creature comforts

[ans99]

this is a really interesting piece on service animals. it focuses primarily on psychiatric service animals (also known as "comfort animals") and discusses the legal struggle to define what exactly should be considered in the definition of a "service animal"-- thus allowing them access alongside their owners to various venues where animals are usually unwelcome. it emphasizes what seems to be the main problem-- the line that has to be drawn somewhere between the rights of the disabled and the need to enforce public safety.

it's a fascinating read, and it really hits home how animal companions can be a form of self-medication for many people suffering from disorders. because pets can buffer things like anxiety and depression some owners might not even be fully aware that's what's going on.

Comments

[catlips.livejournal.com]

in the hospital they brought in "therapy dogs"
it made the patients so happy. it was pretty cute.

i don't remember why, but i went a couple of weeks without cowperthwaite a year or two ago and felt so alone and sad! you don't notice it until they're gone...

[freyja.livejournal.com]

yeah, when i lost my cat i was hardpressed to draw the line between what was normal grief from the loss of a bond and what was me losing possibly the one individual who kept me emotionally stable growing up...

pets are such a normal thing for most of us that it's easy to forget the effect they have... i'm already missing my rats when i go on vacation and i've only had them since summer.

[primimproper.livejournal.com]

Los Angeles can be a horrible, horrible place to live. Yet, I see the craziest pets-in-public things - like a cat on a leash in an upscale shop - dogs in strollers... I think the tolerance of this (many places encourage pets to come inside) is a reaction to the stress of the city.

Cool article!

[freyja.livejournal.com]

could be! i don't know if new york would be so tolerant though, so i bet the west coast influence has a lot to do with it too :)

[fubarobfusco.livejournal.com]

the line that has to be drawn somewhere between the rights of the disabled and the need to enforce public safety

Thing is, many of the cases discussed in the article have nothing whatsoever to do with public safety. They have to do merely with the comfort levels of squeamish people who would probably prefer not to see disabled people (especially the mentally ill) around in public at all. And one person's comfort level does not give them the right to exclude someone else's disability accommodation from a public place.

[freyja.livejournal.com]

the whole time they were discussing the health risk macaques post in a restaurant i kept thinking about how unclean their children probably are too. :P