Today the 15th November is Assistance Dog Awareness Week and like all of us, those with assistance dogs love to travel just as much as the next person.
Sometimes the thought of travelling with an assistance dog can be overwhelming, daunting and even just nerve racking as you are not sure where to begin, what airlines, hotels or cruise ships will allow an assistance dog on board and how to arrange it all.
That is where we come in! The Boarding Time team have been privileged to organise travel for clients with assistance dogs many times before and are very knowledgeable on the who, what, when and how’s of arranging all the right documents, bookings and requests.
One of our long-time clients George was kind enough to write a few words to share on his experiences on life with his assistance dog Lucy and how Lucy handles the attention when they travel together:
“I am an Australian Army Veteran who has deployed overseas a number of times. As a result of my deployments I suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I have tried many things to help me reduce the symptoms of PTSD and not much really worked until I met a person who had an assistance dog to help him. After some interactions with my new friend’s dog I immediately felt much better. I decided then to obtain and train my own service dog. My dog training journey began in 2017 and I have never looked back.
Lucy and I form a team. We both learned how to react in various situations. I taught Lucy the basic skills of ‘sit, stop, stay, heel and recall’. Also Lucy had to learn how to detect my PTSD symptoms and how to react to them. My most significant symptom of PTSD is anxiety episodes in public places, like shopping malls, cafes etc. When I have an anxiety episode Lucy reacts by inserting herself between what is upsetting me and my body. This is called ‘blocking’. If I am having a meltdown Lucy will insert herself between my legs so as to distract me from whatever is triggering me.
Lucy and I go almost everywhere together. Many people ask if they can pat Lucy. I nearly always agree but I set her up first. Lucy is ordered to adopt a ‘sit and stay’ and the person can then pat her. Lucy gives me so much pleasure when she is giving strangers happiness. I see so many people with smiles on their faces after interacting with Lucy. She is particularly patient with young children and toddlers. Lucy seems to understand the need to be still and gentle with the youngster.”
Over the coming week we will showcase which airlines, cruise ships and hotels welcome assistance dogs and their families, what facilities are available and showcase how easy we can make it for you and your assistance dog to travel the world together.
Please reach out to our team with any questions or enquiries you have and let us create your next special holiday for you.
We will end our intro of Assistance Dog Awareness Week with a little video of George and Lucy having some fun in the sun.
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