Assistance dog Puns

I honestly don't think I'm TA here but one of my FB friends has gotten into my head so I'm second guessing myself.

I have a Medical Alert Assistance Dog who goes pretty much everywhere with me, so, when I went to stay with family recently... So did she.

My wee cousin was fascinated by her, but was very good about not interacting with her in public... But was basically obsessed with how my girl can prevent me becoming ill by letting me know an episode is coming so I can take my meds and then laying down with me until I feel better.

My lil cousin is special needs (ASD, ADHD and other health issues) that makes them very emotionally volatile and struggles emotionally with mainstream school etc, but my AD (animals in general) really help them to express their emotions before they build up to explosion levels and for self soothing... Was amazing to see.

They are too young to handle an AD by themselves and my family don't want to explore an adult handled AD for them at this moment in time (ethics of Assistance Dogs for children is a whole thing) but wee cousin was so upset at me and my dog leaving that I wanted to do something for them.

So for Christmas I've bought her a "Build-A-Bear" Assistance Dog! It is a chocolate labrador with a heartbeat sound and lavender scented (her favourite scent) and has a wee Assistance Dog coat! Absolutely adorable!

Wee cousin has permission from school under their accommodation plan to take a toy to school every day so I figured this gives them their own "AD" without all the hassles of a "real one"... But hopefully without the teasing they currently get for taking a security blanket to school/toddler toys (they already get "cool points" after I walked them to school for a week with my real AD so am hoping the plushy version carries it over, they are under 10)

But... When I shared this story among my Assistance Dog social group, whilst several thought it was sweet... A few were saying it was an absolute mockery of our "real" dogs and I'm an asshole for making it look like a cuddly toy can replace what they do etc. That I should have been pushing my relatives to get her a "real" AD.

I just thought this was a cute gift to help support her and take the pressure off my dog when we visit... AITA for that?

My Real Assistance Dog for dog tax

Build-A-Bear Assistance Dog

This is my last option and I am completely at a state of desperation, I lost my job and I was living off my saving until I could find work. My roommate and I (who happened to be a very close friend) were splitting bills which was making everything manageable but last month he withdrew all my money from my account without my permission and left to the states. I was not able to pay my rent on the 1st of Jan and I definitely won’t be able to pay on the 1st of Feb. I am looking for any assistance or suggestions to give myself a fighting chance here. I don’t want to be homeless and I don’t want to give my dog up as well as he is all I have at this point. Please be kind with your suggestions as this is a rough sensitive matter for me.

Private message me if you have any suggestions that would help my situation immediately

My father has extreme hearing loss and lives alone now my mother passed. He's very independent and mobile, but not hearing the door, the beeps from appliances, the phone, and other daily cues is a daily concern, not to mention my fears that he wouldn't hear a fire alarm. I'm looking into getting him connected with a service dog program to get a good assistance dog. He loves dogs but is not going to be able to train one himself, being in his 90s. Does anyone here have experience with service dogs? If you have input or suggestions of organizations that would be really helpful. We are in Northern California. I tried the veteran's assistance dog organization but they only serve the east coast. Thanks so much for any feedback

Soooo, my understanding of the law is that an assistance dog (service dog in the US) has to be specifically TRAINED to mitigate a disability to qualify as assistance/service dog.

But apparently some Sharon lawrence woman is going round saying UK law doesn't mention tasks and therefore an emotional support animal IS an assistance dog in the UK!

UK law is vague but it does say 'TRAINED to mitigate a disability' ....surely that means task trained despite not specifically using the word 'task'? This woman is telling everyone your dog simply has to behave so I want to know legally what the truth is?

I've read things from the UK specifically stating that comfort/emotional support is NOT an assistance dog but she keeps saying 'that's not the law!!!'

So yeh, can someone clarify ?

I suffer badly with depression, anxiety and psycosis.

I experienced domestic abuse for four years and was physically assaulted last year and as I result, I have very bad PTSD and I don't go out anymore because I feel unsafe and I get very scared, stressed and anxious.

I have seen people with mental health who had service dogs, but when doing my own research, I can't really find what I'm looking for and hoping somebody knows some information about this that could point me into the right direction..

I'm UK/London based..

Thanks in advance

I posted a few days ago about my mom’s dog being attacked by a much bigger unleashed dog. His vet expenses are, of course, almost as brutal as the attack itself. We don’t have time to wait for the aggressor’s owners’ cooperation (we still will pursue them, but right now our dog’s immediate care is the priority). Any advice? I’ve already started a gofundme but I’m just wondering if there are programs as well.

Hi! I’m currently in the process of selecting a breed for an assistance dog. The trainer has suggested some breeds to us and we’ve been considering a malinois. The dog would accompany me in most of my day to day life and perform a multitude of tasks. We’ve been suggested the breed due to their high motivation, work ethos and intelligence. I’ve tried to research it, but there isn’t a lot on the subject of malinois as assistance dogs.

Does anyone have experiences with it? Or something I can read? I’d love some articles or anything.

Tonight my fiancé and I were at an event with my assistance dog who's still in training. It was her first time at such a big event (she done amazingly) and I knew children were going to be there so I decided if they asked to pet her during the show I would say no as it's loud and new to her but if they ask during the interval when it's more quiet I would allow it depending on how I felt she was coping.

