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HELP: Can a nondoctor stop me from taking my dog to my therapist?



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 12th 07, 05:08 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
[email protected]
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Posts: 15
Default HELP: Can a nondoctor stop me from taking my dog to my therapist?

Since I got my maltese terrier 2 months ago I have been taking her with
me to my doctor who is treating me for anxiety and depression as well as
fibromalgia.

Anyways she considers my dog for me as a comfort dog during my
appointment and helps with my anxiety.
She is one of several doctors in this facility and I know other patients
brings their dogs as well as a doctor who brings her big poodles. The
poodle doctor though is moving to a completely different location then
my doctor and the others.

Ok my doctor and the other doctors in her practice are moving to another
building.

This building will not allow any dogs in.
My question is this. Is this not an interference by the owner of the
building of my appointments with the doctor. A dog is considered
medicinal for many patients myself included so isn't the owner
interfering with my treatment?

Legally can this building owner interfere with my bringing my dog Holly
to my doctors visit. To me this is interference in health care by a
nonmedical person. I know there are some laws regarding interfering with
a patient and a doctor..
To me this is interference and an undue burden.

I go to the doctor every other week.

This building they are moving in is not a medical facility but an office
building.

BTW I do have firm control of my dog and often just hold her in the
waitng room and carry her when needed.

This also is not helping my anxiety and depression.

Any suggestions? HELP

  #2  
Old January 12th 07, 05:41 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Sandy in OK
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Posts: 788
Default HELP: Can a nondoctor stop me from taking my dog to my therapist?


wrote:
Since I got my maltese terrier 2 months ago I have been taking her with
me to my doctor who is treating me for anxiety and depression as well as
fibromalgia.

Anyways she considers my dog for me as a comfort dog during my
appointment and helps with my anxiety.
She is one of several doctors in this facility and I know other patients
brings their dogs as well as a doctor who brings her big poodles. The
poodle doctor though is moving to a completely different location then
my doctor and the others.

Ok my doctor and the other doctors in her practice are moving to another
building.

This building will not allow any dogs in.
My question is this. Is this not an interference by the owner of the
building of my appointments with the doctor. A dog is considered
medicinal for many patients myself included so isn't the owner
interfering with my treatment?

not unless your dog is a service dog, and mitigates your condition in
some way.

  #3  
Old January 12th 07, 05:47 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Drachen
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Posts: 74
Default Can a nondoctor stop me from taking my dog to my therapist?

Where are you located... it might help if you were to get a vest for her
that say 'therapy dog in training, do not pet'...

When I was training my dog, no one questioned it... ever... even when I just
had her little blue seatbelt holder on her, or her backpack.

*needed her to get use to jingle sounds like meds and such, so I filled her
backpack with sound like objects...*

as well, st johns ambulance may have a program in which your dog may be
classified as a therapy dog, and in some places you can have a therapy dog
as a working dog, but papers have to be gotten from the province/state, and
in some cases they are very strict, although the standards vary from place
to place...



wrote in message
...
Since I got my maltese terrier 2 months ago I have been taking her with
me to my doctor who is treating me for anxiety and depression as well as
fibromalgia.

Anyways she considers my dog for me as a comfort dog during my
appointment and helps with my anxiety.
She is one of several doctors in this facility and I know other patients
brings their dogs as well as a doctor who brings her big poodles. The
poodle doctor though is moving to a completely different location then
my doctor and the others.

Ok my doctor and the other doctors in her practice are moving to another
building.

This building will not allow any dogs in.
My question is this. Is this not an interference by the owner of the
building of my appointments with the doctor. A dog is considered
medicinal for many patients myself included so isn't the owner
interfering with my treatment?

Legally can this building owner interfere with my bringing my dog Holly
to my doctors visit. To me this is interference in health care by a
nonmedical person. I know there are some laws regarding interfering with
a patient and a doctor..
To me this is interference and an undue burden.

I go to the doctor every other week.

This building they are moving in is not a medical facility but an office
building.

BTW I do have firm control of my dog and often just hold her in the
waitng room and carry her when needed.

This also is not helping my anxiety and depression.

Any suggestions? HELP



  #4  
Old January 12th 07, 06:58 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Sandy in OK
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Posts: 788
Default Can a nondoctor stop me from taking my dog to my therapist?


Drachen wrote:
Where are you located... it might help if you were to get a vest for her
that say 'therapy dog in training, do not pet'...

When I was training my dog, no one questioned it... ever... even when I just
had her little blue seatbelt holder on her, or her backpack.

