Savvy Senior: Assistance dogs provide help and love

Savvy Senior

Special correspondent

QUESTION: What can you tell me about assistance dogs for people with disabilities? My sister, who's 58, has multiple sclerosis, and I'm wondering if an assistance dog could help make her life a little easier.

ANSWER: For people with disabilities and medical conditions, assistance dogs can be fantastic help and provide great companionship and an invaluable sense of security. Here's what you and your sister should know.

While most people are familiar with guide dogs that help people who are blind or visually impaired, some assistance dogs are trained to help people with physical disabilities, hearing loss and medical conditions.

Unlike most pets, assistance dogs are highly trained canine specialists - often Golden and Labrador retrievers, and German shepherds - that know about 40 to 50 commands. They are amazingly well-behaved and calm, and are permitted to go anywhere the public is allowed.

Here's a breakdown of the types of assistance dogs and what they can help with.

Service dogs: These specially trained dogs help people with physical disabilities due to multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease, chronic arthritis and other disabling conditions. They perform tasks their owner cannot do or has trouble doing, such as carrying or retrieving items, picking up dropped items, opening and closing doors, turning lights on and off, assisting with dressing and undressing and helping with balance and household chores.

Guide dogs: For the blind and visually impaired, guide dogs help their owner get around safely by avoiding obstacles, stopping at curbs and steps, negotiating traffic and more.

Hearing dogs: For those who are deaf or hearing impaired, hearing dogs can alert their owner to specific sounds, such as ringing telephones, doorbells, alarm clocks, microwave or oven timers, smoke alarms, approaching sirens, crying babies or when someone calls out the owner's name.

Seizure alert/response dogs: For people with epilepsy or other seizure disorders, these dogs recognize the signs that their owner is going to have a seizure. They warn the owner, so he or she can get to a safe place or take medication to prevent the seizure or lessen its severity. The dogs also are trained to retrieve medications and to use a pre-programmed phone to call for help. They also can be trained to help people who have diabetes, panic attacks and other conditions.

Finding a dog

If your sister is interested in getting a service dog, contact assistance dog training programs. To find them, Assistance Dogs International has a list of about 65 U.S. programs at AssistanceDogsInternational.org.

After you locate a few, visit their websites or call them to find out the types of training dogs they offer, the areas they serve, if they have a waiting list, and what upfront costs will be involved. Some groups offer dogs for free, some ask for donations and some charge thousands of dollars.

To get an assistance dog, your sister will need to show proof of her disability, which her physician can provide, and she'll have to complete an application and go through an interview process. She will also need to stay at the training facility for a week or two so she can get familiar with her dog and learn how to handle it.

It's important to understand that assistance dogs are not for everybody. They require time, money and care that your sister, a friend or family member must be able and willing to provide.

Jim Miller is editor of the Savvy Senior. Send your senior questions to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit www.savvysenior.org.