Trying to squeeze a little lemon juice out of my new status

[ChinaCabinet]

Sorry, I'm not one for brevity so please bear with me.

I was diagnosed HIV+ a couple months ago, right after Thanksgiving, so much for my favorite holiday.

Mentally I'm having a hard time coping with it.  For awhile all I did after work was sit on my bed and stare at the wall.  I've totally withdrawn from all my friends and most family.  The ones I haven't is only because I work with them.  Don't worry, I'll return once I accept, I've always dealt with problems on my own.

Anyways, heres my bogel.  On my second visit to my primary caregiver I posed a request.  Usually I wouldn't make such a request this early in a professional relationship but I figured it could give me a fill for him.  I had asked him if he would approve me for a handicap placard.  I had researched it prior to the visit and found that HIV patients do qualify under the ADA protection laws.  I informed my Dr. the soul purpose for my request was that my dog then could be considered a service dog.  ADA law does stipulate that HIV patients are allowed service dogs for anxiety, scheduling and so forth and they don't need to be certified either.

As I am informing you I too informed my Dr. during our visit.  By a chance of luck I picked my pup up two days prior to being diagnosed.  The benefits I gain from my dog are numerous.  Me just staring at the wall isn't fair to him, in lieu I'm taking him to the park now.  At the park I pick up garbage.  Doing good deeds has always put me in better spirits.  He also helps me with my adherence to my medication.  When I feed him in the morning I take my pill.  So if I should forget one, the other reminds me.  Since I haven't been associating with anyone he's been my rock.  He's a beagle by the way and cute as a button.

I assured my Dr. that I wasn't trying to get the placard so I could take closer parking spots at the stores or theater seats from senior citizens and severely disabled people.  I was honest in telling him that a major motive was that I'm a huge National Parks fan and I madly love hiking and camping at the parks.  Unfortunately the NPS does not allow dogs on trails (one of the few NPS rules I don't agree with).  Buuut they do allow service dogs!

Unfortunately my Dr. flat out turned me down citing that I would be abusing it and that he doesn't think I qualify.

Now I'm not the type who goes crying to another because I didn't get my way but this is my health that is the topic.  Am I wrong to feel that I do qualify?  My dog has been through my worse life moments, why can't I include him in my best?  I also foresee that while I'm out camping I might actually begin to enjoy life again and have fun.  While having fun I may forget to take my pill and having my dog could circumvent it.

I can't see another Dr. cause he's the closest and only infectious disease Dr. near me and I still have to travel 110 miles to visit him.  Also, he's the Dr. and is probably right and even if he isn't he doesn't know me well enough and is entitled to his opinion.

Maybe I'm reaching for anything to justify it but sometimes you got to grip and rip those lemons to get a drop of juice.

[CaveyUK]

It looks like their conditions are rather vague...

from https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.html

Q1. What is a service animal?
A. Under the ADA, a service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability.  The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person's disability.

Q2. What does "do work or perform tasks" mean?
A. The dog must be trained to take a specific action when needed to assist the person with a disability. For example, a person with diabetes may have a dog that is trained to alert him when his blood sugar reaches high or low levels. A person with depression may have a dog that is trained to remind her to take her medication. Or, a person who has epilepsy may have a dog that is trained to detect the onset of a seizure and then help the person remain safe during the seizure.

Q3. Are emotional support, therapy, comfort, or companion animals considered service animals under the ADA?
A. No.  These terms are used to describe animals that provide comfort just by being with a person.  Because they have not been trained to perform a specific job or task, they do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.  However, some State or local governments have laws that allow people to take emotional support animals into public places.  You may check with your State and local government agencies to find out about these laws.

They are quite clear that dogs used for emotional support or companionship do NOT qualify, and yet a dog trained to remind their handler to take medication WOULD.

I am guessing somewhat, but I presume the doc doesn't feel you qualify because :

1. Your desire to take your dog on nature trails, implies you are looking to apply for companionship purposes.

2. Your dog is not specifically trained to assist you with your condition. Just being a reminder to take meds when feeding him doesn't constitute being trained.

3. The danger involved if you missed one day of meds or took them late is not comparable to the danger with other conditions of missed doses which could be fatal or result in a higher risk of an accident.

I would probably suggest contacting the ADA directly (there is an info line on that link) and discussing with them if you qualify as well as your local state authorities (as mentioned above - you may live somewhere which is more sympathetic to your cause), and then if so taking that information back to your doctor - assuming you have to get clearance from your doctor to apply, I don't know and is probably an area you could research too as you may just be able to apply yourself independently.

I suspect the key here is the dog being trained for a specific purpose, so you may want to look into that area directly, especially if you are prone to anxiety attacks etc.

It's great that your dog is helping you deal with your condition, but try not to limit your social interaction to the dog. HIV is a manageable condition these days, and there is no reason to retract into your shell due to it.

[joemutt]

i think your doctor did the right thing.

[harleymc]

What has your health got to do with taking a dog into a National Park?
The purpose of a National Park is to preserve local flora and fauna.

[ChinaCabinet]

Thanks for the replies.  After posting I looked into it more.  While the ADA leaves some parts of it vague in other ADA website pages it gets more specific.  I just decided it's an issue I'm not going to battle over, which is rare.

Directed towards Harleymc, I was speaking more of mental than physical.  I won't go to much into it cause I'm not offended by your reply nor do I want this to become a heated argument but NPS lovers are divided on whether dogs should be allowed.  The reason most offer for not allowing canines is because as you mention they might hurt flora and fauna and that is just being ridiculous.  Obviously they pose a risk but canines offer a fraction of the threat that humans do.  Last time I checked my dog wasn't picking endangered flowers to put in his collar for aesthetics.  God forbid that a chipmunk gets chased up a tree or a deer gets spooked and has to run away, which he'll do anyways from the sight of humans.  Having back country hiked numerous parks and returning with garbage bags full of trash that I did not pack in I still yet have to pick up a piece of garbage left by a dog. 

If these people are worried about the flora and fauna they can do their part by not recreating at the park.  The NPS list other reasons, almost all of which can easily have a hole blown through.  I will say however that bad owners with untrained canines do make these rules logical but again, thats human error.