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I Thought Of A Service Dog A Couple Of Years Ago When My Seizures Became Really Bad But Decided Against It Because Of The Rising Costs.

A MyEpilepsyTeam Member asked a question 💭
Bowling Green, MO

Generalized Epilepsy uncontrolled 4 meds and a VNS and adding an RNS next month. I live in a one bedroom apartment. I also notice that all of the "preferred" breeds are large dogs. Do they ever do anything with small dogs suitable for someone who is living in an apartment with a slightly crippled leg? In other words, I might be able to keep up with a small dog but maybe not with a lab or shepherd!

September 21
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Service Animals and Epilepsy Read Article...
A MyEpilepsyTeam Member

What I am going to say is going to anger a lot of people, so pass on this if this will make you mad. A service dog is the only acceptable dog. A support dog is not. A service dog has had hours and hours of training for service to their owner's disability. You can get a tag off Facebook that says your dog is a service dog - a practice that makes me see red. A service dog has a vest that tells the public what that dog has been trained for, PTSD, hearing impaired, vision impaired, etc. The vests usually also tell the public not to touch the dogs. You should never touch these dogs, not because they are vicious, but because they are doing a JOB. Sorry about the rant. I have seen medium-sized service dogs, especially working dogs at the airport. I would think that smaller breeds that are alerting you to a seizure would be okay, but I would want a larger dog for protection. A Shepard is going to alert a lot more people than a Yorkie. I again apologize for this rant, but I worked in veterinary medicine for over 32 years and this became a growing problem within the field.

September 22
A MyEpilepsyTeam Member

@A MyEpilepsyTeam Member
Remember I have had an RNS (Neurostimulator) for 4 years or so if you have any questions. Good luck with the surgery.

September 21 (edited)
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A MyEpilepsyTeam Member

I tried getting a service dog a few years back and apparently you can use almost any kind of animal. But I think dogs are the best bet . That goes for small dogs, the only thing that's really important is that he or she is properly trained and that the dog can pick up on your seizures.

September 21
A MyEpilepsyTeam Member

Welcome Elizabeth yes I support you on this one all epilpsy dogs schould be a loud

September 21
A MyEpilepsyTeam Member

The cost is still rather high so that is always an issue we have to face. The advantage is there are local epilepsy foundations that help get us the dogs with the care and training. My western PA group has a whole group devoted to this matching. Reach out to your local epilepsy foundation.

September 21
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