There is little doubt that animals can be incredibly beneficial for the mental health of people - especially children. I say this as a person whose two older daughters have ADHD, and who sees literally every day how pets at home really help the kids get better. In fact, such stories as these, and there are lots of them, are very instructive and heartwarming.
But sometimes parents, trying to both help their kids and save money on solving the problem, thereby create even more issues. As was the case with this mom from today’s story. However, it’s up to you to decide who’s right and who’s wrong here - so let’s go on reading.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post had a brother who had passed away around half a year ago
Image credits: Alexandra Mazzola / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The man was retired from the military and he had a trained service dog named Max to support him
Image credits: Significant-Quote986
Image credits: 24K Production / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Max is 6 years old, he was trained to help with PTSD, mobility support, and seizures, and is generally a very well-behaved dog
Image credits: Significant-Quote986
Image credits: Liza Summer / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Recently the author's cousin unexpectedly showed up and demanded they gave Max to her son in order to help with his anxiety
Image credits: Significant-Quote986
The author said a flat-out 'No' and then took heat from an angry mom calling them 'cruel'
So, this story happened when the Original Poster’s (OP) brother passed away, around half a year ago. The man was a retired military vet, and his service dog Max, six years old, was left with his sibling. Max is incredibly well-behaved, trained to help with PTSD, mobility support, and seizures, and is generally a really good dog.
Max missed his owner very much, so the author decided that the dog should stay in the family as a full member and spend the rest of his life in love and peace. However, their cousin obviously didn’t think so. This lady rarely communicated with the OP or their brother when he was alive, but one day she called and literally demanded that Max be given to her.
The reason? Well, according to the cousin, her son has anxiety, and he needs "a therapy dog." The original poster tried to gently explain that "a therapy dog" and a service animal, trained for years to perform specific tasks in order to help the military, belong to, well, quite different categories. But with each argument the author made, the cousin became more and more insistent.
Moreover, the next day she even showed up on their porch, offering them cash for Max; $300 for a trained service dog, which costs over $20K, and which went through fire and water with their late brother. In short, the author refused again - and this time received accusations of being cruel, "wasting Max's potential," and not caring for the kid's mental health. The OP remained adamant, but decided to take this online to vent about.
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Judging by the opinions of experts, the original poster is probably right in this situation - and it's not even about money. It's just that military working dogs, trained for veteran support, are very specific animals that may have a hard time getting along with children in an ordinary family atmosphere. Especially if the dog has spent a lot of time with one owner and has gotten used to him.
An adult animal - and six years is quite an old age for a dog - may need additional training in order to adapt to the needs of a child, and it’s far from certain that the parents of this boy could really establish the necessary connection between the two of them.
In any case, this mother, if she really wants the best for her child, should’ve contacted one of the pet shelters, or, for example, the 4 Paws For Ability organization, which actually deals with such issues. It is quite possible that the specialists there could have found a dog for the child that would really help him with his issues.
People in the comments also completely agreed with the author of the post, claiming that it would be much better for Max - and for the kid, too - to stay apart. Their reasoning was mainly because a service animal won’t perhaps help with the boy’s anxiety.
“Tell her to keep her $300 and take him to a doctor and get anxiety meds appropriate for her child,” some of the commenters wrote quite reasonably. By the way, do you, our dear readers, also agree with this point?
Most commenters sided with the author, claiming that a military service dog isn't actually a proper companion for a kid with anxiety