Needless to say a child comes up and asks to pet her. I tell her not just now but come back during the break and she can. She asks why and I say because she's working for me just now and needs to concentrate. Apparently that's not fair because she wants to talk to her and she always gets to talk to dogs when she wants to! I say again you can talk to her but not until the break (literally 15 minutes away) but she doesn't take kindly to being told more bluntly this time and starts stomping her feet and jumping up and down. My dog gets startled because until this point she was actually lying down being good and minding her own business so she let out a confused bark. She's in training so these things are expected and I quickly corrected her but nope not good enough down comes mother dearest who says it wouldn't have happened if I had let her daughter get her own way in the first place.

A steward ends up coming over and the mother immediately says I wouldn't let her kid pet my dog and I shouldn't have a dog in public like that if I don't want kids talking to it. The steward explains she's a working dog and her behaviour was breaking 'the rules' acceptable towards assistance dogs on their premises so could they please take a seat. Reluctantly they did. Not long after was the interval and down came dad with the kid to use the stairs next to me. The same steward said 'Nope one way system in place due to Covid you need to go the other way' and he told her to fuck off and people like him pay her wages.

So all in all a lovely family it seems and another reminder of why I don't want kids.

Hi everyone.

I'm in England. I have an assistance dog due to my disabilities.

We are having to move from our rented accommodation soon, into another rented accommodation. When looking at prospective homes, we have been mentioning that I do have a fully trained assistance dog, and although we are covered by the Equality Act 2010 as reasonable accommodation, we have been told that the "no pets" rule can still apply for some types of housing.

I have tried to explain that she is not a pet, she is an auxiliary aid, and still being told that for certain types of housing (freehold or leasehold, I can't remember which), the landlord can still demand no pets at all, even assistance dogs.

Is this correct, and if so, what could be the outcome if I just didn't mention my assistance dog at all and moved her in anyway - could our new landlord evict us or would that be discrimination?

I'm aware of my rights as a disabled person and handler in public access spaces, but private renting is something I'm not so confident in!

Thank you!

r/Melbourne, can you help? Assistance Dogs Australia needs "Bed and Breakfast" carers who can look after a clever pup while they're in their final stages of training.

The dogs are picked up daily on weekdays for training, so it's a perfect role for someone who wants the company of a dog but works full time or can't walk a dog. The dogs go on to change the lives of people with a physical disability, autism or PTSD, and it's a really enjoyable way to volunteer and give back to the community.

Volunteers need to live in Blackburn, Forest Hill, Box Hill or nearby suburbs, because a trainer needs to pick up all the dogs daily. If you know anyone who might be interested, please pass it on. It's a new volunteer role in Victoria, so if you're keen but can't find all the specifics on the website, don't panic! You can find the application form at AssistanceDogs.org.au and someone will give you a call to answer all your questions.

"Poison Frog Ivara" probably isn't the most original idea out there, so I was hoping someone could jump in and share their experience using a build like this.

Please frogive any puns that may inadvertoadly pop up.

The theme of the build is to have Ivara be some kind of poison dart frog. I figured I'd start by using the Primary Arcane that leaves puddles of toxic goo everywhere with Kitgun kills, and find stuff to support it.

https://preview.redd.it/1p1yp7cks1081.jpg?width=2032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=112b2918272b74cac408900ae1f4451186bd6aab

https://preview.redd.it/iin47zqis1081.jpg?width=932&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec1c50b74b60ff5b5ce88b96ecb8da1fb25574f0

For kicks (hops?), I threw in Proton Jet to encourage wall-latching/jumping.

The jist of it is:

• Use Kitgun (toxin damage) to spawn the puddles of toxin, then go stand in them to get the damage bonuses.
• Use Noise Arrow to attract enemies to the puddles and keep them in there as long as possible.
• Use Cloak Arrow/Prowl to stand in the pools among all the enemies undetected, being free to melee or spawn more puddles with kitgun kills.
• Profit.

I feel like Ivara was drawing diagrams of all this on a chalkboard cackling at the virulent slaughter that was to come, but in practice it was exhausting to maintain the cycle. At best it was a novel, mildly-entertaining way to kill stuff, at least with my tadpole of a setup; I don't have any max rank Arcanes.

Noise Arrows aren't enough to keep enemies in the puddles, so the damage over time they provide isn't reliable. I imagine the Melee Arcane that sucks them in will be useful for that.

What I ended up doing is being more mobile. Prowl to go invisible, I'm revealed when firing the kitgun and enemies come towards my position, then when I stop firing I automatically become invisible again.

The dog just...it just murders everything, it's ridiculous, I let it do its own thing, nothing can stop it.

I've only tried this build against LV50ish enemies and it's fine, def need more arcanes to try fighting tougher bullet sponges though.

What can I do to improve this? Can it even be useful in Steel Path?

My father has extreme hearing loss and lives alone now my mother passed. He's very independent and mobile, but not hearing the door, the beeps from appliances, the phone, and other daily cues is a daily concern, not to mention my fears that he wouldn't hear a fire alarm. I'm looking into getting him connected with a service dog program to get a good assistance dog. He loves dogs but is not going to be able to train one himself, being in his 90s. Does anyone here have experience with service dogs? If you have input or suggestions of organizations that would be really helpful. We are in Northern California. I tried the veteran's assistance dog organization but they only serve the east coast. Thanks so much for any feedback (Also posted on r/deaf)

I suffer badly with depression, anxiety and psycosis.

I experienced domestic abuse for four years and was physically assaulted last year and as I result, I have very bad PTSD and I don't go out anymore because I feel unsafe and I get very scared, stressed and anxious.

I have seen people with mental health who had service dogs, but when doing my own research, I can't really find what I'm looking for and hoping somebody knows some information about this that could point me into the right direction..

I'm UK/London based..

Thanks in advance