09/29/2025
September is National Service Dog Month to raise awareness about the diverse roles service dogs play in assisting people with various disabilities, such as guiding the visually impaired, detecting medical conditions like seizures or blood sugar changes, and providing mobility or psychiatric support. Though there is so much more that they can assist with.
I have failed to post about it as business has been busy and then I found myself needing to take a step back and care for myself. My ADHD is a superpower but also triggers my anxiety, then depression comes in to play. Add in knee pain and new meds that increased my blood pressure and you get a terrific combination to set my heart disease off. When I started getting these diagnosis 2 years ago, it made more sense. I didnt expect to have my own serive dog but Hope Paws and Second Chances Celeste choose me. And I am thankful she did.
Celeste has been steadfast at my side every single day. Very minimal hours have been spent apart from her in these last few weeks. And between her and my amazing P*P, I was able to stay out of the hospital. She has a few trained tasks already but is developing more understanding of me and we have new tasks to add to our toolbox.
Celeste did her first alert last week when my HR spiked due to chest pain. Ironically we were on our way to my P*P for acupuncture and she ran some tests and did a different protocol. Even though I was trying to play it down, the Doctor could tell from Celestes’ unwavering attentiveness to me that something was off. Celeste has accompanied me many times there and my doctor has been in tune to her behaviors.
Luckily I am on the rebound and I don’t think it would have been so quick had it not been for Celeste alerting me to my body’s cues as early as she did. She had picked up on it long before I did, and became what I needed.