*needed her to get use to jingle sounds like meds and such, so I filled her
backpack with sound like objects...*

as well, st johns ambulance may have a program in which your dog may be
classified as a therapy dog, and in some places you can have a therapy dog
as a working dog, but papers have to be gotten from the province/state, and
in some cases they are very strict, although the standards vary from place
to place...



i do think it is unethical for someone to try to pass a pet off as a
service animal. Some people do, and I think if those animals aren't
well trained, it compromises the access of people who legitimately need
dogs to help them While businesses aren't allowed, by law, to harrass
them, illegitimate claims do make it harder. And, while therapy dogs
may have some more priviledges in certain places than pets, they are
not service dogs and are not covered by ADA. And can be barred from any
place that pet dogs can be barred from.

  #5  
Old January 12th 07, 07:25 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Drachen
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Posts: 74
Default Can a nondoctor stop me from taking my dog to my therapist?

very true, but in some cases, such as this persons case, a therapy trained
dog CAN get legitimate licensing for the particular purpose that the dog
seems to help with.

I do know of a dog in town, *I've met him... nice lab* who is only a therapy
dog to help her owner get out of the house, as she suffers from
agoraphobia... it is not a 'working' dog persay, but it has passed all it
has to for public safety and the person did take out insurance for the dog
in case something did happen in public, which all working dogs should have.
Usually through the training organization but insurance is available for non
working dogs too.

Also, there is no real strict organization that says, you must pass all
these etc etc # of training, hours, etc... all groups are different as the
dogs are trained differently as well... some don't start training til they
are full grown, but until then they are raised byfamilys, inmates, etc...
some are raised by the trainers... check out various organizations and see
about having the dog trained as a therapy dog for public purposes.

Particularily in this case, as mentioned earlier, I do know of a dog that
passed the st johns ambulance therapy test, has a certificate, and is
classified by our province, under special situations to have public access
with its owner.

the main part IS the training... and the CONTINUAL training of the animal...
I never let my dog just lay still if my son has a seizure... for a few weeks
at a time he'll be seizure free, and for a while he was only have seizures
at my husbands place when the dog wasn't with him, so for almost two months
the dog wasn't around seizures and she did lose her enthusiasm for it... so
retraining *which just included running happily into the room when he
finally DID have a seizure* was required.

I constantly make sure she is use to children, and we go out in public every
so often... NO one knows she's under the table when we leave a restaraunt...
its kind of amusing...

the dog should be trained for various purposes, and very specific things...
my dog can open all the doors in the house, find my son when asked, get his
meds, alerts us to his seizures, and I'm working on training her to turn on
the lights, as well as she's trained to 'pick up' whatever I point to...
*came in REALLY handy when I pulled my back cleaning her paws one day*

so, I'm not blatently saying, toss a vest on the dog and walk into whatever
building you want... I'm actually saying, if you want to for legitimate
reasons as for your own therapy use, get your dog into a registered therapy
dog program and look into making it a legitimate working dog for you...
contact the health board, or whatever is available in the area, to find out
what you would have to do? if nothing else you would really need to have a
trainer help you out and likely come into your home to assist with
training...

i do think it is unethical for someone to try to pass a pet off as a
service animal. Some people do, and I think if those animals aren't
well trained, it compromises the access of people who legitimately need
dogs to help them While businesses aren't allowed, by law, to harrass
them, illegitimate claims do make it harder. And, while therapy dogs
may have some more priviledges in certain places than pets, they are
not service dogs and are not covered by ADA. And can be barred from any
place that pet dogs can be barred from.



  #6  
Old January 12th 07, 01:31 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Melinda Shore
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Posts: 7,732
Default Can a nondoctor stop me from taking my dog to my therapist?

In article ,
Drachen wrote:
Where are you located... it might help if you were to get a vest for her
that say 'therapy dog in training, do not pet'...


I think that's it's very wrong to pass off a pet as a
therapy dog. Now, probably the best way to proceed, at
least in terms of likelihood of success, is to have the dog
designated as a therapy dog (and I expect someone here knows
the procedure), but if the dog's not actually a therapy dog
you definitely shouldn't lie about it to get around a rule
you don't like.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community
  #7  
Old January 12th 07, 02:12 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Judy
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Posts: 1,411
Default Can a nondoctor stop me from taking my dog to my therapist?

"Melinda Shore" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Drachen wrote:
Where are you located... it might help if you were to get a vest for her
that say 'therapy dog in training, do not pet'...


