Service animals are working animals, not pets. When someone employs and owns a service animal, they are equipped with a medical aid that is trained to provide support directly for their owner’s or patient’s specific disability. When someone has succumb to a major injury or illness that leaves them disabled and requiring the help of a service animal, they often face mounting fees in order to purchase and care for the animal. If you are someone who requires a service animals after enduring a major accident or victim to injury, the liable party may be held in court to pay for the animal’s fees.
Benefit of Service Animals
Those facing long-term disability can optimize greatly on their life and wellbeing when having a companion and help from a service animal. Service animals are often specific in their skills and trained in providing help to the needs of certain disabilities. Example of such include seeing-eye dogs. For the purpose of this article, we will outline the overall benefits of service animals for both physical and mental health benefits.
Physical Support:
Therapy dogs and service animals provide several physiological benefits to their owners. As mentioned above, certain animals are trained in offering specific support, depending on the disability of their owner. Generally though, service animals are noted to help in the following physical areas:
- Reduced blood pressure and heart-rate
- Calming benefits to the nervous systems
- Provide physical help and support
There are specific types of trained animals that provide different types of support. These include:
- “Animal-Assisted Therapy Dogs”: typically trained to provide help around the household. These dogs specialize in retrieving things around the home such as medications and other medical aids, as well as answering the door when someone knocks or the doorbell rings. When a smoke detector goes off, they are trained to respond quickly if the patient is unresponsive. These types of dogs help in the rehabilitation of fine motor skills and relied on regularly by their owners.
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“Therapeutic Visitation Animals” are often dogs, taken by their owners to medical facilities to provide emotional comfort and support to patients within those facilities. These types of service animals can often be found in rehabilitation centers, retirement homes and hospitals. Sometimes, universities and colleges employ Therapeutic Visitation Animals to brighten up the day and relieve stress of students during exams and midterms.
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“Facility Therapy Dogs” are often employed in supporting seniors and dementia patients. These animals assist with simple tasks including retrieving medication and specific belongings, assisting and accompanying the afflicted on walks, and providing overall mental and physical care and support.
Emotional Support
There are several mental health issues that can gain symptomatic relief from the presence of having an emotional support animal. Some common mental health disorders that have found solace int he use of emotional support animals include, but are not limited to:
- PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
- General Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Agoraphobia (fear of being outside of the home)
- Social Shyness
- Aerophobia (fear of flying)
- Speech Disorders
If you or a loved one suffer from a mental health disorder, there are numerous ways one can improve their everyday life with the aid of an emotional support animal. Patients have seen improvements in the following areas:
- Decrease in Symptoms of the diagnosed illness
- Increased sense of purpose and belonging
- Reduced loneliness
- Self-Esteem boost
- Increase attention span
- Improved coordination & motor-skills
- Increased sense of safety
- Increase in motivation
- Increase in being social
- Increase in feeling of comfort and love
- Decrease in boredom
A Harvard study has shown that besides service dogs becoming good companions for their owners, they also aid in creating human-to-human friendships which provides further social support. People with dogs are known to be 60% more likely to meet new people, which is good for long-term health.
When a person is benefiting in these ways, especially when managing a mental health issue, they often see an increase in their physical energy and wellness as well. When animals are involved in one’s daily routine, there is a holistic effect it can have on one’s life. Scientific studies have proven that the heart rates of those with emotional support animals are decreased and there is an increase in Oxytocin levels in the brain. This hormone and neurotransmitter is associated with things such as empathy, trust, sexual activity and relationship-building.
Insurance Coverage
Typically, a service animal costs between $15,000 – $50,000. Unfortunately, given the length of time it takes to train a service animal, and the intensity of this training, the purchase of a service animal is not covered by insurance companies or general health insurance. If you are involved in an accident where you’ve been injured, or have become ill due to the fault of another party, and are left dealing with a long-term disability that would benefit greatly from a service animal, you may be able to pursue coverage of the animal’s costs from the liable party responsible for your injury or illness. Since a service animal can be argued to be considered a medical device / support and expense that you have to take on as result of your injury or illness, you may be able to have all costs covered and pursued by a long-term disability lawyer.
Contacting a Toronto Disability Lawyer
If you are a victim of an accident or incurred an injury as a result of someone else’s negligence, or if you have fallen ill or have been injured as a result of your work conditions, you may be able to have the costs of a service animal covered by the liable party. TSF Law is one of Ontario’s top legal firms where you can gain accesses to services from a personal-injury lawyer, long-term disability lawyer, insurance claim attorney, and specialists in injury law an disability claims. We provide supreme customer service and free consultations to all prospective clients. Give us a call today; TSF LAwyers is always there for you.
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