About 2 months ago I began to research the idea of getting a service dog. I can't remember exactly what compelled me to do so, but I do know what the catalyst was. Some friends were coming down for a few weeks and wanted to see us. Unfortunately we were given short notice and there was no planning involved in the technicalities. I thought they were going to be staying at a local hotel for a few days so there would be some flexibility in seeing them. Apparently I misunderstood and they were only going to be here for a few hours. They had brought their dog with them so that limited us a bit and we decided Andy would meet them for lunch since I was not feeling well. When he returned and I inquired about their plans he told me they had none. I asked the question how in the world did they think they would get a hotel down here on a moments notice and they had a dog and had to go to a dog friendly motel. My husband said they were not worried about that as they just told everyone he was a service dog and they could take him everywhere they went.
Lets forget the whole dishonesty part and focus on my thought process. Once I let go of my anger, this propelled me into checking service dog training quicker than I had intended. Their dog was not trained and I decided then and there we would have ours go through the whole program and be certified.
Once the decision was made, it was "all aboard and full steam ahead". For me it was a no brainer, being able to take the dog everywhere I go was something I had always wanted but was restricted by law, but now no longer. We laughed that our new seats at the stadium that are ideal for bringing a service dog were just recently changed when we had no idea we were going to pursue this. The work will be hard, but well worth it. I am hoping this will help me get out more now that I will have some company to go along. Even my husband is looking forward to bringing her along on our dinners and errands. She will be able to fly with us when we go to our away games. The only difficulty will be making sure we get the right seats at the away games.
This is my next step in the commitment to live. The next to the last training she will receive will enable me to take her into nursing homes and such as a therapy dog if I choose to do that. Finally an opportunity to give back, to make something good out of something so devastating. This could be the start of something wonderful.
