University gives value to assistance dogs

Núria Ripoll

According to various studies, 78,9% of people say that "their pet" is one more member of the family and, even, for 9,4% it is the most important being within the family nucleus; while, as indicated by the Spanish Network for the Identification of Companion Animals (REIAC), the number of registered pets amounts to 13 million, of which just over 7 million are dogs. For this reason, on the occasion of the World San Antón Day, which is celebrated today, January 17, the URJC Chair for Animals and Society explains the need for the help of these animals for certain people with disabilities or groups in special need. support, as well as what types of assistance dogs exist.

“According to the law, an assistance dog is one that has been individually trained to perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability. For this reason, this animal must receive specific training from specialized and legally recognized persons or institutions, ensuring that it is not another new exploitation of the dogs, from their breeding, selection, training and coexistence, which must be done by creating a respectful relationship. ”, details Nuria Máximo, director of the URJC Animal and Society Chair.

For this reason, the relationship with assistance dogs promotes a better quality of life and independence for certain sectors of society that have a recognized physical, mental or sensory disability such as blindness or deafness or specific medical needs such as diabetes, epilepsy or narcolepsy. For its part, the assistance dog must present certain characteristics such as being docile, calm and having little aggressiveness, being affectionate and having a great capacity for learning, as well as a correct reaction to sounds and signals.

“It is essential that these animals are specifically trained to meet the specific needs of the person they are accompanying. For this reason, there are different types of assistance dogs, since this modality includes guide dogs, service dogs, autism dogs, medical alert dogs and signal dogs. However, it should be noted that Spain does not currently have a unitary law in this sense for all the autonomous communities, since only Catalonia, the Basque Country, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Galicia and Madrid have it, while the rest of the communities only accredit guide dogs”, details Nuria Máximo.

In this way, assistance dogs are classified as guide dogs, intended to guide people with visual disabilities; service dogs, educated and trained to help people with physical disabilities, increasing their autonomy and well-being; autism dogs, whose purpose is to protect the physical integrity of people with autism spectrum disorder and improve their communication, sensory stimulation and safety; medical alert dogs, designed to help people who suffer from a medical condition related to epilepsy or diabetes and ask for help if necessary; and signal dogs, whose objective is to notify people with hearing disabilities of various sounds and indicate their source.