"Do I really need my Service Dog today?"

“Do I really need my Service Dog today?”

I have been training dogs for 15 years now, and work with Service Dog teams every single day. I have been a Service Dog handler myself for a little over 6 months. I am embarrassed to admit that I have 'suddenly' been faced with the need to have a canine medical apparatus accompanying me after all these years.

So “Do I really need my Service Dog?” or can I ride out this one trip to the restaurant without him? Or perhaps, go bowling with my friends like a normal human being or attend a wedding with family?

It is more than just a lifestyle change to become a Service Dog Team. I am discovering that it is a constant effort to say to myself “Yes, I need my Service Dog and I have the right to have him”! I constantly feel judged, not only with myself and my 'sudden' need for a Service Dog, but by the people around me, including those in public and especially the ones who have known me for years and failed to realize how much I was struggling in the first place.

I’m OK. I manage my life, and my symptoms. I always have. I might even go as far as to say I’m a survivor. In the moments where I am not experiencing a vast array of neurological symptoms, I try my best to pretend that they will never exist.

After all, it has been years. I mean, what is my life without my Migraines? They are practically a part of me.

On the up side, it seems Darwin and I are getting better at becoming a Service Dog Team as time goes on. Last night, I was scrolling through my phone when Darwin began jumping on my lap and licking my face. Without warning, I was now dizzy and the newly present aura left half my vision nearly gone. Knowing at that point what was happening, I shut off the lights and crawled into bed. Darwin immediately laid on top of me, distributing his body in a way that began to calm me. With his head on top of the left side of my face where my vision was most sensitive, it felt as if he knew exactly what to do. We both laid there, and I held him tight as I cried from the overwhelming sense of fear that I was going to have to face this one more time. Or possibly again and again for the rest of my life. “Not now”, I wished. But truly, it is never the right time. Darwin drew closer to me with each breath I took and tear I shed. Eventually I turned over to my side, my pillow over my head in a terrible effort to make the pain go away. Darwin moved from the left to the right side of my face, pushing his nose between the pillow and my head in an effort to move in so that he could alleviate my pain, and rested his muzzle on top of the right side of head. It was like he knew how much of a relief he was to me in that moment. We both fell asleep ...and that was as much peace as I will ever hope to get during an episode.

The first time I remember getting a Migraine was when I was 7 years old. Of course, I had no idea what was going on at the time, but it is not hard to remember an experience like that perfectly. The pain, dizziness, vision issues, vomiting. I was at my friends house, when I suddenly needed to get picked up. No one in my family knew what was happening, and I have spent what feels like eternity trying to understand my triggers and symptoms with no luck.

My symptoms come with no warning, and often with enough of an impact to destroy an entire day's worth of plans. I am left with the sense of a complete loss of control. My only choice, to close my eyes and ride it out in hopes that it is an 'easy' one.

Well, let’s get one thing straight. Having a Service Dog is not a luxury. In fact, the stress that naturally comes along with having a Service Dog, such as in being denied access to a public establishment or the time and effort that goes into training is something that I would never need to experience if I didn’t have my boy by my side in the first place.

Yet, I am constantly faced with the need to defend my rights as a handler while out in public, as well as this internal sense of attempting to justify my challenges by the presence of a Service Dog.

I have an extremely well trained Service Dog. I will never settle for anything less, nor allow my clients to either. It is already hard enough to be a Service Dog Handler in America, with the constant facing of those who just want to bring 'Fido' into public for no necessary reason other than desire. And when approached, take advantage of our rights by attempting to pass their poorly trained dog off as a Service Dog.

It is my hope that we enter a day in which Service Dog Handlers no longer have to face the challenges that are set forth by “fakes”, and where establishments are continuously reaching out to fully understand ADA/Service Dog Laws, as well as their rights as an public business and how to protect all of their customers by learning how to spot and turn 'fakes' away. I commend those who care enough about my health to follow the rules and to empower their employees by equipping them with the knowledge necessary to keep everyone safe.

It is my duty as a Service Dog Trainer to not only provide a well trained dog to my clients, but to ensure that they are well informed of their rights and know how to advocate for themselves. It is also my hope to raise awareness among the Service Dog community through projects like raising Siri (Instagram Handle: siri.the.psych.service.dog), whose training journey is being documented and fully shared for the purpose of building up our community and educating the public on the amazing things that these dogs do.

Lisa Lima, MSW LCSW ABCDT

(719) 626-3090

lisalima@mylifeunleashed.biz

Business Owner and Dog Trainer at My Life Unleashed

www.mylifeunleashed.biz

Facebook: My Life Unleashed; The Tasking Dog

Instagram: siri.the.psych.service.dog