Category: Let's talk
My sister just called and wanted me to pose this question to y'all. It
seems that a girl brought her seizure dog into the I C U unit, where there
were fresh heart patients. Several people were very upset by this. When
asked to leave the dog at the nurses station, she whips out a small tape
recorder and starts yelling at the nurse, I'm going to sue you. This is a
seizure dog. The dog was dressed in clothes and riding in a stroller. Has
anyone heard of a seizure dog? Sound like an attention getter to me.
Dressed in Clothes and riding a stroller? What do y'all think. Would you
take your guide dogs into an I C U unit? If asked not to, would you be
amenable to that?
Carla
First of all, guide dogs are one thing. second of all, you really shouldn't take a dog into a hospital. Third of all, seizure dogs, what a bunch of shit. If I was aksed to take my dog out of the ICU, i would do it.
Absolutely, it should be a criminal offense to bring an animal into a hospital and anyone caught doing so should be banned from ever owning an animal ever again. If that person happenst to be blind, that's just tough, they shouldn't act like an irresponsible selfish bastard in the first place!
I agree. A dog doesn't belong to a hospital and also it should not wear clothes, this is nonsense, I think this is ridiculous.
i agree.
YES Carla, I have heard of seizure dogs. They are trained to be enabled to sense when a seizure is coming on in the person they are assigned to work with. Personallly I do not have a problem with guide dogs and seizure dogs being in hospitals although I can understand the request that they not be permitted in ICU and units where there are patients fresh from surgery. Usually in those units family members as it is are limited to one or two and then for sometimes only 5 minutes of every hour. I won't get into the issue of the clothes on a dog but I do know that in various rehab. units as well as nursing care facilities dogs are welcomed as part of therapy/healing to the patients. A way for them to reach outside of the pain as it is that they are in and receive comfort as it were from lively furry creatures. Connie
Carla, I wanted to add another point. You said your sister mentioned something about a stroller...as far as like in a baby stroller, this I would not care about having but there was this program that was televised about guide and working dogs and they talked of one that was this dog whose hind legs were paralized from some accident and so a seat of sorts was made where the dog could rest his stomach on and there were two wheels, one on ither side that took of the slack for his hind legs and in this way the dog was enabled to get about. This dog was in fact trained to be a working dog that was allowed to go into nursing and rehab. facilities. In particular this dog gave those to reach out who were in wheelchairs as it was realized this dog was in a wheelchair of sorts himself. Also it gave those who could benefit from advanced rehab. well, this dog presented an incentive to youth to carry on in the long hard hours of exercise for their limbs that was required. Connie
ok, firstly there are such things as saesure dogs, and I do agree that in certain situations service dogs such as these should be aloud into the hospital. Here in australia, petsis therapy is used in hospitals on rare accasions, particularly childrens hospitals. I don't know if they are aloud to be taken into the ICU unit though. To my knolege the only place that a guide dog isn't aloud to go ina hospital is in the operating theatre, it it is more a questionof the decency of the owner of the dog. I feel it is very inconsiderate of the dog owner to take his/her animal into and environment where the amune systems of the patients are weak as it is. there's no need to increase the risk of further infection by bringing a dog in, no matter how clean and well groomed it is. Personally I wouldn't take my guide dog into the ICU unit of the hospital unless there was absolutely no other way for me to avoid doing so. Obviously if I am the patient in the hospital then I have no need for my dog to be with me. so no need to go there.
I agree with puggle on this one. In the UK guide dogs are allowed in hospitals, and I do know of situations where the owner of such a dog took his dog to the ICU unit but was asked to leave the dog outside the actual ward at the nurse's station and was happy to do so as the nurse escorted him into the ward to see the patient he had come to visit. I think dog owners need to be considerate to the needs of others as well as themselves, and I think threatening to sue someone purely because they asked them not to bring the dog into the ICU unit is very selfish. I also know of a few other places where they strictly ask for no dogs. I know london zoo for example ask that you leave your guide dog at the reception and a guide will escort you round the premises as dogs can upset the animals (well they don't know it's a guide dog do they).
as for a dog being dressed up and pushed round in a stroller .. well I think it comes down to this need people seem to have to humanise their animals. They see them not as animals, but as their babies, substitute children almost. I think it's very sad, but it seems to be a growing trend. it's not just about dressing them up, but about feeding dogs scraps for instance, food which really is not good for them! yet if the dog eats it, then he must like it so we really shouldn't deprive him of these lovely things, that's their attitude, even though things like chocolate can be fatal to a dog. And it is not something which is unique to america - recently a centre opened in liverpool for obese pets.
