Don't Make Assumptions

This post is specifically about having a service dog for an invisible disability. It is really important to realize that it is not always possible to tell that somebody has a disability just by looking at them. I am not trying to speak for everybody, but there are not many people out there that would willingly sign up for everything that comes along with truly having a disability, I know given the choice I wouldn't sign up for the ten, possible eleven (I always seem to forget one) different illnesses that I have been diagnosed with over the years. The top five things I have heard about my invisible disability are.
  1. You don’t look sick.
  2. You are too young to be sick.
  3. You are too pretty to be sick.
  4. So what's wrong with you?
  5. You're fine, stop lying.
I can assure everybody that if I had my way I would not be sick. I love my dog, and am fine with who I am, but given the option my joints would not dislocate, I would be able to eat without pain, I would be able to stand up without getting dizzy and go for a walk without feeling disoriented. The reason that I don’t look sick is that I can hide my physical pain on a good day, and do not have the option of leaving the house or hospital on a bad day.
It is important to realize how much goes into training a service dog. To be honest, I didn’t know how much went into it until I was told that my disabilities are not treatable and that I should explore getting a dog to hopefully have a better quality of life. My personal dog was trained by a group of amazing volunteers who then have to say goodbye to him once he is fully trained. My dog is not this trained on accident, It took years to prepare him to be able to assist me, and that is what he will be doing. If I did not have a real disability I would not be given a dog, a lot goes into each one and teams are selected carefully.
The final thing is please don't distract him while working. If you have something nice to say or a legitimate question feel free to ask (this is my opinion, but each person feels differently), but if you want to know why I have a dog if clearly you can look at me and see that I do not have a disability that is inappropriate.  
The reason that I did this post is that even before I had my dog and told people that I applied I got a lot of judgement. Even though I have only had my dog for two days,  even bringing him home on the airplane I was asked why I had a dog since I was to pretty and young to have a disability. For one this statement implies that somebody must be unattractive to have a disability which is completely untrue, and second it implies that a person must be older to have a disability which is also a hurtful stereotype. My plea to everybody reading this is to realize that if somebody has a legitimate service dog they need it and sometimes the handler does not feel like answering questions that come up repeatedly.

To ANYONE with an Invisible Illness,

WE BELIEVE IN YOU!

Nemo, Tremors and Secret Agent Puppy 


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