Saturday, August 23, 2008

Psych Pup




A while ago, I posted about a woman whose service monkey had been banned from various establishments because he was a bit of a biter. Yesterday we had a patient with her own psychiatric service dog. These are apparently legit, and are trained for a range of functions; check here for more information ( I am especially intrigued that the animal is capable of "reminding handler to take medication")




I have discovered that there are criteria for determining legitimate disability and therefore simply saying "I have a psychiatric disability" doesn't entitle one to disability status. By the same token, announcing that your skittish Irish setter, whom you have dressed in a Celtics cap, green sweater, and a hand embroidered scarf declaring your canine a "service dog" does nothing to further either your cause or that of your animal.

Unless these actions simply make your case.