Jewel, Mary, and House Bill 329

Mary Vaughn and Pawsibilities Unleased in support of House Bill 329

"Thank you for the opportunity to represent the service dog handler community at this hearing today. My name is Mary Vaughn and this is my Medical Alert Dog, Jewel.

In 2002, I was hit by a Mack truck and came away with several injuries, the greatest of which was a traumatic brain injury which caused neurocardiogenic syncope, or passing out with seizures, with little to no warning and severe migraines. I also suffered from panic attacks around large trucks. I became reclusive.

In 2007, the training organization Pawsibilities Unleashed and Liz Norris showed me that a well-trained service dog could change my life. With Jewel, I could once again trust myself to go places and know that she would cue me before I passed out so that I could get in a safe place and take my medicine. Soon, I was able to drive again and be independent again. Fast forward 11years and I am in a confident place with fewer seizures, migraines and panic attacks because of my SD Jewel.

Medical alert service dog, Jewel.

I chose to have a small service dog because she could be close to me and smell what was going on with me at all times. However, she has always raised a lot of curiosity.

That’s ok. I like to educate.

Unfortunately with the onslaught of fraudulent untrained service and emotional support animals, it has become a real problem. People now look at my well-behaved Jewel with suspicion and derision, making snide remarks instead of asking polite questions because they have seen such horrid behavior from other “service dogs”. Thousands of hours of ongoing training go into a good service dog, not to mention the financial investment, and we as LEGITIMATE service dog handlers support the elimination of this fraud.

I support this bill and hope that it leads to a national solution to this problem. Thank you again for this opportunity."

LINK to House Bill 329