Hello Blockchain, it's me again.
I wanted to share a snippet of a stealthfully recorded conversation I had with my Mom a few weeks back.
Just a note, I've gotten her permission to post this, just didn't want to interrupt the flow of what we were talking about so I hit record and shared it with her after.
If I haven't mentioned it here yet, My mom is a certified K9 behaviorist and trainer with a specialty in training service and therapy dogs.
Mom, aged 17 riding her horse (forgot the name). When other teens her age were saving for a car, she was saving to buy her own horse. Badass.
Yes, the love of animals runs deep in my family, but more than the love, I think I inherited my desire to understand them as well. Yes, I am a severe Empath, straight up Deanna Troi style (funny enough my mom is named Dianne- hmm I see you Universe).
I feel everything.
I pick up all kinds of energies, sometimes they keep me going, sometimes they cause me pause and peace, sometimes depression or anxiety, but as I've gotten older I've grown increasingly sensitive to outside stimuli.
Cars racing past my window on the ground level of a house on a busy street, the transition of different channels of blasting music blaring out of stores while walking through the mall, radio and tv ads are among the worst. Anything built to steal my attention, it's too much, makes me recoil.
I used to be able to do homework, with the tv on, music playing and people yelling in the background no problem, not the case anymore, but I can say the length and depth of my focus levels are way higher now, yoga and meditation have certainly helped, but being snapped out of that deep place of focus is incredibly jarring.
Me and brother circa 1998 I think. Our dog Casey, just home from the shelter, I remember him shaking in my arms. Mom later trained him and had him certified as a licensed Therapy Dog. As kids, we'd go with Mom to take him and other therapy dogs to local nursing homes as part of a program that helped seniors with Dementia and Alzheimer's.
I know there are many different types of autism, and I also that it is a spectrum. This is not to say I'm self diagnosing, but with my current stimuli sensitivity I can't imagine what others feel when it comes to sensory overload interrupting their day to day, especially the very young ones, not having the ability to articulate what they're experiencing. Breaks my heart.
So back to Mom, she's recently taken on a client with an autistic child named Nick who I believe is about 2 or 3 years old with autism. Specifically "Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder and Apraxia." The family has adopted a black lab named "Chief" and Mom was brought in as a consultant to help train the dog to not only, sense when the Nick may be becoming distressed, but how to help bring him back down.
This got us into a discussion about the role of "emotional support animals". The law here in NY/NJ is very VERY loose about what defines a service dog and what doesn't. Shes even been brought in as a consultant for court cases about people suing the state for restricted access places to places with their animals claiming they need their dog, cat, guinea pig with them at all times for emotional support.
It's a strange gray area. I've written my personal experience about how much healing I felt was brought about by my time with one of my dog walking client's pup Crumbs. And I know the deep and profound an emotional support and calming effects an animal can have, but I also feel this area is ripe for abuse and exploitation. So what's the difference between an emotional support animal and a service animal?
Here's a small piece of our conversation about her work... Warning: Jersey accents ahead
Please excuse my moment of nostalgia about Ralph my childhood guinea pig. <3
What do you think? I'd love to have an open and respectful discussion about your thoughts about animals serving as emotional support, or maybe you think the whole thing is bogus hippie stuff.
I really hope you enjoyed this, If you're interested in reading a little more about Nick, his family has set up a gofundme page to help raise funds to offset the costs of his condition. (It's a little out of date because they do have the dog now ( named Chief <3), but they are still raising money for legal certifications so the dog can go anywhere Nick goes.) Also as a note, I'll be donating whatever funds this post brings in, to Nick and his family.
I hope you are well this Sunday afternoon
Thanks for listening
<3
