Our psychiatric service dogs are what we call our angels in disguise. They are trained to assist their handlers with a number of psychiatric conditions and symptoms such as post-traumatic stress, severe depression, anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorder, dementia, phobias, and paranoia. Our dogs are able to:
· Decrease agitation and aggression
· Increase social interaction or provide a socially acceptable reason to leave
· Decrease loneliness
· Provide exercise for dopamine release and structure / routine
· Ease anxiety and depression
· Lessen signs of paranoia
· Ease the mental burden of daily activities
Tasks that Psychiatric Service Dogs can perform include but are not limited to:
· Remind handler to take medication
· Provide Deep Pressure Therapy
· Wake the handler and encourage to get out of bed
· Serve as a physical buffer in public
· Provide tactile stimulation
· Interrupt repetitive or harmful behaviours
Everybody applying for a psychiatric service dog must follow our owner trained program and first complete the Emotional Support Dog Skills Course with our Sister company - Just Dogs Behaviour (www.justdogs.co.za/jdesd)
Note that we require a letter from a psychiatrist or psychologist to say that the handler is able to care for and train a service dog, and that the service dog will in fact benefit them. Our dogs can be custom trained to meet your needs.
Honeys Garden is a nonprofit, 2016/387235/08 organization whose mission is to place quality service dogs with people within South Africa who are under privileged, fighting with disabilities or diseases, and veterans who have lost use of limbs or hearing. We also help with animal rescue, and educate the public regarding use of service dogs in public places.
