Medical service dogs play an essential role in emergency situations. They are trained to assist individuals with various permanent disabilities, including but not limited to physical disabilities, seizures, and PTSD.
In times of crisis or emergency, these dogs can provide crucial support and assistance to their handlers. Their quick response time, calm demeanor, and specialized training make them valuable assets in emergencies.
Training Service Dogs to Assist Recipients with Permanent Disabilities
Training service dogs and pairing them with recipients is an in-depth process that involves getting to know the recipient and creating a relationship with them to ensure we fully understand their needs. This allows us to train the service dog to assist them and make their life more complete.
Our service dogs are trained through an expertly crafted proprietary program. They are evaluated at each stage, and the training lasts about 15 months to ensure we know the dog and what it is best at. They are observed closely, and we work with their strengths, never forcing them to do tasks that don’t work for them. Our service dogs are also sensitized to noises and other distractions they may encounter in daily life and in public to ensure they are always in tune with the recipient’s needs regardless of the environment.
In many cases, depending on the recipient’s disability, we acquire scent samples from the individual collected during a medical episode. We use these samples to teach the dog to recognize the recipient’s specific scent, which allows them to alert their recipient to an impending medical episode.
Additionally, our service dogs can be trained to assist recipients with mobility by helping them open doors, retrieve dropped items, and provide a way to balance when standing, transferring from their wheelchair to bed, or providing balance while standing or walking.
They can also be trained to shut off lights, bring them medication, pick up dropped items, open and close doors, and more. Service dogs can even be trained to push a medical alert button to notify authorities of a medical emergency. We also teach the dogs to remain calm in loud or chaotic situations, allowing them to provide critical assistance during emergencies.
In cases of PTSD, a medical service dog can provide the recipient with shielding and grounding from flashbacks or anxiety/panic attacks and can wake them from
nightmares. Overall, we train our service dogs to match the needs of the recipients they will be paired with. This ensures that the recipient’s needs are met to face daily life and the public easily.
How Service Dogs Assist Recipients During Medical Emergencies
During an emergency, the presence of a medical service dog can bring a sense of assurance for the recipient’s well being. They are trained to stay by their recipient’s side and perform whatever supporter or tasks when they need it most.
Our dogs are trained to assist recipients with a range of permanent disabilities. For example, if a recipient is going to have a seizure, a service dog can detect the seizure due to the chemical changes in the recipient’s body. This allows the dog to alert the recipient 10 to 15 minutes prior to the seizure so they can lie down in a safe place with the dog lying on them or underneath their head to prevent them from injuring themselves.
Service dogs can also be trained to bring the recipient their medication during a medical episode, which is especially helpful for those who live alone. This scent training is crucial and also assists recipients with PTSD. If a recipient is about to experience a PTSD event, the service dog is trained to smell when the oxytocin and cortisol are out of normal range. This allows the dog to alert their recipient and redirect them so they can calm down before they have a severe event. PTSD causes a range of emotions, but a service dog can help calm the recipient before the episode escalates.
One amazing example of the impact of our service dogs is the story of a first responder we paired a service dog with who was injured during the Oklahoma bombing that occurred in the 1980s. This recipient was left with a traumatic brain injury that caused tremendous seizures. These seizures were so severe she was unable to lead a normal life, even in her own home. Oftentimes, someone who has seizures will have auras prior to the seizure, which helps the person to be aware of what is going on. However, this recipient’s seizures were so severe she didn’t have the chance to have an aura and prepare for the seizure. In many cases, the seizure is only part of the issue; the catastrophic events or injuries that can occur due to the seizure are also a major
concern.
With the lack of auras, she was bending down to empty her dishwasher one day and suffered a seizure with no time to prepare herself, causing her to fall down onto the dishwasher rack face first, suffering severe injuries. In another incident, she was with a family member at a big box store. The family member only turned their back for an instant, and the recipient suffered a seizure and fell down, hitting a metal shelf and then the concrete floor. She broke her jaw severely, requiring a cadaver bone to replace her broken jaw bone. This was a pivotal moment for her, encouraging her to reach out to Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs for help.
We trained a dog for her, helping her completely transform her life. With the help of her service dog, she can now function alone in her own home because the dog always alerts her in advance of her seizures so she can safely prepare. The service dog also helped her gain the confidence to take public transportation, go out to lunch with friends, and do other activities she wouldn’t have been able to do before.
While in public, the service dog was able to alert her to a seizure and push her down on the bench she was sitting on to ensure she was safe while having a seizure. The bond between a medical service dog and their recipient is powerful, and it truly shines during times of crisis. These remarkable animals are not just pets; they are trained professionals who dedicate their lives to helping individuals with disabilities.
Support Our Mission
At Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, we are grateful for the life-changing impact that our service dogs have on their recipients. We rely on donations to continue training and pairing these amazing animals with individuals. Your support can help us provide more service dogs to assist veterans, first responders, and civilians with permanent disabilities. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of others and give them a sense of hope and security in times of crisis. Thank you for considering supporting our mission and helping us change lives, one service dog at a time. Questions? Contact us today to learn more!
Mrs. Borden’s expertise and accomplishments are acknowledged by numerous national awards from various industries and agencies including the 2018 Corporate Pet Industry Woman of the Year and multiple awards for her organization’s work in mental health and suicide prevention.
She is frequently requested as a Keynote Speaker, and as an Industry Consultant to teach service dog laws to judicial systems, attorneys, and businesses, and to assist in service dog bills in multiple states that were passed into law. In 2020, she started an Institute for Higher Learning and the Borden Veterinary Hospital. Additionally, she has written and teaches college-accredited/VA-approved apprenticeship courses on dog training and service dog training.
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