A seizure alert dog goes everywhere with the person as they can detect a seizure up to 20 minutes before the person is even aware and guide them to safety. However I would hesitate to even suggest that this mutt was a seizure alert dog, as they do not wear clothes, just a harness and a florescent jacket similar to a guide dog,and they most cetainly do NOT ride around in a bloody pram it sounds as though she is at it...
A seizure alert dog goes everywhere with the person as they can detect a seizure up to 20 minutes before the person is even aware and guide them to safety. However I would hesitate to even suggest that this mutt was a seizure alert dog, as they do not wear clothes, just a harness and a florescent jacket similar to a guide dog,and they most cetainly do NOT ride around in a bloody pram it sounds as though she is at it...
Well yeah I agree, pets c an be therapy, but in a unit with heart patients, they do not belong.
In most states in the US it is illegal for a working dog to be denied access anywhere that the public is allowed; this meaning that it excludes private homes...And it can not be demanded that the working dog and his/her owner leave. This demand would be also illegal. However, though it is illegal for any place to deny the working couple access or any such thing, I too believe it comes down to curtacy. I'd never take my guide dog into an ICU of a hospital. However, my dog has come to the hospital when I was in there...She refused to eat otherwise.
First, dogs need to go in hospitals. I've had several occassions to need to go to the ER this year with my guide dog. I can't leave him in a car or anything. But yeah, I wouldn't take him into an ICU unit.
they would be safe if the dog had been well washed the previous day,... I still can't get over this need for americans to humanise their dogs,what is wrong with treating an animal as an animal...
it's still a matter of consideration. sometimes, it does not hurt to leave the dog at home, and if it is a ceasure alert dog, while I can understand the need for such a dog to be with it's owner at most times let's face it, if the owner has a ceasure, he she would have been in the best place visiting and ICU unit.
Hmmm but why was the mutt in a pushchair if it's lost the use of its back legs, they should either get it a chair, and allow it to live a productive life with freedom and dignity,or do the decent thing and have the dog euthanised
wELL i THINK THERE#S A DIFFERENT BETWEEN TAKING A GUIDE DOG TO A HOSPITAL BECAUSE YOU NEED HIM TO GUIDE YOU; OR A WORKING DOG TO A HEART-PATIENTS-UNIT:
I did see a programme about that once, but the dog wasn't in a pram, it had some sort of carriage type thing that supported its back legs, so the front legs effectively did all the work. It was somewhat undignified in my view and I'd never allow a dog of mine to live like that.
Undignified that a dog have it's own type of a wheelchair when need dictates in order for the dog to move about on its own and then given that in the program I had discussed this dog was in fact a productive working dog. Definitely NOT in my way of thinking. Placing a dog in a stroller and treating it as a child, Yes undignified. Next thing we will be hearing is that I would never allow a child/spouce/friend to be given a wheelchair in order to get around as it is so undignified you understand. Bull!
yes undignified because in these instances where a dog has lost the use of its back legs it is also incontinent and the results ... well when a dog has become housetrained and loses the ability to control when/where it urinates it is very distressing to the dog. so yes, it is totally undignified, you cannot draw comparisons between a dog which you put on a carriage whenever you are able to do so, hence the dog is immobile at night and unable to tell you when it needs to relieve itself, and a human being who is perfectly able to communicate it's wants/needs. no animal should be allowed to live like that, and yes, should be put to sleep.
Any dog that I have ever had or been around has always whether able to walk on it's own or otherwise has always been able to communicate it's needs to me. Ever hear of the term, Barking??? Now what about the human being who is UNABLE to as you stated, "perfectly communicate it's wants/needs".... is this person to also be put to sleep?? Each situation needs to be considered individually whether dog/other animal/human being. Again, just because a dog needs a wheel chair in order for functioning to be present is not undignified and ever hear of taking the dog out for a walk, well, in this case taking the dog in it's wheel chair out for a walk on regularly noted times? Also, in particular where instances have been shown that youth and too, the aged, are being encouraged to go on in various rehab. facilities, to do more, to become stronger than I can not understand putting such a dog down.