I think that's it's very wrong to pass off a pet as a
therapy dog. Now, probably the best way to proceed, at
least in terms of likelihood of success, is to have the dog
designated as a therapy dog (


Am I missing something? The OP has been seeing a therapist and taking her
dog into their building. The therapist agrees that the dog is a necessary
part of the therapy. Why isn't this therapist involved in trying to get the
dog allowed into the new building?

I can't imagine if the doctor considers the dog a part of the therapy that
they would move to a new building that wouldn't allow accomodations for this
part of their practice and the patient treatment.

Or if the therapist had no choice and can't negotiate an amendment to the
building policy, there are other therapists - which the present one should
recommend.

State laws vary. The large clinic that I go to a great deal will allow dogs
as long as the person with the dog says the dog is either working or "in
training". They just don't want any problems..

Getting the dog certified as a therapy dog does not guarantee that it will
be allowed into buildings. A therapy dog is not the same as a working (ie
guide) dog. Dogs can be allowed or not into buildings at the discretion of
the building owners. A dog can be taken into a nursing home (for instance)
without any therapy dog designation, certification or training if the people
in charge allow it. And therapy dog training and certification doesn't get
them in there if they don't allow it.

If this is all there is to this story, the answer is to call the therapist
and discuss the matter.

Judy


  #8  
Old January 12th 07, 03:19 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Tara
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Posts: 1,408
Default Can a nondoctor stop me from taking my dog to my therapist?

"Drachen" wrote in
:

Where are you located... it might help if you were to get a vest for
her that say 'therapy dog in training, do not pet'...


Not only is this incredibly unethical, its one of the *main* reasons why
therapy dogs, and animal assisted therapy dogs have lost almost ALL of
the travel priveledges they used to enjoy. You see, when a LARGE number
of people lie like this, the system shuts down, and then those that
genuinely put the time and effort into training their dog can no longer
bring their dogs where they need to. I think that is completely
wrong....and its the fault of those that misrepresent their own dogs in
order to take advantage of the system put in place to help animal
assisted therapy.

When I was training my dog, no one questioned it... ever... even when
I just had her little blue seatbelt holder on her, or her backpack.


Yeah, well she was *actually* a service dog in training. That's a bit
different than making something up.

*needed her to get use to jingle sounds like meds and such, so I
filled her backpack with sound like objects...*

as well, st johns ambulance may have a program in which your dog may
be classified as a therapy dog, and in some places you can have a
therapy dog as a working dog, but papers have to be gotten from the
province/state, and in some cases they are very strict, although the
standards vary from place to place...


Unfortunately, many people who have any kind of anxiety related
condition (no matter how mild) have been able to convince a doctor to
label their dogs as therapy dogs....even if it takes them talking to 10
docs before they find one willing to abuse the system.

While I truly feel for the OP, unless she went out and got a dog who
would, as part of a training prgram or evaluation, qualify for service
dog, or even therapy dog sxtatus, then trying to get this label applied
simply hurts those who are doing this for real.

Tara
  #9  
Old January 12th 07, 03:21 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Tara
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Posts: 1,408
Default Can a nondoctor stop me from taking my dog to my therapist?

"Drachen" wrote in
:


so, I'm not blatently saying, toss a vest on the dog and walk into
whatever building you want...



Actually, if you read your post, that's *exactly* what you were saying.


I'm actually saying, if you want to for
legitimate reasons as for your own therapy use, get your dog into a
registered therapy dog program and look into making it a legitimate
working dog for you... contact the health board, or whatever is
available in the area, to find out what you would have to do? if
nothing else you would really need to have a trainer help you out and
likely come into your home to assist with training...


If you had said all that, I wouldn't have had any problem at all with what
you were saying.

Tara
  #10  
Old January 12th 07, 03:25 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Tara
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Posts: 1,408
Default Can a nondoctor stop me from taking my dog to my therapist?

"Judy" wrote in
:

Getting the dog certified as a therapy dog does not guarantee that it
will be allowed into buildings. A therapy dog is not the same as a
working (ie guide) dog. Dogs can be allowed or not into buildings at
the discretion of the building owners.


My understanding is that Therapy dogs actually had a LOT more access before
many people started abusing the system.

While they didn't have the exact same access that full service dogs had,
their status while wearing their vests was rarely questioned. They used to
be allowed on planes, and around here they were allowed in restaraunts. But
then, everybody and their second cousin got a vest, or got someone to write
a "perscription" for the dog they already had, or unethical Therapy
Certifiers who gave out patches to dogs that had no business being therapy
dogs (there's a trainer around here who is notorious for that), and that
whole system broke down around here. And access to planes and trains has
been cut off as well. I think that sucks.

Tara
 




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