…Or An Average Day In The Life Of A Service Dog
Being January, we’ve been getting snow. Now, yours truely does not get around well in snow. I’m far more prone to slipping and falling than your average person. It comes with certain kinds of disability, including mine.
That means on snowy or icy days, I rely a lot more on Hudson. I end up catching myself against his harness when I start to slip, or when I miss my footing.
Yesterday in particular, Hudson saved me from a very nasty fall. We have a spot of sidewalk that is broken up in a particularly nasty fashion. It appears that there was a tree there that grew too large and pushed up the sidewalk. At any rate, it means there’s a steep-sided little ‘hill’, with broken cement edges at the top that do a fantastic job of catching my feet. I had walked up it just fine, but as I was walking down, my feet just slid.
I ended up putting enough weight on Hudson’s harness to drive his butt to the ground and force his front legs wide. His belly was nearly in the snow.
And yet, he didn’t bolt out from under the pressure. I managed to keep myself from hitting the ground because of his support. Yeah, I tweaked my back a little, but I did a lot less damage to myself than if I had hit the ground.
I stopped out there, in the cold and snow and ice, and praised him and petted him for a good minute.
Thank you, boy. It’s times like these that point out just how well you do your job.
So glad you didn’t fall! Good boy, Hudson!
Would you ever be able to put up a pic of the type of harness Hudson wears for walking/mobility/bracing support?
I have been hearing more and more about the mechanics of safe mobility support in terms of the dogs. I’m trying to learn more and wrestle with how I will deal with this with Barnum?
You know, I keep meaning to and forgetting. His harness is based on a horse’s saddle, so it distributes the weight on the long muscles of the back instead of on the spine, which is vastly safer. It has better distribution of weight than anything else I’ve ever seen – in addition to being off the spine, it’s long enough to avoid pressing too hard on any one muscle or set of muscles. That kind of build does mean it’s on the heavy end of the scale for service dog harnesses; with the packs empty, it weighs in around 5 lbs. If my service dog org didn’t make these for us (and only for us – they don’t sell them at all), I would recommend them to everyone I know who may be asking their service dog for mobility support.
Great Post!
That rocks!
Sallie has to save me from myself usually.I have this idea left over from before we were placed that I know when I’m well enough to…
Poor thing has to physically block the door on some days or run and hide to keep me from dressing her when I’m pre-seizure and totally bent on accomplishing something I have no business doing.
Most dramatically: she kept me from taking the stairs just before I collapsed and seized, an accident that could well have been fatal when I’m so fragile.
Oh my goodness! I’m glad you have her to help keep you safe. This was one of the bigger ‘saves’ for Hudson; typically, if I’m going to fall badly, he gets out of the way so I don’t squish him. I can’t say I blame him, since I currently weigh in at over 2 1/2 times his weight. The smaller slips, slides, trips, and other would-be falls he helps me recover from – the ones that I might recover from on my own – but not usually the ones where I will definitely fall without help. But this time, he prevented a really bad fall, and I’m grateful.
Thank you, Kali! Right on the nosey!
Appreciating your brilliant mind!
WOOOHOOOOO! Goo Hudson!
It made me so happy to read this post. I really love dogs. And I read your post about how your service dog isn’t a pet and your little annoyances at how people stop you to talk to him or pet him or whatever. And I agree. I have two dogs, though they are pets… One of them is 10 years old, diabetic and blind… deffinitely not a service dog- especially since he’s not even a foot tall
but the other one has started to act a bit like a service dog for him (we put a bell on her collar like a cat bell, so that he can know where she is and always be near someone… she also lets us know when he wants water or rings the bell for him to go out when he can’t do it himself.)
but thats a bit of a tangent. Basicly I’m trying to say that right now I want to cuddle Hudson for taking such good care of you! He’s a hero in my eyes! Even before this post I’ve had such respect for service dogs.
And Also, I kinda feel like my gushing about him makes me one of those people you were commenting on (though I know the importance of not petting a strange dog- especially since my younger dog can be a bit jumpy at times and can actually get spooked of kids smaller than her and I HATE it when todlers come up to us in the park without their parents because what am I supposed to do they start pulling my normally mild dog’s fur?)
