Service Dogs can help someone injured in a car accident. But what if that injury never occurred?

If you're reading this blog we're preaching to the choir when we talk about how valuable Service and Assistance Dogs can be to those who have been seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident. From mobility impairments to brain and neurological injuries, Service and Assistance Dogs can be trained to complete indispensable tasks for their disabled owners.

Of course we would love to see more Service and Assistance Dogs trained and placed with disabled people. But what we would love to see even more would be fewer preventable injuries.
 
Car accidents are the leading cause of acquired disability in the United States. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hasn't finished estimates for 2009, but their 2008 statistics cite 16 million vehicle crashes resulting in 2,346,000 people injured. Many of these accidents could have been prevented by simply using a seat belt.

There have been two large scale public service announcements in the United States within the past 30 years. The crash-test dummies and currently the click it or ticket campaign. Those campaigns have been successful, but personally, I don't feel their messages have been as beautifully compelling as the brand new PSA from Sussex for Safer Roads Partnership in the United Kingdom (shown below).

So please. Fasten your seat belt. And please make sure your Service or Assistance Dog is secured too.
Visit Bark Buckle Up for more information.

Service Dog numbers likely to increase as population ages

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services came out with a report this morning with some not-so-surprising results. The number of adults in the United States reporting disabilities increased by by 3.4 million between 1999 and 2005,. The study, published in today′s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, finds an estimated 1 in 5 U.S. adults (47.5 million, or 21.8 percent) report a disability. The three most common causes of disability among adults in the United States are arthritis or rheumatism, back or spine problems, and heart disease.

“It is likely we will see more dramatic increases in the number of adults with a disability as the baby boomer population begins to enter higher risk, older age groups over the next 20 years,” said Chad Helmick, M.D., CDC medical epidemiologist and coauthor of the study. “CDC is working with state health departments and communities to expand the availability of self-management education programs and interventions, such as appropriate physical activity programs, that can reduce the impact of disability.”

Arthritis encompasses more than 100 diseases and conditions that affect joints and other connective tissue. Training Service and Assistance Dogs for arthritis, rheumatism and other mobility conditions will most likely increase as well. Dogs can be trained to open and close doors, retrieve medicines, tools or other objects.

The study of data collected from the U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation found that women ( 24.4 percent ) have a higher prevalence of disability compared with men ( 19.9 percent ) at all ages. The study also found that disability prevalence doubled for each successive age group — 11.0 percent for ages 18-44, 23.9 percent for ages 45-64, and 51.8 percent for ages 65 or older.

For more information please visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

• Arthritis
• Disabilities
• Heart Disease