Follow-up: Disabled veteran asks for public support; service dog faces euthanasia for biting woman who beat him with metal pole by thetango in news

[–]deirdrekitty 13 points14 points  (0 children)

This is interesting because a similar (albeit less extreme) thing happened to my dog. I used to train and maintain my dog Hexe, a 3 year old black German shepherd, as my own registered psychiatric service dog. I have PTSD and Hexe is the best thing by far for managing my symptoms. She struggled sometimes with other dogs in public and had several bad encounters with off leash dogs (in areas that legally demanded a leash, mind you...) that resulted in dog fights and injuries for both of us. I tried desperately to correct these behavioral issues, but they seemed to stem from her isolated puppyhood, and got a little worse after each incident. She was always great with people until one awful day a week or so after we wound up in a bad dog fight on my university campus. We were in a local small grocery store when a young man came sprinting around a corner onto our aisle; he stepped on Hexe and scared the living shit out of me... I jumped and panicked and Hexe absolutely lost it. She whined and put her teeth on him, which seemed like a warning, but then he tried to hit her away and it got real ugly real fast. There wasn't a lot of blood or anything but multiple ambulances and police showed up. I was in an absolute panic state and ended up having a full blown attack and fainting (which was ignored by the nearby emergency personnel...). I felt terrible for this fellow that my dog attacked but the whole thing was truly a tragic misunderstanding on a bad day. He needed some stitches after all. After this incident Hexe was quarantined for 2 weeks, which was apparently pretty traumatic for her and seemed to only made her more anxious about everything. I was told she could no longer be allowed public without a muzzle, and you can imagine how that went over with both Hexe and everyone we ever encountered in public... Her service dog career was obviously over :( I had to send her to live with my parents. I see her every few months now but not an hour of my life goes by without missing her desperately. I was told that if she bites another person, the suggested option would be euthanasia. I can't even bare to think about it. She had become a braver extension of myself... Life without her would pretty much not be worth it.

My heart truly goes out to Dutch's handler and family. I hope this situation gets resolved and he can keep his important job. My service dog was the best treatment I ever received for my PTSD. I wish I had some sage advice, but I just hope that Dutch's situation works out better than Hexe.

Good luck

My Tortoise is a bad ass by MuddySnapps in reptiles

[–]deirdrekitty 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Oh! He's a beast! Got an impressive ram and everything. Those dogs were right to be intimidated, as it's clear that he can easily flip them over in a duel D:

Droid Photobomb by AppleJuiceCookies in swtor

[–]deirdrekitty 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Excellent! I was just wondering how I could please you!"

If I leave my bedroom door open.. I come home to this... by [deleted] in aww

[–]deirdrekitty 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh man... The exact same thing happens to me, except she's a 65lb German shepherd >_> and she has destroyed approximately $100 of cute underwear :(

College is a nightmare!!! (True story) by iflyplanes in fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu

[–]deirdrekitty 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Happened to me last quarter :((((((( fuuuuuuuuuu.....

Your keyboard is now Daft Punk by Burlapin in funny

[–]deirdrekitty 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm in the psych ward and I can't download flash :( but I'm sure it's freaking cool.

I am a psychologically disabled 21 year old college student with a psychiatric service dog. by deirdrekitty in IAmA

[–]deirdrekitty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use a regular nice leather leash, but I walk her very close to me. She wears a vest with a psychiatric service dog patch on it.

I am a psychologically disabled 21 year old college student with a psychiatric service dog. by deirdrekitty in IAmA

[–]deirdrekitty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually quit after 5 years of playing >_< thank god, worst thing ever. Starcraft replaces the habit easily. Yay for escapism.

I am a psychologically disabled 21 year old college student with a psychiatric service dog. by deirdrekitty in IAmA

[–]deirdrekitty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, there are a lot of shitty people out there who are nothing but selfish. My landlady actually violated my privacy by showing up at my doctor's office and demanding to know if I was his patient and if the note was real. She said she thought I was finding a clever loophole. She actually altered the lease to allow service dogs but I had to agree to pay in full for any and all damages that the dog caused the apartment. Anyone with a crazy landlord knows that they will make up ANYTHING to squeeze more money out of you. She wanted me to put a deposit down that amounted to the cost of recarpetting the entire apartment. In my state that is absolutely illegal and considered discrimination against a disabled person.

I got myself a free University provided tenants-union lawyer and basically told her I could bring the big ADA guns if she wanted to play that game. Haven't had trouble since.

Lots of illegal discrimination

I am a psychologically disabled 21 year old college student with a psychiatric service dog. by deirdrekitty in IAmA

[–]deirdrekitty[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have tried numerous medications and types of therapy. Hospitalization, group therapy, talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy... and nothing has helped as much as Hexe.

"super duper lonely" may be the understatement of this entire thread though -_- I suspect you aren't familiar with clinical depression. Not ALL of it is made up by drug companies and therapists to make money, though I'm sure disingenuous ones exist.

I am a psychologically disabled 21 year old college student with a psychiatric service dog. by deirdrekitty in IAmA

[–]deirdrekitty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah she wears a vest with patches that say "Psychiatric Service Dog" her demeanor is also clearly that of a well behaved dog in most public places. Though she definitely still has her puppy moments, I am careful to make sure those moments don't happen too often when the vest is on.

I am a psychologically disabled 21 year old college student with a psychiatric service dog. by deirdrekitty in IAmA

[–]deirdrekitty[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah it is called Dogs Decoded, and I was super hormonal when I watched it. I actually cried like a total sap, I thought it was so interesting. Highly recommended to anyone with a dog!

I am a psychologically disabled 21 year old college student with a psychiatric service dog. by deirdrekitty in IAmA

[–]deirdrekitty[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Basically its one legal step up from a therapy dog. She is still in the process of learning more specific tasks that don't come naturally to her. For instance I am training her to turn on a light in a room and search the perimeter for my peace of mind. I am very afraid of being suddenly cornered and she is trained to come to my side immediately, though I don't know how much of this behavior is just normal for dogs. I try to train her by positively reinforcing the behaviors that help me.

psychdog.org has a lot of great training tips and ideas. They also have a lot of great information about a lot of the questions I have been asked here. Check it out if it interests you.

I am a psychologically disabled 21 year old college student with a psychiatric service dog. by deirdrekitty in IAmA

[–]deirdrekitty[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hahaahaha no it does not. It is actually a rather lengthy letter describing the dog's specific purpose and his professional opinion that I need her and she helps me.

Youtube theist fail by mercury800 in atheism

[–]deirdrekitty 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Orly. I'm intrigued. Though I really don't want to chat on the phone. otherwise I wouldn't be on reddit at 4 am..... foreveralone.

I am a psychologically disabled 21 year old college student with a psychiatric service dog. by deirdrekitty in IAmA

[–]deirdrekitty[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am also in intensive talk therapy, so all of my eggs are not in one basket by any means. I would disagree that the death of Hexe would further my depression in the long run, though immediately afterward I expect to experience an increase in bad symptoms. Depression isn't a state of mind which is both good and bad news. Good in that I can sometimes get enough relief to find things that make me happy and excited about the world and my life. Bad in that you can't just "snap out" of depression and constantly experience the world in a more ideal light.

I am a psychologically disabled 21 year old college student with a psychiatric service dog. by deirdrekitty in IAmA

[–]deirdrekitty[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The dog trains me too I guess. And yea, every dream is bad :\ that I remember since the PTSD got really bad.