Medical alert tags can be beneficial for anyone with a disability or important medical problem, though they are often thought of as being used primarily for people with diabetes, seizures, or severe allergies. In this post, I’ll discuss the importance of medical alert tags for you and your service dog, as well as a few suggestions on where to order them.
Value of Medical Alert Tags for Handler
If you are unconscious, this tag tells emergency responders the following:
- Your Name
- Your Condition
- Possibly a short definition of your condition (if you have something like obscure like CRPS, EDS, or another rare disorder)
- Number to call
- Allergies to medicine or latex
- Do not separate from service dog
Some alert tags don’t give very much room, and so you can only put your name, condition, and a number to call. Others offer more space. Depending on what you need to say, you may want to consider getting one that is a little bit larger with more space for more details about you.
Also, keep your condition in mind. Will it hurt to wear a bracelet every day? If so, a necklace with dog tags might be the better option. Most tags come with an option of a metal color or a silencer (plastic edging), so be sure to get something that will stand out, like the color RED.
Why Does My Service Dog Need One?
In the event that your service dog were to be separated from you, and unvested, keeping a med tag on them will let anyone who finds the dog know that they are a desperately needed working animal. Additionally, if for whatever reason you and your service dog are in an accident and your med tags can’t be found, keeping one on your dog’s collar works as a backup.
Med tags for your dog can either be regular dog tags with matching information, or they can can be tags that side directly on to your dog’s collar. We recommend that you have a red silencer on the dog’s tag as well as your own so that it stands out from the rest of his or her ID tags.
We recommend the following information for your dog’s med tag:
- Name
- Keep With (Handler’s Name)
- Explanation that he is a service dog for your condition (state your condition again)
- Name of a person to call and their number __________ (this might be family, friend, or even vet. Just someone who can take care of your dog in the event of an emergency)
Where to Buy
Road ID
Lauren’s Hope
Local Hardware store – engrave your own tags
Medical alert tags will help keep you and your service dog safe, and together in a crisis.
