#Cataplexy in dogs full
#Cataplexy in dogs professional

#Cataplexy in dogs professional

Sage accompanied Sarah and I to Las Vegas this summer where I attended a professional conference. She has also, on her own without promoting or training by Sarah or Marj, began вЂњherdingвЂќ Sarah to the bed to take a nap when she is becoming irritable or appears excessively sleepy. Sarah has recently been diagnosed with Narcolepsy and Cataplexy and Sage loves her newest task of waking Sarah up every morning. ' Sage and Sarah are a real team now we have only had Sage in our life for 7 months now but with continued training, Sage has learned new skills as needed. As parents, my husband and I truly believe that but for Sage, Sarah might have taken her life.' Sage moved into SarahвЂ™s dorm room within a couple of weeks. Our shock was replaced with joy when Sage met Sarah and the love affair began.

After a pause, Marj offered us one of her personal dogs who she had purchased as a puppy to show that had not grown large enough to meet the breed standard. We already had an Australian Shepherd and knowing their intelligence, ease of training and their nickname as the Velcro dog, that was our suggestion. While talking with her about options, such as going to the kill shelters to pick out a dog, which she often does, she asked what breed we would prefer. We met with Marj and Sarah visited with 2 or 3 dogs to try to find the right fit but there just wasnвЂ™t a good emotional connection. My tears of joy couldnвЂ™t be contained when I heard those magic words вЂњI can help you and we can have a dog for Sarah within a few weeks.вЂќ By this point, we were desperate to find help to keep her in school and I knew a service dog was vital. She emailed me back within hours and I called her the next day. 'I found Marj through a chance encounter online and quickly emailed her with our story and our needs. Some of the local service dog organizations wouldnвЂ™t even discuss this option with me and were downright rude. I knew that in addition, the dog had to be well trained in basic obedience, but knew this didnвЂ™t take 2 years. We didnвЂ™t need a dog to open doors or walk our daughter through traffic some of the tasks we needed for service dogs for PTSD, depression and anxiety were to help reorient the person to reality, provide a calming presence and to apply pressure to the abdomen to help relieve anxiety.

#Cataplexy in dogs full

In my heart, I knew that we couldnвЂ™t part with our 3 dog family members and my experience with training our own dogs told me that it couldnвЂ™t possibly take a full 2 years to train a low level service dog in spite of the responses I was getting. I was even told that only certain breeds could be utilized and that our existing dogs couldnвЂ™t remain in our household. I was told there would be at least a 6 month to 2 year wait and the cost could be upwards to $20,000.00. As I pursued acquiring service dog for her, little did I know how daunting the task would be.

In addition to getting her medical care and counseling, we learned the benefits of service dogs. ' When our daughter, Sarah was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, generalized anxiety and panic disorder, we began our search for ways to maintain her independence as a college student.