!! TRIGGER WARNING !! In this project I talk about a lot of different medical issues - if you're not comfortable with that then please click off! > Not a lot of you really asked, but in case there are any people who want to learn more about service animals, I decided I'd make a project about my path to getting a service dog! > Due to previous brain trauma, I have a form of epilepsy that causes me to have tonic-clonic seizures. I also have unrelated blood flow issues that can cause me to pass out. Due to the danger of these medical events, my parents, doctor, and I decided that it would be best for my safety and welfare to seek out a service dog! > Please note that I am no means an expert on service dogs! This is just my personal experience <3 I'm also not too keen on sharing exact medical details or locations for privacy reasons :) -------------------------------------------------------------- NOVEMBER 2021 - I had a dangerous seizure in public that led to moderate injuries, and my parents, my doctor, and I decided that it would be best for my health and safety to seek out a service dog. We started doing research into different organizations, and found a few to look into ^^ FEBRUARY 2022 - We started contacting a service dog training organization that for privacy reasons I'll call Armadillo Dogs (just the first thing that appeared in my brain haha) about looking for a service dog for my specific issues. They asked for a few details and eventually told us they would keep in contact about any available dogs!! FEBRUARY to MARCH 2022 - I participated in dog training lessons for future service dog handlers offered by a partner organization to Armadillo Dogs that also gives information on how to deal with potential public altercations, what to do if your dog alerts you, and even how to train your own service dog. They went crazy in-depth, and it was super helpful and really fun :D I also got to meet a few other disabled teens and learn about conditions such as POTS! APRIL 2022 - Armadillo Dogs reached out to us about some newer alert and response dogs they'd been working with, and asked if we would like to come over and meet some of them. We were not able to at this time due to numerous family issues :( MAY 2022 - Over the course of a couple days, we selected a potential service dog to tentatively start training as our own. We're going to commit to once-weekly training lessons from Armadillo Dogs themselves and once-weekly training lessons from their partner, who let's call Echidna Dogs (don't question it xD). -------------------------------------------------------------- > That's it so far! I'm really hopeful about my current service dog in training, who I'll post pictures of as soon as they're taken off of the service dog place's website ^^ > My SDIT is a three-year-old collie mix named Kiwi! She's around fifty pounds, brown-and-white, really sweet yet energetic, and I swear she's smarter than most people ;)
