Service Dogs & Dementia

Service dogs aid people with disabilities to lead active and fulfilling lives without being fully dependent on loved ones to perform daily tasks. While using service dogs to aid people who suffer from dementia is a newer and ambitious pairing, the benefits for a dementia patient are showing promise. No longer confined to their homes and terrified of sudden onsets of symptoms, dementia patients are depending on service dogs to keep them active and able to get to safety if confusion takes over.

Dementia

• The Mayo Clinic defines dementia as not a disease itself but "a group of symptoms affecting intellectual and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily functioning." These symptoms include at least two of the following: personality changes; language difficulty; memory loss and inability to retain new information; inappropriate behavior including paranoia, agitation and inability to reason; confusion; and hallucinations. Alzheimer's patients exhibit many of these symptoms in the moderate to severe stages of the disease.

Function

• A service dog for a person with dementia has the primary role of keeping the person safe. People with dementia are prone to wandering off, often without telling anyone, and tend to get lost or confused, unable to get home. The service dog will lead its handler back home or to a safe place before signaling for help by barking. As the handler walks, the dog also shepherds her to safe routes, out of traffic and away from uneven or hole-ridden paths. If the handler gets lost without the dog with her, the dog tracks and locates the person.

Difficulties

• The hardest part of finding an appropriate service dog to serve a person with dementia is the stable, unwavering loyalty that most dog owners take for granted. Sometimes when confused dementia patients experience memory loss or hallucinations, they can become violent, hitting or berating their service dog. If ever a patient becomes violent, the service dog must be able to stay near enough to the patient to "herd" him to safety but permit enough distance to not be hit. The dog must also have enough strength of character to not allow the violence or berating to discourage its duties.

Breed

• According to Myrna Shiboleth in an interview with the Jerusalem Post, "the only breed we found that has just the right balance of devotion and resilience and strength of character, and that knows when to take over" is the smooth collie. Shiboleth is a dog breeder and trainer of the first successfully trained service dogs for Alzheimer's patients in the world. The smooth collie is decedent of the Scottish herding stock of collies, a breed distinguished for its intelligence, loyalty and guiding instinct.

Benefits

• An Alzheimer patient named Yehuda describes the marked improvement in his life since pairing with his service dog, Polly: "Because of her I am still part of society. Since I have her, I haven't been afraid to go out to fall or get lost. Because of her I feel free..." A service dog helps a dementia sufferer keep isolation at bay, urging the patient to remain active and participating in society. Instead of becoming a financial and logistical burden, a person can still lead a fulfilling life with the aid and safety of a service dog protecting her and guiding her home when necessary.