PWD.

In terms of selecting a breed, I would be very cautious around buying a Cobber. There are many unscrupulous breeders passing off doodles as Cobblers. You want to be certain to check the pedigree of any you consider— look for animals bred from Australian dogs within the last couple of generations. Expect to wait for a legitimate Cobber; my cousin bought one and jokes that the wait was over 18 months and that she birthed 2 human babies in less time. Pup was about $15K. Said dog is gorgeous and well-tolerated by her very allergic husband (the goal here) but she is neurotic— she's afraid of cars, other dogs and small children which limits cousin's ability to say, take her for a walk through the neighborhood or at the park. It's always a gamble what a dog's personality will be like. Cobber's are supposed to be chill dogs, but this one didn't get the email.

Since your goal is to make sure she can always have a dog around her, I assume you are considering placement as a potential option as a service animal would have to be accepted if she was. This may limit your ability to place her as MCFs act rather like private schools in that you are accepted into the community at their pleasure. Dad was rejected by mom's first choice of MCF based on his one diagnosis being potentially associated with "certain behaviors".

Perhaps if and when it's time to consider placement, you should look for a place that has a resident pet or therapy animals who visit regularly. My aunt's MCF had a miniature poodle in addition to a couple of mellow cats who came and went between the AL and MC wings. Early in her stay, the poodle hung with her a lot but she lost interest (and so did he) in the later stages. Dad's MCF had weekly therapy dog visits and many families brought their family pets to visit.

HB

@allit said: Regarding my wife declining and not being able to manage a service dog, we've thought about that too. I'm wondering, if in a case like a service dog for dementia, if that's taken into consideration. I would essentially be the handler responsible for the service dog when it gets to the point where my wife couldn't handle the dog.

That's not how this works. TBH, I would be surprised if any legitimate service dog organization would even consider a PWD for one of their dogs. The model is that the service animal takes its orders from their person— this requires a level of cognitive ability and maturity which is why kids don't get matched until about middle school for the most part. With Seeing Eye, those getting a first dog spend 4 weeks training with it; previous clients spend 3 weeks training on campus with their new dog.

These animals are a valuable resource, and the priority would be given to a person for whom the dog offers independence. Is that your wife? In reading your initial post, it seems more like you want your wife to be able to have a dog with her as a companion which isn't the intention of a service animal. If I recall correctly, she would need a physician's order stating her diagnosis and that the animal is going to provide a service specific to that diagnosis.

I guess that wouldn't really work out if she goes to a MCF. At that point, I suppose, the service dog would just be more like a therapy dog who comes with me when I visit her.

Then maybe get a therapy dog. Or just a good natured pet. That might be an easier project and wouldn't require any special breed. DS's 2nd grade teacher's therapy dog won recognition as "dog of the year" for her work in the aftermath of 9/11. The pup had been surrendered as too energetic and her brother the vet suggested the dog to his sister. Her other therapy dog at the time was a breeding Pug from a mill who was all personality. When it's time for a new trainee— she lets her current dog(s) pick for temperament. One difference with a therapy dog vs a service animal is that a therapy dog would eventually take orders from you whereas the service dog would be trained not to.

HB