Question about therapy dogs

[alsatianwolf]

Hi all, I hope this is the right place to post.

I wanted to ask about therapy/emotional support dogs in Australia and the process of registering a companion as one. (I am 18, female).

I'm hoping to go to the GP soon about my ongoing depression/anxiety issues and thought about bringing up my dog. She is a young german shepherd who is incredibly smart and loving and just wants to be with me 24/7. She has some minor behavioural issues with strange dogs but is otherwise incredibly friendly to people and I am planning on training sessions soon. I have gotten to the point of not wanting to leave my house for anything other than work or taking my dog out. If she's there, then I'm much more able to cope with the anxiety of being with other people. She is my whole world and I feel like it would give me purpose again, to train her to help me and to strengthen our bond. I know my GP must give me a medical certificate to allow for this but I'm not even sure if I would qualify. I just know that for myself, to have her with me, would give me so much security and reassurance. I realise I must sound like someone who just wants to take their dog everywhere but I wanted to ask for some help.

So tl;dr:

Looking for info on therapy/emotional support companion animals in australia (specifically brisbane) and what is required to register one.

[Peppermintbach]

Hi alsatianwolf,

Your gorgeous German Shephard clearly means the world to you. You share a very special bond...

It sounds like she really helps ground your anxiety, & makes you feel more settled around strangers. I think she makes you feel safe...she’s your friend & protector.

I think if you search “how to register therapy dogs, Queensland” in your browser, a couple of state government sites should show up.

I’m not a legal expert or doctor; I’m just your average person trying to help out. But just at a glance on some of those sites, I think key considerations include:

• Verifying if she is recognised as an appropriate breed to be a therapy dog.
• Training and registration by an authorised trainer or organisation
• Dog needs to pass the Public Access Test (PAT) as per the Guide Hearing and Assistance Dogs Act (2009).
• You need to have a disability/health condition recognised by the Guide, Hearing and Assistance Dogs Act (2009)

I think there are other considerations too, but those are the ones that stood out to me.

As I suggested, if you search on your browser, there should be more detailed information from your state government 🙂

Kindness & care,

Pepper

[alsatianwolf]

Hi Pepper,

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond! I did a bit of googling but I might need to be a bit more thorough. Your answer alone is super helpful, I didn't see anything about a PAT but I'm sure she'd do great. It all comes down to what my general practitioner/mental health plan decides for me as well.

I'll keep researching. Thanks again 🙂 x

[Peppermintbach]

Hi alsatianwolf,

You’re most welcome 🙂 I’m happy that I could give you some ideas.

Your gorgeous dog sounds very bright. Hopefully your GP was able to give you some advice about registering therapy dogs.

Kindness and care,

Pepper

[mirjanamia]

Thanks for the information in this thread. This list of documents looks long, but I think my dog and I will go through this together, and I will be fine.
Glad that you have a more or less official system to register ESAs. The rest of the world, including the US, has not developed such a system yet. We must rely on this Emotional support animal guide to get things done in the US. It does not even mean that your animal will be recognized officially in all the organizations or airlines. It depends on their policy and is totally up to them. I am going to come to Australia next month, and I hope that I will manage to do everything right.