Some pictures of our everyday life!

In addition to being a medical/mobility service dog, Ranger is also a Psy SD.  I'm never embarrassed about my psychiatric disabilities and I'm *proud* of how well Ranger does his job to help me get out and live a "normal" life.  Having the harness from Bold Lead Service Dog equipment (Katrina Boldry) has taken us to the next level.

This tree was given to us as a memorial tree in rememberence of my dad.  Its a redbud tree, but this particular kind has great purple blooms in the early spring.  We decided to put a brick border around it and to plant some hostas and Lily of the Valley in there - maybe some creeping myrtle.  This was Ranger's first day with the harness.  We went down to Home Depot and got the bricks for the tree and then he sat with me, helping me up/down the curb as needed, while I  placed the first few bricks to get the circle the right diameter and looking "just right."

Yes, he thinks I'm insane when I start taking pictures of him!  There's so much that I am able to do because I have him with me.  My anxiety about someone coming up on me without me knowing is mostly gone when I have him with me.  I can get outside and do things like this and know that he'll let me know if/when someone is approaching, even if I don't see it.   I can make it up and down the curb (which is a BIG curb!) and the front porch with his help - especially difficult without him since there's no handrail there yet!  My feelings of isolation and loneliness are so much less intense most of the time.  He makes me *have* to get out of the house, if for no other reason than he needs to get out of the house.

For years, people kept trying to give me drugs to help battle these things - anxiety, ADD, bipolar, fibromyalgia, and the 'yet-to-be-determined' neurologic condition which encompasses *so* many symptoms -  migraines, vertigo and balance issues, gait instability, dead/numb legs, arms and hands; loss of grip in the right hand, excrutiating back and hip pain to an almost paralyzing degree.  Medication *does* help some of these things.  Some medications helped more than others but left me feeling foggy, disoriented, sleepy, and miserable.  They also couldn't help me up off the floor when my legs won't move, anticipate when I'm overtired or the medication has kicked in and is making me disoriented, help me walk when my back and hip hurt, or brace me when I get hit with a vertigo attack.  ---  *my* miracle 'drug' is Ranger.  In my early-30s, the idea of having to use a cane already was heartbreaking and mentally debilitating.  Having to use a service dog, empowering.

Life with a service dog in (and out) of the house is not easy.  I have never understood why people who *dont* need service dogs would lie just to *choose* to say their dog is a service dog and have them out and about in places they shouldn't be.  A true service dog team travels with the doggy equivalent of a 'diaper bag.' We're ready with emergency supplies, collapsible bowls, our gear... anything we need to make ourselves least intrusive to others.  Your dog has to eliminate on command so you know they empty themselves before going into someplace (like a restaurant or mall or movie theater!) -- It can not beg or be fed people food.  In fact, Ranger is not allowed to eat food off the floor period, unless he's given a command.  It can not sniff passersby or act out.   You must pre-plan feeding and elimination schedules so they coincide with whatever you're doing and make sure your dog is acclimated to eliminating in all sorts of conditions - even on asphalt or concrete!  You must be aware, at all times, of what your dog is doing.  Are they in the way?  Do they need to be moved in front of you or behind you or under a table or closer... or... --- In the beginning it takes a lot of thought and planning and patience.  As you get used to it, it becomes second nature.  His bag is, for the most part, pre-packed for day trips in the car.  Anything less than that and its even more bare bones than that! Leash, harness, carseat cover (and collapsible bowl for water in the summer time of course!)

Ranger has been the biggest blessing in my life.  I've learned so much from him and through this journey with him.  Would I ever have another service dog - *absolutely!* --  Would I choose to train my own again - probably.  While I *hate* the puppy stage, I like that we got to bond together from day one.  The separation anxiety he has is with *me* specifically - we have a great bond and work well together as a team.  I think getting an older dog or a program dog would have been easier in that their tasks would have already been trained, but harder in that I wouldn't be able to pick out my own breed *and* that bond that's so solid with Ranger would've taken longer and more work to develop because the dogs would have gotten used to bonding and losing many times before they got to me.  I love that Ranger trusts me - and knows that *I* am his mate - the one who is there with him and loves him.  He doesnt have to worry about losing me and moving on to someone else.

Jessica and Ranger
Lunar K9s Service Dog Team