HopeforGermanShepherds,
I hope that you don't need a service dog.
That might sound mean, because we're a dog-loving site, and all of us want to take our dogs everywhere. But it isn't mean. I am saying that I hope you don't have anything so severe that you NEED a dog with you 24/7.
Service dogs do not just make life better for folks with medical issues. They help them try to lead a normal life in spite of their issues. Some of the issues are invisible to other people, like a diabetes service dog. I have diabetes. I do not have a service dog. Most people with diabetes do not need a service dog. They can manage their diabetes with diet, exercise, medication, and checking blood sugar. Those with uncontrolled diabetes, in danger of diabetic coma, were a dog might be able to alert to blood sugar issues -- those folks have a real bad problem, and the dog makes it better but it doesn't make that problem go away, and they live with it every day.
And I could go down the list. A dog lets a blind person be independent to an extent. But no blind person, given the choice, would choose a service dog over sight. The dog makes it possible for some to work, for them to go places without a human guide all the time.
My cousin is autistic. He does not have a service dog. He lives in his own world and it is very difficult to reach him, because he does not want to be reached. Perhaps that is unfair, maybe it is more that he is unable to connect. He is my age give or take a few years, so upper forties. He is living in a home for men who cannot function in society. Today, perhaps autism has a range, but dogs have been used to help autistic children function in the world around them. These are not emotional support dogs. They are being used to help severely challenged people connect with something in the world.
There are other ways that service dogs are used.
There is a bud-light commercial, a sports commercial, where the guy thinks, "boy I wish I could have this bud light seller everywhere I go." And then it shows the man hollering his jingle for beer, at the guy's work, in his bed, in a meeting, at the grave yard, in the movie theater. The man realizes the bud-light vendor belongs in the ball park. The point is, that taking your dog everywhere is wonderful until you absolutely need your dog to go everywhere with you.
If you are religious, if the people on this site pray regularly, perhaps adding, "Thank you, God, that I do not need a service dog" is in order. People who have service dogs can thank God for having this wonderful creation that helps them manage their situation. But when you pass the handicapped parking spaces by, instead of being irritated that the only open spots are handicapped, say a little pray thanking God that you don't qualify, and find an appropriate spot further along.
Think about it. If you have a service dog that can go to school with you, than you need your dog everywhere. Are you going to take your dog to a job interview? "Don't mind him, he's a service dog." Employers are not supposed to discriminate, but, none of them are not going to remember the dog, and wonder what it is about you that requires it.
I hope you don't need a service dog. If you do, you do. Everyone has their plate of burdens, and some are dished more than others. We can only do our best with whatever our serving is.