Service Dogs For Sleep Apnea?

Wow, as one who has two disabilities which are invisible, once again, I am amazed how judgmental some of the posts are. Gosh, I would think on a support board for people with a medical condition, there would be more compassion but I guess not.

I hate abuses of the system just like anyone else but I am just struck that so many automatically assume that if someone has a service dog and there is no obvious reason for it, they must be abusing the system. Whatever happen to the concept of giving someone the benefit of the doubt?

Probably has to do with seeing the abuse, which is obvious sometimes. I work in a grocery store. I see several dogs a week in there. Some may be true service dogs, but most of pocket dogs that are being carried around, or placed in the grocery cart. It is true that they could be a seizure detecting dog, but many are not well behaved. And a real service dogs should be trained to behave in public.

Also, I go to several cat shows a year. There is a lady who brings a German Shepard to every show. Her dog is very well behaved, but smells horribly. Freaks out the cats that are benched near her. And nobody, not even her friends, know what that dog is supposed to, other than sit under the table all day. It has gotten to the point where exhibitors are complaining to the regional direction because the dog smells bad, and anybody benched next to her has to smell the dog and their cats get upset.

I honestly think she just likes traveling with her dog, and calling it a service dogs avoids the pet fee, and allows her to bring the dog inside the cat show, instead of leaving it in the car, which would not be possible during the summer months. I understand this. I like to travel with my cats. I take them to the shows even though I can't compete with them anymore. I pay an exhibition only fee to have them there (obviously, a dog cannot be entered in a show). I also pay a pet fee per cat to have them in the hotel room, and I report them when I make my reservation and again when I arrive. I do not enjoy paying $30 a night for 2 cats when I clean up any mess. But I follow the rules.

I think a service dog could be benificial to keep me awake on long car trips or sitting in a doctors office all afternoon. LOL,however if the cpap therapy works,maybe I won't have those issues anymore.

49er wrote:Wow, as one who has two disabilities which are invisible, once again, I am amazed how judgmental some of the posts are. Gosh, I would think on a support board for people with a medical condition, there would be more compassion but I guess not.

I hate abuses of the system just like anyone else but I am just struck that so many automatically assume that if someone has a service dog and there is no obvious reason for it, they must be abusing the system. Whatever happen to the concept of giving someone the benefit of the doubt?

49er

I haven't made any accusations against any particular people, but I know a number of people DO abuse the "service dog" bit just to be able to bring fido along.

I also realize that some people have legitimate non-obvious needs for service dogs, such as seizure alert dogs.

I haven't been rude to anyone with a "service" dog, even if I suspect it's a bogus claim.

Care to tell us what your invisible disabilities are that you need service dogs for so that we'll be more understanding of people with service dogs in the future?

My husband has sleep apnea and stops breathing about 50 times per hour when sleeping. He has a Cpap. Sometimes it gets dislodged as he turns in his sleep. Sometimes he falls asleep in the Lazy Boy while watching TV. Sleep apnea causes people to suddenly fall asleep in many situations. One of our yorkies is very intuned to him. When ever he stops breathing, he will jump on his chest and start licking his nose and vocalizing to him until he wakes up. Sometimes it can take as much as 20 seconds or more to wake him....which he then wakes with a huge gasp and starts choking to catch his breath. This little dog has saved his life more than once. Lack of air can cause sudden death or cause a heart attack.

Our Yorkie is a service dog....he can not travel out of town without him. I am not always here and quite frankly after 10 years of very poor sleep because I was listening for his breath, this tiny dog is my service dog too. He has enabled me to finally get a good nights sleep because I know as long as he is around, my husband will not stop breathing long enough for sudden death! I can't live with out him!

vze2363v wrote:http://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2012/0413.08

Florida actually changed their laws. Before someone said they couldn't ask you the specifics about your animals. Florida has since given proprietors the right to question not only your dog, but which health need your dog satisfies and how he does it. Sounds like a HIPPA violation to me, but what do I know. People can lie just as easily to get their pets on board.

