r/ServiceDog_CircleJerk

This is USA specific as the requirements for service dogs vary by country.

USA has absolutely no controls over service dogs, their level of training, the "tasks" they perform, the person's actual need for the dog, and the reliability and veracity of the dog's performance, and whether or not the "tasks" actually mitigate a disability.

This has led to an absolute epidemic of "owner trained" dogs doing the most outlandish "tasks" and causing mayhem in public. We have fitness influencers yarding their giant dogs onto planes for clout, random dogs in grocery stores and restaurants, aggressive and disruptive dogs everywhere, with staff and management afraid to confront said owners due to the permissive laws in the USA.

We need:

• Establishment of a validating agency with authority to determine service dog standards and issue (and rescind) licenses and public access
• A ban on "owner trained" dogs with few exceptions for those with demonstrated, validated dog training expertise
• Establishment of a realistic, validated list of acceptable tasks that the dog must reliably perform in order to be a "service dog" and testing to demonstrate that the dog actually performs said tasks and that it benefits the person's actual disability.
• Breed, size, and temperament standards
• Licensing and documentation to be carried at all times after the dog has passed standardized testing, including documentation of vaccinations
• Yearly re-testing of all dogs
• Standardized vesting and badging
• A ban on MOST "service dogs" in restaurants and grocery stores
• A system by which handlers/dogs can be identified and reported for violations

It should not be left to hapless managers to monitor and assess whether a dog is a true "service" dog. The current situation in the USA is much too permissive and needs to be brought under control.

Soooooooooo I had a TV worthy event at work recently I figured people would enjoy.

Had a patient who came in at 1am with their “Service” dog which happened to be a 100lb pitbull that alerted him to low blood pressure…..

Dog was nice enough and I evaluated the patient came up with a plan and left to place my orders.

Some time passes (20-30 minutes) and I decide to go check on the patient….. he is in the bed…. Had pulled off all the monitors…. And is obviously not breathing very well. 😮‍💨

FML.

I open the door to go into the room and check on him and this “Service” dog is no longer sweet…

This Pitbul is growling, tail/ears tucked, and bearing its teeth next to its unresponsive owner.

I attempt some verbal stimulation from the door which did nothing but anger the beast more.

Hospital security was not helpful. Called animal control who would not pick up.

Proceeded to attempt to calm the dog and gain entry into the room but the dog would not allow us in.

Proceed to call police at this point who arrive very quickly and they are also unable to tame the dog.

At this point it’s been 20-30 minutes and I’m afraid this guy is going to stop breathing at any moment.

I called the local emergency vet to inquire as to how much Ativan a dog of this size could have. Hoping to put some it in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and pray the dog would eat it.

Bless the kind people at the vet clinic who volunteered to come over and get the dog.

They were able to tranquillize the beast and allow us entry to the patient who had a bottle of oxy in his hand…..

We Narcan him and he proceeded to become very upset that we had to remove his dog like we did.

After all of this drama and giving the hallway patients a show this dude grabs his dog and angrily walked out the door 😑.

Never know what you will see in the ED. Obviously it wasn’t a real service dog.

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/12/798481601/the-hope-and-hype-of-diabetic-alert-dogs

Seems to also apply to “cardiac alert dogs” We have excellent tech that provides accurate data without the need to rely on another sentient being. How can a service dog out perform modern technology?