Seizure Alert Dogs for Life: Walk This Way!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Walk This Way!

(Pic:)- "Jonny" is currently living his life as a pet with a trainer. He has a hypothyroid medical issue and he is living his life in a loving home.

You remember "Jonny" from The Dog that Didn't Understand.

Note: This article is fiction.

There is a mathematical equation for a walk with Jonny:

Jonny + Leash + Trainer = Catastrophe

Jonny's trainer knows that his dog needs exercise, but thought that there has to be a better way to walk Jonny – a 3 year old German Shepherd – than to be pulled and jerked around by him. Plus, as we saw from Jonny's story, he has managed to obtain freedom - an exhilarating yet dangerous possibility for a young, naive dog – through the strength of will (his) and the loss of balance (his).

And so we meet Jonny again, standing dismally in the kitchen, while his trainer attempts to ensnare his legs, snout, and trembling body into various contraptions, all designed to assist his owner, and him, to walk without said trainer landing on his butt.

He could not decide among the array of confusing devices that he saw at Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. so he brought home three of them to try first-hand.

Since this is Jonny’s story, I’ll let him give you his take on each device:

THE HALTI

“Okay, what sadist thought this one up? The straps cut into my tender face and make me want to roll on the ground and paw the thing off! Which I did! Quite easily, in fact. She kept adjusting it and trying again, and it DID feel a little better, but then I figured out how to back out of it. Sweet relief!

Anyway, he said she will keep it as a back-up just in case the other options don’t work out.

Oh, joy.”

The Gentle Leader

“Again with the strap on my nose. This is where I go into silent protest mode. I’m just gonna stand here with my beleaguered head drooping to the floor until he takes the blessed thing off. This is pretty much like that Halti thing. Not sure I can tell the difference.

Wait. A piece of chicken? Are you serious? You mean I get chicken when I wear this? I might have to re-think my options. Okay, have it your way. I’ll eat the chicken and go outside with you. But just for a minute. Or two. So, the Dude and I are actually walking together. My head gets tugged in a weird way if I get too rowdy, which makes me relax a little. He seems to be pretty happy about me not yanking on his so I’ll wear it for now.

Hey, if you keep the chicken coming, I’ll wear a bustier!”

The Canny Collar

“Alright, I’m starting to get the gist of this laboratory experiment. Dude is the scientist and I’m the guinea pig. Or a lab rat. Where’s the chicken?

This one’s not so bad. I kind of like that there’s strap on my face AND a collar. Makes it seem a little more secure. In fact, I can tell it really will stay on. Plus, when I start walking, I can’t even feel it on me. I seem to be walking right next to my Dude, too. I could get used to this.

Walking with Love...

Rachel Baum contributed to this article.

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A Service Dog, no matter how well trained, is still an animal and therefore Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. cannot guarantee that the Service Dog will behave as intended. We will do our best to provide a Service Dog that complies with and is consistent with the contract but no person can predict how an animal will respond at any given time under any particular circumstances and Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. makes no representations to the contrary.

A Service Dog which will be trained to respond to epileptic seizures. We will train the Service Dog to respond in the situation when the intended beneficiary of the Service Dog falls and suffers a seizure, the Service Dog will be trained to bite a cell phone provided by Seizure Alert Dogs for Life, Inc. which cell phone may have a GPS attachment and preprogrammed message sending a message to the recipient designated to receive the emergency assistance call. (patent pending)

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Americans with Disabilities Act

Service animals are animals that are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities such as guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, or performing other special tasks. Service animals are working animals, not pets.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), businesses and organizations that serve the public must allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals into all areas of the facility where customers are normally allowed to go. This federal law applies to all businesses open to the public, including restaurants, hotels, taxis and shuttles, grocery and department stores, hospitals and medical offices, theaters, health clubs, parks, and zoos.

Businesses may ask if an animal is a service animal or ask what tasks the animal has been trained to perform, but cannot require special ID cards for the animal or ask about the person's disability.
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Allergies and fear of animals are generally not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people with service animals.
Violators of the ADA can be required to pay money damages and penalties.

If you have additional questions concerning the ADA and service animals, please call the Department's ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 (voice) or (800) 514-0383 (TTY) or visit the ADA Business Connection at www.ada.gov.

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