Should I consider...?

[Stephy]

Hi, my name is Stephy. I am almost 17 and I suffer from Bipolar Disorder, anxieties, post-traumatic stress disorder, and panic attacks. I am Bipolar 2 and I suffer mainly with depression. I have anxieties where I get nervous and feel very unease of where I am all the time. I have post-traumatic stress disorder where certain things trigger me to go out of my mind and leave me in a state of confusion afterwards (these are quite rare, but they happen). And with my panic attacks, I have them like I do with my anxieties (My anxieties usually cause my panic attacks); I find it hard to breath and I get really dizzy, sometimes I cry uncontrollably.

I recently had a friend of mine recommend me a service dog. But I wasn't sure if I would qualify. I started to read up on Service Dogs and I found out there are two types: ESA and PSD dogs. So I was confused... If I am eligible for a Service Dog, which one should I get? If I am even eligible.

Any help would be very appreciated.

Thank you!

[Roxie]

I'd suggest first a really good therapist and psychiatrist so you can bring order and self control to the management of your symptoms. Then I suggest a good ol' pet that can bring structure to your life. (Birds, fish, cat, dog, amphibians or varmints ... what ever makes you smile.)

To have a Service dog, one must be disabled under ADA law.

To have an ESA, one must have an order or recommendation by a person on your mental health treatment team.

[Kirsten]

Whether you are eligible is a discussion to have with your own psychiatrist or other mental health provider.  The question to ask them is whether they consider you LEGALLY disabled.  The legal definition is:

"a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual"

"[M]ajor life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working."

"[A] major life activity also includes the operation of a major bodily function, including but not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions."

If your doctor agrees that this applies to you, then you qualify.

The difference is in what you want the dog to do.  If you want the dog for companionship, emotional support or therapy, then you want an emotional support dog.  If there is something you cannot do because of your disability that a dog could do for you, then you want a service dog.

An emotional support animal is basically a "prescription" pet.  It means that if you live in housing where pets are not permitted, you can get an exception for an ESA.  If pets are allowed, then it's the same as any other pet.  Here's more:  http://www.servicedogcentral.org/content/ESA

A service dog is individually trained to do something for the owner that the owner is not able to do for themselves because of their disability.  This training requires a certain level of skill on the trainer's part and typically takes 18-24 months to complete.  If you purchase a dog with this level of training, expect it to cost several thousand dollars.  If you hire someone to train such a dog, again, expect it to cost several thousand dollars.  If you qualify, some programs will provide a trained dog at a reduced cost by offsetting some of the expenses with volunteer labor and charitable donations.  Still expect to chip in around $1,000 of your own money.  Here's more: http://www.servicedogcentral.org/content/PSD