Letters to BCODP: Dogs and Personal Assistance

Anne Pridmore

I was interested in the Community Care article about the pros and cons of Canine Partners for Independence or Assistance Dogs for Disabled People. Having 24 x 7 means living with people in a close environment which can often be difficult for both parties. So let’s explore the good and the bad side of both.

Being a dog lover myself and having two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels having an assistant dog would not be a problem. Whether or not it would be a problem to my two existing dogs I don’t know - wait a minute I’ll ask them. No Taffeta and Cotton would be pleased to welcome another dog into their basket. One of the many good things about dogs is they never answer you back, they don’t feel it necessary to discuss their sex life with you, they certainly don’t expect you to be their personal analyst and above all they are always pleased to see you. Most importantly they are cheap to feed, don’t have family ties and have not learnt how to answer mobile phones. Wait a minute though - is this the next trick that Canine Partners are teaching assistance dogs?

I am not convinced that having my washing taken out of the machine by my dog is something I would relish, picking my remote control up, passing me the phone or fetching the post I could cope with. On a more serious note I am sure that for many disabled people assistance dogs are great and from what I know have very positive contributions to make for many impairment groups. However I think we are a long way off from the day when dogs can offer us the same level of support as a good PA. Even though speaking to many disabled people it would seem that it is becoming much harder to find any staff let alone the right PA. Lets not forget that you only have to look at the job description to realise the essential ingredients that a PA must have. How many jobs need you to have the ability to remain professional leaving your employer to mix with friends one minute and the next day to spend 24 hrs in each others company.

I don’t know about you but speaking personally I’ll hang on to my pets and continue to recruit PAs for the support I need. But for those who find assistance dogs just what they need – just be careful! Do we really want Social Services to find yet another way of ducking their responsibilities to disabled people? Should disabled people who be put in a position where they are forced to rely on dogs as a substitute for the real support we need to take an equal part in society? Speaking personally I will keep my dogs as pets whose expectations of me are a warm bed, one meal a day and lots of hugs

© Copyright British Council of Disabled People 2002