Hi,
Soon after the car accident that started all of this pain and the rollercaoster Im now on, my lawyer requested that I get an "impairment study". I was found to be impaired, and I believe that the # was 35% - and this was in 2010. I have now been having increasing issues with pain, inflammation, mobility - enough so that Im taking our younger dog (who has been a certified therapy dog all along, and has always come to work with me anyways) to be able to pick up my keys, or any other item as I drop them. I not only have fibro, but have my neck fused on 2 levels, my lower back has 1 disc that was bulging andwas "snipped', 1 that is still bulging - but that pain is not constant, and my right kneehas been operated on twice. I know have my right side (shoulder and hip) sit quite a bit higher than the left. I also have almost total loss of feeling in my pinky and ring fingers on both hands, and all of the other fingers feel like I have big, bulky gloves on - and I often drop everything and anything I try to grasp.
So, my question is: do I need to be declared disabled to have my dog be trained (by myself) as my service animal?? He has also taight himself to alert my to when my blood pressure suddenly spikes - so he would fit the criteria, and have no issues with a temperment/behavior test. Im just unsure if I should see my Dr to see if I am legally disabled - or if this would cause me issues w/ me wanting to stay workng full time?