Service Dog’s Mobility support Harness

Hello, for those of you that don’t know me my name is Victor, I have cerebral palsy, I also have a service dog named Sequoia, I primarily need him  for Mobility. Though I use an electric wheelchair Sequoia helps me with picking up items and transfers to the rest room, my bed, or another chair  safely . The way he does this is not by completely supporting my weight  but, through  counter balance. Basically, he just helps keep me centered and thus more stable. However, as I’ve gotten older my chronic back  pain has gotten worse and my muscles more stiff, it is not  reasonable  to continue to primarily  use pressure from my fingers or light pressure from my hands.

Therefore, after much thought on what would work best for me.  At work at Disney, home and other  situations such as theme parks public restrooms  and airplanes, I have chosen A harness from bold lead designs. It is the most customizable harness I have found for my needs. With attachments like one  handed buckles, this feature will be useful for me because I have poor dexterity. This will allow me to be more efficient in quickly putting on or removing the harness if I don’t have anyone to help without bending over as much. I’ve also chosen a feature that allows the handle to fold down thereby still allowing Sequoia to fit under most things while still wearing the harness.

due to the harness needing to be more customized for my specific needs it is expensive. Yes, I do have a full time job and insurance.  unfortunately, items such as these are not covered by insurance. My insurance has even refused to cover physical therapy as it is out of network. 


So, as much of the world needs help right now, I feel it’s unfortunate that I, with a job and insurance, am  even having to ask for help. As I  try to explain to people, One of the worst things about having a disability is the expense, as much of it is not covered by insurance nor is it just given. Hopefully, one day this will change, I will continue to raise awareness and work towards a more accessible world. 

for right now, I’m asking for help to continue to be as safe and independent as possible. Thank you