The Logistical, Social and Financial Value of Service Dogs

A White Poodle Working as a Mobility Service Dog

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) aims to increase independence and enhance the quality of life for individuals with disabilities. Certainly, technology has supported this mission by providing sources of assistance for those with ambulatory challenges. Examples of mobility-aiding devices include electric wheelchairs and scooters, prosthetic devices and orthotics, and elegantly designed walkers and canes. Cleaning robots and smart home technology systems help as well.

White Poodle, Lido, Training to be a Service Dog

Logistical Benefits

Although these devices address many needs of people with disabilities, their life management requirements (as do all of ours) extend beyond just mobility. Hygiene, dressing, shopping, making meals, doing laundry – a disability doesn’t lessen any of these burdens. Medical devices, no matter how advanced, don’t address all of these needs. That’s where service dogs come in.

Service dogs perform an impressive array of tasks for people with mobility constraints. For example, dogs can open and close doors, push elevator call buttons, turn light switches on and off, help someone up from a sitting or lying position, assist a person in and out of baths and pools, help get clothing and shoes on and off, pull wheelchairs, carry packages and pull a person to safety in case of an emergency.

Mobility Service Dog Working In An Office

Social Benefits

What about social needs involving interpersonal contact and community integration? Service dogs play an important role here as well.

Much anecdotal evidence points to the emotional support handlers derive from their service dogs. Research has also shown that people without disabilities express fewer negative attitudes toward individuals with disabilities who are accompanied by service dogs. At the same time, people with disability challenges get boosts in confidence and self-esteem from the aid and companionship their service dogs provide.

One study looked at how having a service dog affected the psychological and emotional well-being of the dogs’ handlers. The researchers found the canine-assisted experimental group fared significantly better on an array of measures than did a control group with similar disabilities but without canine assistance. Having a service dog was associated with improvements in:

• Self-esteem.

• Sense of control over one’s life circumstances.

• Feelings of psychological well-being.

• Experience of being part of the community.

Individuals with service dogs also gained efficacy in attending school and gaining part-time employment.

Isabelle and Winston, a Mobility Service Dog, Taking a Walk Outside Together

Economic Benefits

People with disabilities often require assistance from paid providers or dedicated family members. Having a service dog can dramatically change the economics of dealing with a disability. The researchers who conducted the study noted above found, that after 12 months of ownership, a service dog significantly reduced the number of weekly paid assistance hours required by the dogs’ handlers. The dogs studied produced a net financial benefit after several years, taking into account the costs of dog training and maintenance, balanced against the fees paid for outside provider assistance.

Similarly, the presence of a service dog was also associated with a decrease of about 64 percent in bi-weekly unpaid assistance hours. This effect substantially reduces the time and economic burden experienced by the friends and family of a person with a disability.

Service dogs are miracle workers in many ways. It is heartening to know that their costs of training and upkeep are more than returned through psychological, social and economic benefits. The comments of one study participant (a person living with a spinal cord injury) are enlightening: “With my dog, I feel safe and capable, and I am no longer afraid of the future. Everyone needs someone to care for, and we care for each other with dignity.”

All images courtesy of MobiityDog.org.