Panic/Anxiety Service Dog Alert on video.

Today I was asked “is that a real service dog?”
I responded “Yes and a real good one too.”

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Oakley alerted and acted 3 times at the airport today. I caught the last ones on video because I could feel them coming.
One of the many tasks Oakley performs is alerting to anxiety/panic attacks and de-escalating them.
He has been taught to break my hands apart and away from my face and is supposed to encourage me to put my hands and even face on him - which calms me down. I think he did an excellent job!

There is so much to say on this matter, but I will just leave this video here for you to see for yourself. Sharing this video and these things make me vulnerable, but I’m sharing them with you so you can see how this dog has changed my life. This video was much longer but was edited down for viewing purposes.

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[stephful]

When I’ve had panic attacks and can’t stop crying my dog just naturally comes to me and won’t stop nudging me till I pet her, that calms me down and really helps. Dogs are amazing

[servicepawsandvlogs]

Hello (: just wanted to stop by and explain the differences for anyone confused.
An ESA is an emotional support animal who helps their owner by making them feel comforted with just the animals presence. This animal can be any kind from a snake to a hamster. ESA’s do not have public access meaning they are not allowed in non pet friendly places. They are allowed in no pet housing and to fly with their owner as long as the owner provides a doctors note.

A therapy dog is a dog who is specifically trained to help people feel comfort. They go through testing and are only allowed in a non pet friendly place if they are invited. Such as hospitals, nursing homes, ect. These dogs you can always pet and interact with! They are there to make people feel happy and comforted.

Now, a service animal. (Not a “companion animal” not a “ESA”) A service dog is a tasked trained dog or miniature horse. The handler of a service dog must be disabled, and the dog must perform specific tasks to help their disability. For example, if someone is having a panic attack the dog would provide Deep Pressure Therapy or perhaps retrieve medication to help their handler. Or for someone with autism, the dog could alert to self harm with behavior interruption. Tasks for service dogs range very wide. There are many types of service dogs, medical alert dogs, psychiatric dogs, mobility dogs, diabetic alert dogs, seeing eye dogs, ect. If you see a service dog in public please ignore the dog because the have an important job to do. Distracting them can put a handler or even the dog in danger of the dog misses an alert or command. Service dogs do not always wear a vest because legally they don’t have to (this is because some disabilities might limit the handlers so much that vesting can be hard to do). THERE IS NO REGISTRATION OR ID FOR SERVICE ANIMALS. If a person present some type of ID tag or card for their “service animal” it is not legitimate and is a pet. You can buy those online any real handler knows this information it’s a big issue. Lastly, Do not pet a service dog.


There has been a lot of controversy in this thread about wether anxiety counts as a disability. While psychiatric service dogs are still pretty new to the service dog world I can say that yes, if the case is severe enough then anxiety can qualify as a disability. This is not an opinion this is fact. You can have your opinions but please keep them to yourself. People who rely on service dogs don’t have them because they are “fun”. They have them because they can’t function without them. It’s not fun. It’s expensive it’s time consuming it’s hard to keep up with the training. I hope I cleared some things up for people.


**A person can be disabled and have a dog but that does not make the dog a service dog. A person can have a very well trained dog but that doesn’t make it a service dog. A person can have a disability AND a well trained dog but again, that doesn’t make the dog a service dog. The dog MUST be trained to perform TASKS. If it doesn’t perform a task it is NOT a service dog.**

[emmawilliams]

You just breathed hard and he knew exactly what was going on and sprinted into action ugh what a good doggo❤️

[Dvdog]

Mark Twain once said "If there no dogs in Heaven, when I die, I want to go where they went"

[uyesdnoedcpsabrinakittyb]

When your Service Dog cares more about you than most people

[gelatinskeleton]

This is one of the saddest yet happiest things I’ve ever seen.

I suffer greatly from anxiety… but I’m not someone who has a service animal. This was beautiful to see play out.

[joyl]

My dog does this too, without any training :) We just have a great bond.

[gopetpals]

Service dogs are truly amazing ❤
Such a good pup, he is so devoted and loving.

[bruhhbrahh]

I cried when I saw this. I understand that it's hard to be anxious/panic attack and you're afraid to ask for help from your friend because they' might going to judge you. But not dogs. Dogs will never judge. Dogs will just love you.

[rjc]

It's like the dog knew you set up the camera to show the panic attack, that's awesome and a coincidence I'm sure.A ...content creator and trained dog? ...lol 😆

[siggilinde]

I just jokingly told my dog "look! Service dogs! They do something usefull! What have you been doing today? That's right, licking yourself and rolling in dirt😆!" Then I looked at the video and saw the same behavior my dog shows whenever I have an anxiety attack and now I feel like a useless ungrateful piece of sh* 😢

❤ She is an anxious dog herself. She wasn't trained. But she just knows how it is and what can help ❤

Dogs are just angels on earth

[alvarovalle-inclan]

The dog's not even looking at her and the minute she covers her face it knows perfectly. What amazing creatures.

[texcohen]

I had anxiety issues when I was younger, my heart goes out to you. With positive thinking, CBT it gets better. Hang in there, wishing you the best.

p.s. your dog is awesome.

[g_eventing]

Thank you for normalizing that when we get upset so do our service dogs. With my PTSD triggers and bouts of anxiety when aspen is responding to my being upset, he does that’s similar concerned whine. Fantastic job on your service dogs response beautiful team!!

[Chirpingcherub]

Aww the noises he’s making “oh herrrr murrrr” translates to “hoooman nooo cry hoooman is wuv u”

[aqauralive]

I am in the middle of training my service dog to do these sorts of tasks along with DPT, stops me from doing self harming behaviors, distracting me from panic ans shock, and many other things. I am so grateful for dogs and animals in general!

[leopinewoodlane]

This almost made me cry. What a good boy.

[tomatozest]

This is really helpful. I’ve been in therapy for years and still experience frequent panic attacks- meds help, but I need to get the dosage upped once every 4-6 months and it’s just not a sustainable solution. I’m looking at alternatives and seeing a service dog trained for panic and anxiety disorders in action is really helpful

[LittleOne]

Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones or the fact that dogs are amazing, that has me crying right now.

[posssums]

looks like he loves his job and he loves helping you