Having a service dog is both a very freeing experience and a challenge. The challenge doesn't just come from the care and consideration a service dog needs - feedings, toiletings, advanced training, health care, grooming, supervision.
Some of the challenge comes from being disabled. Not all disabled people can - or even should - have a service dog.
Obviously allergies will rule out partnering with a service dog. Even the "hypoallergenic" dogs can trigger allergies in people who need to take care with their medications and contact with the world. Before the recent changes in service animal regulations, almost any animal could be tagged a service animal, so it was easy enough to find an animal that didn't trigger allergies who might be able to fulfill essential tasks. After those changes, the only animals that have full access are dogs and guide ponies.
This doesn't mean people can't have a variety of other species as service animals inside their homes - the Housing Authority recognizes and permits a much wider variety than the ADA does and the courts often support the disabled in any dispute between service animals and the housing.
But they can't take the non-canine service animals on trips with them, even ones that involve short distances like grocery shopping or eating out (with the exception of guide ponies).
Beyond that, if the disabled person lives alone and is unable to care for the service animal in all of its needs, serious thought must be given to that person having a service animal.
I know a woman who lost her service dog because she assumed he could toilet himself, all she had to do was open the door and let him go out to take care of his needs. She was mobility impaired and tired quickly, so she fell asleep while he was outside, and when she woke, and went to let him back in, he was gone. To this day, we don't know if he wandered off and got lost, if someone stole him, or if he was hit by a car and killed. He never came back. She was left alone because she was unable to properly toilet her service dog. Because she lost the dog through her inability to properly care for it, no agency will invest approximately $40,000 in training another dog for her when there are so many people who need service dogs, and she's too disabled to train one for herself.
She needs a dog to help care for her, but more importantly, she needs another human being who will care for her and her service dog. Without another human in the team caring for her, she can't be trusted with a service dog. And yet, she needs the additional help a dog could provide. It's a sad catch-22.
A lot of people can (and should, in an ideal world) have a service dog, but there are some disabilities where a service dog needs care the person can't provide unless they have a human caregiver who will also see to the dog's needs. Not all caregivers will help take care of a service dog, either because they feel it's a burden, or they're allergic, or they dislike dogs, or they don't think service dogs make any significant difference.
I can understand that - to a degree.
A service dog is not just a tool that can be turned off and on at need. It is a living creature and has needs that must be filled - toileting, food, exercise, play time, vacation time, off-duty hours, health care, grooming.
Service dogs are smart dogs, and they require additional challenges in their lives or they get bored. Bored dogs are mischievous and sometimes destructive dogs. Itzl is a very smart dog. It's not enough for him to just be my hearing assistance dog, he needs more challenges. Fortunately for me, I am otherwise healthy and can provide some challenges he appreciates, like volunteering at the cat rescue to play with cats. He loves cats. He speaks Cat fluently. Cats understand him, and after a few sessions with him, they ease up around small dogs. Some cats eventually even can tolerate and learn to like big dogs after they've been trained by Itzl.
It's not enough for Itzl to be able to speak Dog and Cat and Human, he also understands more ASL than I do (I'm catching up, though), he had to invent his own language. He has signs for each of my children, for "stranger", for "train" for "light saber" for "fireworks", for "water", for "ambulance", for "police", for "meat", for "timer", for "dog", for "cat", and for "tummy ache". he also has developed insults - "bad dog" (for anyone who misbehaves), "yappy person", "slow person", and his worst insilt of all, "dirty paws person".
Service dogs also have a tendency to assert themselves and if the human half of the partnership allows it to happen, the service dog could end up controlling the human and not performing the tasks it should.
When the dog assumes dominance, that's a problem. People who get their service dogs from reputable agencies generally have the oversight and follow-up visits and training to make sure the dog remains an assistant partner and not the dominant partner.
People who train their own service dogs have a harder time of it because the bid for dominance can be a sly one. These are smart dogs. And they are incredibly patient - which makes them ideal service dogs.
Everything that makes a dog an excellent service dog can also lead them to be the dominant team member, and when that happens, neither the human nor the dog are well served. Sometimes, a service dog that assumes dominance and keeps it can become ill-mannered and even vicious towards their partner. If the human doesn't assume and assert proper dominance, it's an accident waiting to happen, and usually the dog ends up being euthanized.
This is why it's so important to channel that dominance to tasks and teach the dog to have pride in the work it does for their human. This is why it's important for the team to work together without outside interference from people who are not trained in handling a service dog.
I can't tell you how many times people have tried to give commands to Itzl and expect him to obey them. He won't obey anyone but me and a few select others (my daughter, my sister, my son, a trainer we work with, that's it). They've tried to subvert him and get him to break his training just to prove they are the superior being because they aren't disabled and I am, therefore they have to be better, stronger, smarter, and more in control than me. In their mind, it's not right that I, a disabled person, have total control and command over Itzl.
That he's a service dog and is performing his duties is not as important to them as their uncontrollable urge to interrupt my life just so they can squee and command a dog who is working in a place normally forbidden to dogs.
Their needs, in their mind, supersede the relationship and partnership I have with Itzl.
Itzl calls these people "dirty paws person". He recognizes them faster than I do, sometimes even before they approach us. When he gives his "dirty paws" signal, I know to be wary of anyone approaching us. His signal has saved us grief since he coined it.
It's not just those who feel they should have more control over Itzl, and therefore me, because Itzl is small and cute and cuddly-looking. Even people who have dogs that look like the stereotypical service dog have problems - like Jim Stanek, whose service dog may have been ruined as a service dog because of the actions of people who should know better. There are people - entire cities! - that work to deprive people of their service dogs. That story had a good outcome - Jim Sak was reunited with his service dog and allowed to keep him.
I wrote a diary remembering service dogs who were murdered by others - don't read it if tragic stories make you cry (that's why I didn't link it - if you really want to read it, pm me and I'll send you the link).
The most common problem people with service dogs face is the sheer obstinate denial of access many restaurants, store managers, and even other customers present. I've written numerous diaries about the challenges we face - being followed by hotel security, being served food that was cold and almost inedible, being physically pushed out of stores, being bumped into by customers who didn't "approve" of me bringing in my "pet".
These people - all of them - feel they know more about the needs of the disabled with service dogs. They don't think we are smart enough to control our service dogs, or to handle them, or to take care of ourselves, or that we know our rights.
The benefits a service dog brings far outweighs - in my opinion - the work caring for a service dog brings. Caring for a sick dog, getting the grooming done, giving the dog breaks and down time, providing enrichment for the dog, routine vet car, toileting (one of the most difficult chores with a service dog is toileting! In some places, there is no viable, decent place to toilet a dog - and that includes "pet-friendly" places like PetsMart!)
Having a service dog even outweighs the people who think they are superior to me and know better.
Itzl has an insult for them - his "dirty paws" insult, the worst one he has.