And they still can not. Federal law trumps state law every of the week and on weekends, too!

Here's a pertinent quote from the US Americans with Disabilities Act website:

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.

http://www.ada.gov/svcabrpt.pdf

And violating that can and will land a business proprietor in federal court REGARDLESS of the state law.

So, for example, if I am challenged (and I never have been), I just tell them my dog is a Service Dog and the tasks he performs is to help me with mobility issues. But then, in my case my dog uses a Mobility Support Harness, so it's pretty obvious he is a Service Dog. Here's what it looks like on another dog:



If I am challenged (and again, I have not), I also carry the cards that I can provide to a business owner:





I am not required to do this. But I figure that if I can help make it easier for the next person, and make the law a little clearer for the business owner, then why not?

And to be clear, my dog is still in training. I note that clearly. That way if there is any problem - and there has not been any - I can explain that he is still in training and that's not what we expect of a fully trained service dog.

Zenny wrote:My husband has sleep apnea and stops breathing about 50 times per hour when sleeping. He has a Cpap. Sometimes it gets dislodged as he turns in his sleep. Sometimes he falls asleep in the Lazy Boy while watching TV. Sleep apnea causes people to suddenly fall asleep in many situations. One of our yorkies is very intuned to him. When ever he stops breathing, he will jump on his chest and start licking his nose and vocalizing to him until he wakes up. Sometimes it can take as much as 20 seconds or more to wake him....which he then wakes with a huge gasp and starts choking to catch his breath. This little dog has saved his life more than once. Lack of air can cause sudden death or cause a heart attack.

Our Yorkie is a service dog....he can not travel out of town without him. I am not always here and quite frankly after 10 years of very poor sleep because I was listening for his breath, this tiny dog is my service dog too. He has enabled me to finally get a good nights sleep because I know as long as he is around, my husband will not stop breathing long enough for sudden death! I can't live with out him!

Zenny, while I do not doubt that your Yorkie alerts your husband and allows you to sleep ... by ADA defintions, he would not count as a service dog with just that as their task. Typically the dog must do several tasks for your husband. Also, the standard for service dogs is quite high, indeed. For example, passing the AKC Canine Good Citizen test would be a snap for a service dog.

Again, I do not doubt that your Yorkie is a Godsend. I just caution (and I know this because I am in the same situation) that training your pet to be a service dog requires a lot of work to have them reach the level of program dogs. And they might be challenged if they do not behave.

So, here's hoping your Yorkie continues being a hero for you and your husband.

I haven't made any accusations against any particular people, but I know a number of people DO abuse the "service dog" bit just to be able to bring fido along.

I also realize that some people have legitimate non-obvious needs for service dogs, such as seizure alert dogs.

I haven't been rude to anyone with a "service" dog, even if I suspect it's a bogus claim.

Care to tell us what your invisible disabilities are that you need service dogs for so that we'll be more understanding of people with service dogs in the future?

Archangle,

I was inferring from posts and perhaps incorrectly, that if a disability isn't visible, it must not be legitimate.

I fortunately do not need a service dog.

Here are some google links about service dogs helping people with invisible disabilities:

http://tinyurl.com/8dmc9wl

You also might want to google "invisible disabilities" simply to better understand the issues that this population group faces.

49er

49er wrote:You also might want to google "invisible disabilities" simply to better understand the issues that this population group faces.

I'm very aware that there are many disabilities that aren't obvious.

It's also very obvious that there are quite a few people getting handicapped plates or "service" or "therapy" dogs who don't deserve them. I've heard several people bragging about how they scammed the system.

I have no problems with people who legitimately need handicapped plates or assistance dogs. I deeply resent those who falsely get them and make it more difficult for the legitimate users. I would expect the legitimate users to feel even more strongly about it.

As I said, I haven't harassed anyone because they're a fake. Not even those who I've heard admit they are a fake.

archangle wrote:... I deeply resent those who falsely get them and make it more difficult for the legitimate users. I would expect the legitimate users to feel even more strongly about it. ...

