My Philosophy

Mi-Shu- Emotional Support Home Companion/"Laptop" dog- Shelter Dog

Stories of my service dogs and myself as well as
specific guidance on service dog matters have been
featured as part of these two books as I wrote them originally.

This Is Plagiarized Work Healing Companions: Ordinary Dogs and Their Extraordinary Power to Transform Lives by Jane Miller (& Paula Shepard)

I have sad news to report concerning this book- When an agreement couldn't be reached about fair compensation/credit on this book, I informed Jane Miller that I would not be signing consent forms and she was not to use my work and we would part ways. She agreed that she would remove all my work from the book. I recently purchased a copy of this book to find that the bulk of my work was never removed. My copyrighted work comprises quite a chunk of the book, but to be fair not the ENTIRE book. The bulk of the rest is stories of other disabled persons as related to her by them, and the little bit remaining is what she came up with herself as far as I know. Shame on a medical proffesional for (in my opinion) attempting to use a disabled person that, save for distance, might have been one of her clients for her own prestige, career advancement and profit!! If I was treated in such a way, I have to wonder to myself what goes on with her patients. Updates will be posted as and if I feel prudent- A Lawsuit has been filed in Eastern District Court in Sacramento California July 2010 Please see- RFCExpress & Courthouse News Further updates can be found here. If you have a story about dealings with Jane Miller that you'd like to share please feel free to email me and share your experiences. I would like to hear them.

The Compassion of Dogs: True Stories of Animal Courage and Kindness by Kim Dearth and Kim D.R. Dearth Buy this book

A wonderful book that is like chicken soup to the soul for those of you that know the joys of dogs. To many, the canine-human relationship is the ultimate reflection of a mutual & unconditional level of commitment & of a dog's ability to become one with its human. It is a relationship of love, care, & loyalty that penetrates the soul, softens the heart, & generates an inseparable emotional bond. This is a fabulous collection of true & moving stories that illustrates how dogs display their wide range of emotions familiar to any pet owner -- compassion, courage, intuition, & loyalty. You'll meet canine caregivers, therapists, & heroes, as well as medics, Sept. 11 saviors, & countless other very special dog friends. These are fascinating & heartwarming real-life accounts of the power of canine-human relationships. Buy this book

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Service (or assistance) dogs are dogs used to help a person with a disability. Guide dogs for the blind are one kind of service dog as are hearing dogs, mobility dogs, and most recently psychiatric service dogs. Service dogs can be used for many disabilities both visible and hidden, physical or pychiatric. Service dogs enable their disabled partners to live a more fullfilling and normal life. Service dogs may be aquired from an agency that trains them for such a purpose or the disabled individual may select and train their own (or pay someone to train them). There is no special breed that must be used though Labradors,German Shepherds and Golden Retrievers are many agencies favorites- but as long as they are of suitable temperment and physical/mental ability and can do the job, they may be a service dog. Lets look at what the law says concerning service dogs.

To use a service dog the very first test is that the person must be disabled under the requirements of the ADA. This is what the law says-
"(2) Disability.--The term "disability" means, with respect to an individual-- (A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; (B) a record of such an impairment; or (C) being regarded as having such an impairment and without regard to mitigating measures (except in the case of normal eyeglasses) "

So we see who is allowed to use a service dog in the first place- regardless of age or any other factors other then those stated, but this is not enough, now we must look to the dog. This is what the law says about the dog itself-

Sec.36.104 Definitions Service animal means any guide dog, signal dog, (or other animal - until Jan 2011) individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items.

Effective Jan 2011- Only dogs will allowed to act as service animals out in public.

As we see, an animal must be individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. Individually trained, all agree, must include obediance training so that the dog behaves appropriately in public settings. This is a test that many agencies use to test the readiness of a dog for public access situations- I recommend that a person training their own dog, train it to these standards. Also some use the CGC (Canine Good Citizen)to test their dogs and I also recommend this test as a guide. As for specific tasks to help a person with their disability, that is up to the agency and/or the disabled individual but the animal MUST be "trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability" so there must be some kind of work or tasks beyond the obediance in my opinion, obediance is an important part but in my opinion not enough. Certification by any person, state, government or agency is NOT required for access, but may be for special privilages over and beyond what the ADA allows. Emotional support animals that are not trained whose sole function is to do what they normally do and thus provide emotional comfort are not service dogs and their owners are not entitled to take them into public places where pet dogs are not allowed. Therapy dogs are dogs trained to go with their handlers to places to provide pleasure and comfort to the people there- they are allowed by permission of the administrators of wherever they wish to visit only.

There are several federal laws which protect the right of a disabled individual to be accompanied by a service dog (see the list to the left)), as for service dogs in training, there is no federal protection. Whether or not a state allows for a service dog in training is up to the state itself. Other animals beyond dogs MAY be used as long as they are individually trained to assist their disabled owner- this may change very soon in the future to allow only dogs. It is similarly a federal crime to fraudulantly represent yourself as a disabled individual (or working on a disabled individuals behalf)to gain access with an animal trained or not.

There are several states which have penal regulations which prescribe it illegal and a penalty for interferring with or harming a service animal which can include fines and/or jail time. It is also a felony under the existing rules to steal a service dog as a basically trained service dog that is fully ready for public access is worth far over the misdemeanor level as far as monetary worth goes- akin to stealing a car.

My advice to those who are disabled and wish to train their own dogs- first document that you are disabled by whatever means possible (dr, social security, therapists) the more, the better. Identify what your symptoms are and how your dog helps with those...or make a strategic plan on what tasks you plan to train your dog. Know the laws concerning service dogs and make sure you are following them. A letter from a dr (or other healthcare proffessional)stating your need for a service dog is most helpful...in the cases of psychaitrists I have found many resistant to the idea of service dogs and many will not write such a note- even in the face of blatant disability. I did not wait for a note...I documented my disability to the enth degree and started using my service dog...then with the dog right in front of the dr I demanded a letter saying I use a service dog and I am disabled which I got..it was not much of a letter but it was a start. Then I went to my primary care and showed him the documentation of disability (he already knew that though), the laws about who may use a service dog and the letter from the psychiatrist and told him that my psychiatrist would not give me anything more and requested a decent dr's note..which upon viewing all the documentation he gave me. Most drs will be compliant if you can prove to them the law and that you fall under its umbrella. Some kind of note is almost a must....but in its abscence I believe the best you can do is document the things the law requires such as disability and the individual training of the dog, but it will still be a much harder road if you end up having to prove yourself in court.

I would not recommend a service dog for everyone. It can be very stressful- people giving you hassles about access, trouble with landlords...this is no picnic. The reason some of us continue and survive it is because our dogs do more good for our life and our disability then they cause hassles. This is no game. Also everyday as we go out and do "our thing" we represent ALL service dog users who may come behind us. We and our dogs must behave proffessionally and enforce our rights when neccesary. We must always remember that there is someone who may come behind us and we need to be aware of what we may or may not be causing them to face.