Actually, not all Service Dogs are AKC or puppy raised. A number of places, including my organization, use rescues. Many also are owner trained due to the long waiting list for the dogs fitting their disability need. That's how I ended up developing Shore Service Dogs. Unfortunately my rescued dogs don't fit the AKC category or qualify for their health insurance or another Service Organization's coverage. I have to use VPI and so far they've been not too helpful.

As to the dog I was talking about, he's been "retired' from going on to someone else (the day he went down I immediately retired him). While the stones aren't a big deal as once they've been analyzed, they're easily monitored and controlled by diet, the unknown paralysis washed him out (he was just about finished with his training of course). I'll be keeping him with me to help teach future Service Dogs that I train so he'll always stay "in training". He loves training and has been a very unhappy pupper during his paralysis recovery because he wasn't able to train with the other dogs. Figures Murphy's Law kicks in just as he was getting back to the point where he could finally deal with a limited work schedule. Although that wasn't going to be for very long since having to haul him around when he was still unable to walk made my TOS a lot worse and has me to the point where I need to finally get that surgery (which I really didn't want to have to do).

He actually had to do the same as me tho in that he had to travel a fair distance to get treated by places that had a clue. Around here, he has the same lack of options I've been experiencing with my own health issues. It was only sheer luck that I found out about the lithotripsy because the local (and non local) vets said it wasn't being done on animals.

In my case I've done 5 years of being treated for everything but TOS because none of the specialists around here even knew what it was. I finally said the heck with it and decided the discomfort of the long drive to Hopkins was worth it just to find someone that had a clue about how to get this problem under control so I can get back to some semblance of normalcy.

My biggest regret is that I didn't know about TOS before I had my cervical fusion. If I'd only known about this board back then I'm certain I would have had a totally different outcome. I'm very thankful I ran across this site where you can talk to such supportive people like yourselves who've gone through similar TOS issues and are willing to share their experiences and information. I've already learned quite a lot by reading through the archives and that's going to be a huge help with knowing what I should expect from my upcoming surgery. Hopefully maybe some of my experiences and info might be of help to others too.