You had better believe we do. I do not have handicap plates. Not that I could not get them. My neurologist offers them to me whenever I see him. But rather that I want to try to get as much exercise as possible. Plus, if necessary my wife drops me off. That leaves the handicapped spots open for folks who need them more than I.

I find it repulsive when I see someone pull into a handicapped spot, jump out of their car, and literally sprints into the store. We're not talking "invisible disability" .. we're talking "NO disability". Sure, a spouse might need it. But if the spouse is not in the car - DON'T PARK THERE!

Ditto on Service Dogs. Those folks that scam the system end up making it harder for any future service dog teams.

The doc let me have a permit; I only use it when walking across an icy parking lot could put me in the hospital.

JohnBFisher wrote:I do not have handicap plates. Not that I could not get them. My neurologist offers them to me whenever I see him.

You could always get them but only use them if you need them that day. Of course, not having them is an additional motivation to some.

What makes me laugh or even makes me a little mad is when someone with handicapped plates parks in a handicap spot when there's a normal spot right nearby. I've even seen people with handicapped plates park in the handicapped spot when there was a "normal" spot even closer to the building. Leave the handicapped spot open in case there are no spots nearby later.

I got a temporary handicapped tag when I had some knee problems, but I usually didn't use it if there were regular spots that weren't too far from the door.

I stumbled upon this thread while searching for information about locating a dog trained for sleep apnea. I am a young(31) fit man who suffers from severe sleep apnea. I only mention age and fitness because age and obesity are often associated with apnea. Back to the point, having a dog wake me when my mask is removed, and or falls off would do me a great service. While I admitte it will not help me with attaining the needed restfull sleep it will assist In mitigating injury as well as oxygen desaturation. I'm sure you are wondering what risk of injury I could possibly be referring to, so here goes. Due to overall exhaustion associated with sleep apnea I often do not fully wake when struggling for breath and have on more than one occasion pulled intercostal muscles, and once actually cracked a rib. Anyone who has ever had either injury understands the pain associated. Which brings me back to the purpose of searching this thread. I am currently suffering from an intercostal muscle injury and am desperately searching for a solution to avoid future injury.

Do all sleep apnea patients need a working dog? No. Could some of us benefit form them? Yes. Those of you accusing the above mentioned person of abusing the system should take a step back. You can never know the full story. Perhaps she was abusing the system, or perhaps she suffers as I do.

PS, I'd rather a solution to fix apnea, than have to get/train a mutt. However if the Dr. Says its a good idea and will assist me in avoiding this god forsaken pain; I will be the a-hole smiling back as you look down your noses at me on the airline, cruise ship, etc etc.

/end rant

Therapy dogs, those who visit those hospitalized and such, and Service dogs are different. Service dogs assist an individual in activities of daily living.

portiemom wrote:I don't quite understand the statement of service dogs not having any regulations in the USA. My Portuguese Water Dogs, and Mini Schnauzers are registered therapy dogs with Therapy Dogs International TDI, they must pass a vigorous test, and they MUST also have a Canine Good Citizens Certificate CGC, both of these tests require a state licensed examiner to give the tests and both must issue a license, and certificate respectively.
I still do not see how they would be in service for sleep apnea, due to the fact that they can NOT time breathing cessation, so the duration of an event would be a moot point.

One more note.

I would not bring my dog to the grocery store, shopping, hospital, etc. The dog would service me while sleeping and I would have no requirement in any of those other settings. However, as stated above, anytime I travel where I plan to sleep the dog would then accompany. All this based loosely on the assumption that a dog can be trained to mitigate my particular circumstances; while meeting whatever regulations required to be a considered working dog.

Cpap user wrote:having a dog wake me when my mask is removed, and or falls off would do me a great service.

It's really a shame there's no readily available gadget you can get that will set off an alarm if your mask falls off, power goes off, etc.