I actually only discovered small breed Service Dogs myself about two years ago.
I was at Disneyland and a friend of a friend had a small Chi Service Dog. She
had a seizure disorder and told me that she didn't need a big breed dog to warn
her of an oncoming seizure. It was such an obvious fact, but one I had never
thought of. It was great timing because my pulmonary Drs had been discussing
the fact that I needed a companion to go to school with me if I planned to
continue my education because of the severity of my breathing problems. They
were thinking about a nurse. I suggested a dog. LoL. They thought I was crazy
at first. Dog hair? Allergies? LoL. But then we started to discuss small
breed dogs and eventually found Lizzie. She is self-trained, which just means
that we didn't purchase or recieve her through an organization--though there
are organizations with small breed service dogs out there. I found that
training her myself, with help from professsionals, made it easier to train her
to my specific needs, rather than having her trained and then given to me. She
has passed all public access tests and is tagged as a service dog by the state.
She's small enough to travel easily with me everywhere, to ride with me on my
electric scooter when I need to use it, and to sit comfortably in a bag
(labeled service dog) in resturaunts. Her size makes her so convenient.
But she does have a big job. She can tell when my heart rate is
elevated, when I'm having trouble breathing, when I'm just feeling bad. She is
trained to alert me when my breathing changes, and if I do not take appropriate
action--or my meds aren't working--she is trained to alert to members of my
family. Her real job is when I'm out in the world without my family. She
alerts to me, but if I am unable to speak and need help, she is trained to
unhook her leash and find help. She carries my emergancy medication and
medical information.
We're a great team, and I don't know what I would do without her. I
hope this answers your questions! If you have any more, feel free to ask.
Lizzie and I love to spread the word about great Service Dog teams--especially
Chi partners.
--- In [email protected], "Marina" <mcburge...@...> wrote:
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/photos/album/52330304/pic/179101632/view
>
> Hey everyone,
>
> Just wanted to introduce myself and my little girl. Lizzie is going to be
> four this year, and for the last two years she and I have worked together as
> a Service Dog team. She's my Super Service Chihuahua. LoL. She's Medical
> Alert, which means that she lets me know when I need medication, and she also
> lets others know that I am in need of help when I can not speak for myself.
> She's a wonderful comapanion and partner. There are a few pictures of her on
> the job, if you follow the link. I'll probably add some more!
>
> Thanks for this great Chihuahua group!
>
> Marina
>
------------------------------------
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