#but my bp is in a safe range as long as i take my meds and mostly stick to the diet

[onbearfeet]

Much as I enjoyed SDCC and my girlfriend and her dogs, I am so very glad to be back in my own bed. Hello, squishy foam mattress. Hello, artfully arranged pillows that let me sleep in a position comfortable for both my boobs and my sunburn. Hello, more pillows at the foot of my bed to keep my feet properly elevated and prevent swelling. Hello, mini Djunkelskog and other stuffies who welcome me back with happy grunts and awoos. Hello, quilt I made with my own hands that covers me like a hug.

Tonight, we SLEEP.

[rockettransman]

That's cool. So does he guide you when you run? Bc you are vision impaired?

I’m glad you asked this question, because nope! I’m not visually impaired, actually. Atlas is primarily a psychiatric service dog who knows a few light mobility tasks to help me cope during dizzy spells and blackouts. (Will be explained below)

Service dog rant coming uuppp

It’s a common misconception that service dogs are only for the blind, deaf, or physically disabled, when in fact there are many different kids of service dogs. There are service dogs for veterans and civilians with PTSD, diabetic alert dogs, seizure alert dogs, autism service dogs, service dogs for people with TBIs (traumatic brain injury), and medical alert service dogs who help with a wide range of medical condition(s) from heart problems to chronic pain and fatigue to gastroparesis and fibromyalgia.

Someone can qualify for a service dog if only their diagnosis warrants a disability. You can have POTS or autism and cope okay throughout the world, your condition not making you disabled. You can have depression and anxiety but not have it impact one or more daily activities or ways of functioning. 

In my case, my conditions have been diagnosed by a doctor, and I have been declared disabled by them. It took years of meds and therapy and hospitalizations and my health to keep backsliding despite all that until a service dog was introduced. The general consensus in the SD community is that SDs really should be a last resort. Atlas has given me so much independence, but the attention you receive from the public is insane and incessant. People are rude. They will stare, point, scream, bark at you, take pictures of you, harass you about the legitimacy of your sickness, ask if you really need a service dog when you look so healthy. You’re too young to be sick! People will ask you the same goddamn questions over and over again when you just wanted to go into the store and buy some milk. People will say CAN I PET?? while rushing you and practically cornering you and your dog to pet them. “Oh, is that a Labrador? Aww, let me tell you all about MY pet Lab we had for ten years before he died last Sunday. I’m sure you have ten minutes to sit and wait while I talk your ear off.” Service dogs are not the right option for everyone due to the attention and obnoxious behavior from the public. From full grow ass adults, especially.  

It’s not just all fun and games. It’s not like I get to “bring my dog everywhere because I miss him.” Atlas is legally classified as medical equipment. He is task-trained to mitigate my disabilities. I rely on him for my safety and well-being everywhere I go. I should also state that Atlas would not work if he didn’t love it. It’s common to think that service dogs are our slaves and they work from sun up to sun down with no breaks or play time. This is completely false! Trust me, Atlas gets plenty of love and affection and play time and fun. Working, like most dogs, is so intrinsically rewarding to him. If he didn’t like his job, he would’ve told me long ago, and I would’ve washed (removed from service work) him.

As far as what Atlas does for me, he does a lot of things. My disabilities are mostly psychiatric conditions that cause flashbacks, hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, dissociation, fatigue, and confusion. These can warp into physical symptoms like dizziness and tunnel vision and nausea. Going out to a lot of places is difficult to do alone because I never know if I’ll be triggered by something. He alerts to physiological signs (HR and BP [we think, it may be a fluke alert]) and physical things I do that prelude an episode, interrupts destructive behaviors, and he breaks my hands from my face and lays across my body to ground me when an episode is in full swing. When I do have an episode, I’m not aware of my surroundings or cognizant of what I’m doing. He keeps me safe by informing me that I’m getting worked up, and when I can find a safe place, he lays across my lap and licks my face to bring my blood pressure down and keep me grounded. 

He also provides crowd control, meaning he will place his body in front of behind me to give me a physical barrier from other people. We’re in the process of teaching him to guide me to a chair if I need to sit down but I’m too out of it to do so.

When I am feeling dizzy or tunnel-visiony, it’s helpful for him to close open doors and pick things off the ground so I don’t have to bend down or risk my BP bottoming out. (I’ve only ever passed out once, but I don’t want to risk it happening again)

Here’s a video demonstrating some of these tasks! We were just practicing so it’s not perfect, but yeah. If you ever have any questions about service dogs or anything always hit me up! I love talking about them :))

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1noy07wYB4&t=7s