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What is a Service Dog?
The Americans With Disabilities Act (federal law, 1990) defines a Service Animal as any animal individually trained to assist a person with a disability with one or more activities of daily living. This can include, but is not limited to guide, mobility, sound alert, seizure alert and emotional support work. Their work is handler-focused and benefits the handler with a disability. Federal law permits qualified people who have a disability to be accompanied by their Service Animals in all places of public accommodation.
What Freely Does Now to Mitigate Mara's Disabilities
Retrieve Dropped Items or Low Items: Freely is picking up items for Mara which would otherwise require her to bend over. If Mara bends over, she experiences a rupturing of an inner ear tissue which causes extreme dizziness and can result in one or more days of bedrest. Since Freely has been retrieving items for her, she has fewer episodes of needing bedrest. She is also able to get Mara's cane for her if Mara is experiencing balance problems. She helps with laundry and daily dressing as well.
Accompany Mara in Public Places: Freely has been accompanying Mara to public places and has helped her to resume some of the daily activities she has been unable to do without the assistance of another person. She is now able to go grocery shopping without anxiety, as well as Freely being able to get low items and items that she may drop.
Alert to OCD Behaviors and Manic Episodes: Freely has been alerting to these episodes and behaviors on her own, and Mara reinforces her alerting so that it is reliable and can be of great assistance on a regular basis. This includes such things as not spending too much time on one thing or staying up too late.
Many other things including necessitating Mara getting out of the house every day and helping with mood swings and severe depressive episodes.
What Freely Is Learning and Will Be Learning
Open and Close Low drawers and cupboards Pull such items as a laundry basket Empty the dryer Safety Stance "Lean" for Balance Assistance Other Possible Balance Assistance Pull for help on stairs and other assistance Remind to take medications Interruption of Obsessive Behaviors Stay with Mara as needed for anxiety and/or depressive episodes Other tasks to be decided upon by Mara, her physicians and Service Dog Trainer
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