Just catching up on posts myself, and love the balance of this post. Getting a new pet - especially a dog - is a big life adjustment for anyone, but it’s doubly as hard or more for disabled folks. I’m glad Rogy is trainable and settling into routines so that things can get a bit more predictable as far as his care. I love hearing about how he’s changed your life for the better 🥹. Keep the doggy updates coming!
Thank you so much! Will definitely keep those coming. He's lying next to me on the couch as I write thing. Something I've been yearning for him to do but took him a while to get comfortable doing. He's such a love bug now and I think one could argue, I'm a bit of a needy dog mom who just wants to cuddle and hug him all the time 😂
this really resonates. i grew up with a dog and LOVE dogs. my partner and i are planning to get a dog in the near-ish future, which i'm SO happy about, but i also worry about the physical nature of the care required. i also considered the service dog route, but i already struggle enough with access and the thought of experiencing discrimination due to having a service dog on top of everything else just felt like too much for me. i'm glad Rogy is ultimately a source of love and joy for you!
It’s definitely a lot. I definitely couldn’t do it without my dad’s help on the walks. Or I would have to hire a dog walker. I worry about when he gets older since I can’t lift him unless I’m sitting down, but trying not to get too far ahead. Even though I was rejected for a service dog, that was one of my big concerns too. People already question me constantly about my disability/limp and the validity of it. I didn’t know if I had the energy to justify my needs in one more area of my life either. It’s really crappy that that’s the case largely because people abuse things and get the fake service dog bibs, which then leads to more restrictions and those of us with valid reasons to have one to get questioned about it. Thank you so much for reading and commenting! You’ve helped me so much with your writing and social media, so it means a lot.
Glad you do have a support system in place so you can enjoy Rogy, but definitely get the worries about the future. And so glad to know my work has resonated with you!
Yours is the perfect narrative of what an emotional support dog can do for someone.
The way I used to try and explain the difference between a service dog and an emotional support dog ( or cat or gerbil—not limited to just dogs) is: a service dog is trained to do certain tasks for you, based on the nature of your disability. An emotional support animal has a positive impact on the disabled person’s quality of life by their very presence.
Thanks Teri! I’ve always thought most animals/living things offer a great deal of emotional support (except cockroaches and some spiders maybe 😂). It’s just so nice to have one living with me. My anxiety is a little worse from worrying about him and wanting to do the right thing for him but otherwise my mental health has improved tremendously. So glad I found him too. Thanks for reading 😊
It sounds like you’re taking great care of him. I would just encourage you to relax a little over time. There are all the things that are recommended for caring for our animals, and then there’s real life. There’s a lot give in daily care unless they are already sick or have a health condition. Arguably, it is just as important that you take care of yourself, so you are around for them as much as possible.
Thank you. My dad is more of a “don’t worry about it unless it gets worse” kind of person so he helps balance me out when I get anxiety about something calls for going to the vet or not. You made such a good point too that I hadn’t really thought about which is I need to take care of myself to be able to take care of him too. Thanks Teri 😊
I just love that Rogy is working out for you. I tried to have a full-size seizure dog after my surgery, and while he was wonderful, it was just too much for me physically, with all of my post-op appointments and how weak I still was. Hoping you continue to get rest and find a rhythm with each other.
Thank you my friend. I’m sorry one didn’t work out for you. They are sooo much work physically under any circumstance so I can definitely see how it was too much then especially. He slept til 7:15 the other morning and I was so happy 😂 He’s starting to realize no one in the house is up at 5-5:30 so hoping he’ll gradually start sleeping later. He has to get up semi early this time of year anyway cause it’s so hot here so my dad can’t walk him too late in the morning. I’m at a place now where I love getting up to start the day and be with him.
Just catching up on posts myself, and love the balance of this post. Getting a new pet - especially a dog - is a big life adjustment for anyone, but it’s doubly as hard or more for disabled folks. I’m glad Rogy is trainable and settling into routines so that things can get a bit more predictable as far as his care. I love hearing about how he’s changed your life for the better 🥹. Keep the doggy updates coming!
Thank you so much! Will definitely keep those coming. He's lying next to me on the couch as I write thing. Something I've been yearning for him to do but took him a while to get comfortable doing. He's such a love bug now and I think one could argue, I'm a bit of a needy dog mom who just wants to cuddle and hug him all the time 😂
You need each other! ☺️
Love hearing all this.
this really resonates. i grew up with a dog and LOVE dogs. my partner and i are planning to get a dog in the near-ish future, which i'm SO happy about, but i also worry about the physical nature of the care required. i also considered the service dog route, but i already struggle enough with access and the thought of experiencing discrimination due to having a service dog on top of everything else just felt like too much for me. i'm glad Rogy is ultimately a source of love and joy for you!
It’s definitely a lot. I definitely couldn’t do it without my dad’s help on the walks. Or I would have to hire a dog walker. I worry about when he gets older since I can’t lift him unless I’m sitting down, but trying not to get too far ahead. Even though I was rejected for a service dog, that was one of my big concerns too. People already question me constantly about my disability/limp and the validity of it. I didn’t know if I had the energy to justify my needs in one more area of my life either. It’s really crappy that that’s the case largely because people abuse things and get the fake service dog bibs, which then leads to more restrictions and those of us with valid reasons to have one to get questioned about it. Thank you so much for reading and commenting! You’ve helped me so much with your writing and social media, so it means a lot.
Glad you do have a support system in place so you can enjoy Rogy, but definitely get the worries about the future. And so glad to know my work has resonated with you!
Love this, Jackie!
Thank you Chris!
Yours is the perfect narrative of what an emotional support dog can do for someone.
The way I used to try and explain the difference between a service dog and an emotional support dog ( or cat or gerbil—not limited to just dogs) is: a service dog is trained to do certain tasks for you, based on the nature of your disability. An emotional support animal has a positive impact on the disabled person’s quality of life by their very presence.
So glad you found Rogy!
Thanks Teri! I’ve always thought most animals/living things offer a great deal of emotional support (except cockroaches and some spiders maybe 😂). It’s just so nice to have one living with me. My anxiety is a little worse from worrying about him and wanting to do the right thing for him but otherwise my mental health has improved tremendously. So glad I found him too. Thanks for reading 😊
It sounds like you’re taking great care of him. I would just encourage you to relax a little over time. There are all the things that are recommended for caring for our animals, and then there’s real life. There’s a lot give in daily care unless they are already sick or have a health condition. Arguably, it is just as important that you take care of yourself, so you are around for them as much as possible.
Thank you. My dad is more of a “don’t worry about it unless it gets worse” kind of person so he helps balance me out when I get anxiety about something calls for going to the vet or not. You made such a good point too that I hadn’t really thought about which is I need to take care of myself to be able to take care of him too. Thanks Teri 😊
I just love that Rogy is working out for you. I tried to have a full-size seizure dog after my surgery, and while he was wonderful, it was just too much for me physically, with all of my post-op appointments and how weak I still was. Hoping you continue to get rest and find a rhythm with each other.
Thank you my friend. I’m sorry one didn’t work out for you. They are sooo much work physically under any circumstance so I can definitely see how it was too much then especially. He slept til 7:15 the other morning and I was so happy 😂 He’s starting to realize no one in the house is up at 5-5:30 so hoping he’ll gradually start sleeping later. He has to get up semi early this time of year anyway cause it’s so hot here so my dad can’t walk him too late in the morning. I’m at a place now where I love getting up to start the day and be with him.