Psychiatric Service Dog Fund Raiser

Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.

To attain a service dog in the northern eastern states there is a wait list that is prioritized according to the facility you apply to and the disability you have. To get a Psychiatric service dog (PSD) is difficult as they are low priority at most facilities. Some training facilities that train only PSD's have a high demand and the wait list is just as long. To get on the wait list the applicant must pay a deposit which is not covered by insurance. Most of the fee's for gaining this dog that is needed to help in their day to day lives are not covered by insurance companies.

This is to help a talented artist raise money to pay for these fees. She cannot continue school, or work without some assistance to help the pain of anxiety that continues to cripple her actions and decisions each day.

If you, or someone you know has a mental disorder you know how painful it can be when they go outside, each decision a life or death choice. Service dogs for those with mental disorders assist in making the pain of day to day life seem less. My friend needs help, she cannot raise the funds on her own.