The service dog industry has been rapidly growing over the last few years. It is common to think when we talk about service dogs, that they are only used to help people who are blind make their way around town. Many dogs are also used in hospital settings as therapy both for adults and children. These dogs are trained from a very early age to fill the needs of many patients.
There are patients that are not in the hospital but living at home. These patients need dogs in case they have an accident at home or fall. Elderly patients in this situation often have a panic button that they press whenever they feel they might be in danger. This panic button has saved countless lives and the service dog is only an addition to this.
Other service dogs are the ones that help people who have mobility problems. Sometimes these patients are using a walker or another type of device, but their dog solves other mobility or risk problems for them. Problems like incoming traffic, holes in the pavement or sidewalk and so on, are a few of the problems service dogs help patients with. Today, there are more places that welcome service dogs, including restaurants who didn’t use to welcome them before.
For service dogs in hospitals, their use is mostly therapeutic. Many of them visit children and adults who are recovering from an accident or a life-changing incident has left them without the possibility of living a normal life. In these cases, the dogs provide them hope and companionship. Many of these patients have been bedridden for weeks, sometimes months and their dogs are all they have in their lives to live up to.
Children have also benefited from them. Some children are on their way to recover mobility in their arms and legs. These dogs give them an added incentive to do so. They figure that the sooner they recover, the sooner they will get to play with their new friends. This is enough to make most of them do the extra effort and get back on their feet faster.
Another type of patient is the type who is bedridden and elderly. They usually have some relatives who come to visit them, but they tend to be alone for the biggest part of the day. For this type of patient, not feeling alone is the best feeling. Being able to talk to someone, even if this someone is a dog and cannot answer back. Having someone who likes to be with them is enough to get their spirits up.
Such is the case of the woman in the following video. She is bedridden and was given a service dog who is about as legendary as they can get. The service dog is 19 years old. This dog is making the patient feel much better when he does something that makes everyone in the room shed a tear!
