Seizure Alert Dogs
We are always relying on our best friends the dogs for all sorts of things. We use guide dogs for the blind, hearing dogs for the deaf and now we even have seizure alert dogs for those suffering from epilepsy.
Epilepsy is a serious illness that can cause recurring seizures, loss of consciousness and muscle spasms.
Dogs, such as the labrador talked about in this CNN article, are able to predict the early stages of a seizure that are too sensitive for us humans to pick up on, giving valuable time for people to respond or get help, sometimes as much as 20 or 40 minutes. There is a huge waiting list for people wanting seizure dog companions, who are trained to do things like go for help, press a button to ring for assistance and help with everyday immobility tasks.
According to one expert in the article, ordinary untrained pets may also be able to detect the early signs of a seizure as his epilepsy patients have reported the dogs becoming distressed and anxious in the hour before a seizure. Very interesting stuff.
Oct 23, 2008 | | News
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October 24th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
There is a lot more different types of service dogs out there in todays society then those you mentioned. Such as Autism Service Dogs, Parkinson Service Dogs and Pyschiatric Service dogs. Many tasks could basically interlock with other types of service dog tasks such as mobility and getting things and call 911.
Of course not all dogs could alert but will respond to such disorders such as seizures. Cats also could detect seizures as well as breathing disorders.