But… I’d like to share something that I don’t often share. And perhaps this is my reason for feeling so strongly about you and Hudson.
Now, I suppose I’m rather AB, though that doesn’t mean that my own pouch can’t save my day too. A couple of years ago, way back when I had long hair (its now in a bob) I wasn’t able to wash it in the shower and had to wash it bent over the tub, seperately. One day, I had just turned on the water, and was just bending over when my puppy sauntered into the bathroom with her ears back. She kept on licking my legs and elbow- all that she could reach- and sitting by the door. I don’t know how she knew what would happen, maybe she could hear something I couldn’t but she had come running up the stairs pretty fast.
So I had started to wash my hair, when all of a sudden the metal shower rod fell down on my head. It smacked my right where the lobe (I can’t recall the name) that control muscle movement was. I collapsed on the floor and couldn’t move. I blacked out. And keep in mind that the water was on and the tub was filling up. I had still been awake I think when the beam fell on me, I think I blacked out when I fell and hit my head again on the inside of the tub. I must have because i remember her barking.
My mother and I were home alone. And my mom doesn’t have the greatest hearing. Though seeing as I was upstairs in the bathroom with the water running and she was cooking int he kitchen she probably woulnd’t have heard me anyways. But Mocha, bless her, aparently kept on howling and running to the top of the stairs and back to me, hardly leaving my side. I woke up when my mom pulled me out of the water and put me in her bed. Mocha was still barking. But she wouldnt leave my side. As soon as she saw my eyes open she stoped. Was she trying to wake me up? Who knows? Maybe I’m dramatising it.
The next day I stayed home from school because my mother had been waking me up every few minutes during the night and in the morning my pupils were mis dialated. No other signs of concussion. She just had me sleep all day. All the time Mocha wouldn’t leave my side. She didn’t eat, or go out for a walk or to do her business and she wouldn’t let anyone but my mom near me, not even my sister, and wouldn’t even let my mom sit on the bed. I didn’t stay up for a long time that day, I kept on blacking out or falling back asleep but every time I woke up her head was resting on the comforter right beside mine looking into my eyes.
My dad was also out of town at the time and this was while I lived in Greece, so We didn’t go to hospital for this, though we should have, but my mother’s emergency aid knowledge is pretty extensive. Plus I doubt Mocha would have let me go into an Ambulance alone
Did she save my life? If not from head trauma, getting me help right away when I couldn’t or from drowning had the tub filled up much more… who knows? But my appreciation for my pooch and all the times shes given me small blessings (that time and smaller than it) is transfered to any service dog or any loyal ‘pet’. Because in the end of the day, being a loyal and devoted friend and source of love and strength makes all dogs ‘service’ dogs. And I say this because at times of extreme bullying that I went through my pooch was the only friend I had and if it hadn’t been for her, looking down at her in the same bathroom, I probably wouldn’t have backed out of the time I nearly committed suicide. Because sometimes, even just being a friend to anyone can be taxing and a service.
But I don’t mean to lower the value of Hudson. He’s a real hero!
It’s different when people are on the blog – I put myself out here to talk about service dogs quite deliberately. This isn’t random people walking up to me on the street.
That’s some serious devotion from Mocha! You’re very lucky to have a dog like that.
I have to respectfully disagree that the devotion of a pet makes all dogs service dogs. To make a comparison for you…I have a personal care assistant. She comes in every day and helps me take care of myself and my home, prepare food, so on. It is her job to do this. Now, a friend who occasionally helps me clean up or make dinner is a great friend, but they aren’t a personal care assistant. They don’t do this every day, and it isn’t their purpose, it’s a perk of having someone who really cares about you. The same goes for devoted pets. Their love and affection comes because they are part of our families, and out of love and affection, pets sometimes do astounding things. But they don’t walk next to me all day every day stabilizing me, supporting me, picking up things I drop, opening doors and turning on light switches.
That two things are different doesn’t make either less valuable, but I think those differences are important. In this case, they’re particularly important because there are legal rights that come with the term ‘service dog’.