Wafflenugget

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Wafflenugget

Waffle is my fun-loving, adventurous PTSD and medical alert service dog.

Our page is a celebration of joy, resilience, mental health advocacy and the life Waffle gives me through her service work.

03/07/2024

Life is better together. And I want to do life with you. Every single one of you.

I’ve spent almost ten years sharing my stories here. I’ve shared my highs, my lows and allllll the messy middle in between.

Each day, as I do so, you show up for me.

You honor me with support, love and kindness.

You see me and you hold space.

There aren’t words for how healing it is to be seen and held by you.

And I want to give you that same gift — to create a space for just us — away from the maniacal frenzy of this app — to do that with you.

This week, we begin.

THIS SUNDAY, JULY 7, 5 PM EDT

Waffle, Tuggie and I will be hosting our first virtual solidarity storytelling hour.

It is free for everyone.

We will spend the first fifteen minutes writing our stories and then the next forty five minutes sharing them aloud as we hold kind space and heal out loud together.

Please note: this is not therapy, medical advice or about writing prose — it’s about sharing our truths and supporting each other as we hold space for them.

To join us, all you need to do is sign up for my substack at the 🔗 and I will send out the zoom invite on Saturday.

We can’t wait to finally meet you — one step closer to hugging you in person — and so hope to see you there!

With love and snugs,
Kate, Waffy + Tug

________________________

14/06/2024

My very own lupine lady 💜

“The next spring Miss Rumphius was not very well… [but] the flowers she had planted the summer before had come up and bloomed in spite of the stony ground. She could see them from her bedroom window, blue and purple and rose-colored.

“Lupines,” said Miss Rumphius with satisfaction.

“I have always loved lupines the best. I wish I could plant more seeds this summer so that I could have still more flowers next year.”

But she was not able to. After a hard winter, spring came. Miss Rumphius was feeling much better... One afternoon she started to go up and over the hill, where she had not been in a long time.

“I don’t believe my eyes!” she cried when she got to the top. For there on the other side of the hill was a large patch of blue and purple and rose-colored lupines!

Then Miss Rumphius had a wonderful idea…

All that summer Miss Rumphius, her pockets full of seeds, wandered over fields and headlands, sowing lupines...

Now some people called her That Crazy Old Lady. The next spring there were lupines everywhere. Fields and hillsides were covered with blue and purple and rose-colored flowers...

My Great-aunt Alice, Miss Rumphius, is very old now. Her hair is very white. Every year there are more and more lupines. Now they call her the Lupine Lady… Often she tells us stories of faraway places.

“When I grow up,” I tell her, “I too will go to faraway places and come home to live by the sea.”

“That is all very well, little Alice,” says my aunt, “but there is a third thing you must do.”

“What is that?” I ask.

“You must do something to make the world more beautiful.”

“All right,” I say.

But I do not know yet what than can be.”

I— The Lupine Lady, by Barbara Cooney — my favorite children’s book

I am finally starting to know what I will do to make the world more beautiful in honor of my own lupine lady and I can’t wait to share it with you soon.

Wishing you a weekend 💜😘

Kindly,
Kate, Dave, Waffle + Tug

05/06/2024

Last Friday, weeping hysterically in our Subaru before we learned waffle’s broken rib was actually, in fact, not cancerous, Dave held me close and asked for my thoughts on Waffle’s legacy.

It was undoubtedly brave but it was also incredibly kind — to offer to hold space for all that Waffle is too me and all I want her to mean to the world in a moment that was already excruciating.

IOnly he and a few others in my life could ask such a question to my face. But that doesn’t mean everyone doesn’t think it. And that’s okay too. it’s human to wonder — to be kindly curious about others and most specifically, our owner trained service team and how the heck I am going to be okay after she is gone.

I wept harder at first but then found true peace in talking through it with him because l the truth is:

I won’t be okay and I also will be okay.

I will be that messy magic duality of life —
I will be heartbroken AND capable.
I will be shattered AND whole.
I will be wrecked AND stronger than ever because Waffle taught me how to overcome everything, even her passing.

And so, joining Dave with bravery, I invited him into my many plans — into the dark, twisty place I think about a lot — where Waffle is gone in body but her legacy and strength live on in a mission that gives back to people like me — people with serious mental illness who the world gave up on but absolutely still deserve a chance.

We had a truly wonderful conversation for the next few hours — and I am so excited to share more of our plans soon but for the moment, before we go there, while she is still here and swaggering her sassy sweet self through the fields of Vermont, I have a promise to make good on — the promise I made to Waffle last Friday to be wholly honest about our team if she was given more time.

So — terrified — here goes:

👇👇👇👇

29/05/2024

Which evidence is most compelling in the case of Sassy Waffle vs. Naive Dog Mom? Drop your vote 👇

I’m leaning towards Exhibit F1 and Exhibit J1 but one thing is abundantly clear…

My best girl has been oh so sassy since day one 😂💜🙃

Stay tuned for video evidence coming next…
_______________

13/05/2024

I usually stay quiet after I’m attacked on the internet.

My body takes three days to re-regulate itself so engaging in assertive discourse only perpetuates my own suffering.

But I’m six days in and still triggered from the onslaught of messages I got last week about how my owner trained team is a liability to working dogs reputation and safety so today, I’ve got nothing to lose and I want to clarify some things…

Owner trained service dog teams are not inferior or in any way less legitimate than program-trained service dog teams.

If I were feeling really brave, which I clearly am 🙃, I’d say owner-trained service dog teams are actually the pinnacle of resilience, grit, hard work and the magic of working dogs.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not supporting or condoning the individuals who slap a vest on their pet EVER.

But PLEASE do not lump the bad players in this world with teams like mine.

Because teams like mine are not the problem.

Teams like mine are the brave, exhausting, relentless fight of years of work to survive a broken system that fails us — that underserves us — that does not have structures to help us survive.

You see, we are the individuals whom the system failed entirely.

We are the people who applied over and over again to program after program and were turned down every single time because our disability did not meet their criteria.

We are the people whose doctors told us that we were doomed for disability and needed to settle for a small life to stay safe.

We are the outsiders: the ostracized – The people who don’t get help in this country.

But unlike the broken systems that gave up on us, we didn’t give up on ourselves.

Continued 👇

29/04/2024

What is the secret?
Asked the girl

And the bear smiled
For the bear already knew

The secret, my darling
Is not where you go or what people think of you as you do it

The secret, my darling
Is how you go and who you go with.

Yes, my darling
The secret is that we go together.

__________

Today marks day one of getting out of my house.

Yes, today marks day one of my very own FEARS (face everything and rise strategically) camp.

And instead of doing something instagram crazy that might look oh so “cool” but will land in my bed this afternoon, I’m going to my parents house.

Yes, in dirty sweats and a ripped t-shirt with my two girls — I’m leaning into the fear and remembering what my sweet bear has taught me over and over again…

It’s not where you go.
It’s who you go with.

Wishing you a day where you grow towards the life you want too.

I love you.

And even though I don’t know you and I don’t presume to get your fight,

I see you.

And I wholeheartedly believe in us both.

Wishing you a day.

Kindly,
Kate

26/04/2024

I’ve spent ten years fighting fear
And the truth is
I still find it hard to leave my house —

Yes
I’ve spent ten years fighting fear
And I am still terrified
To drive out into the world
Waffle’s ear tufts blowing in the wind
Tug riding shotgun, her paw on my arm
To where the gawking and pointing and endless questions like — what do you mean you need a service dog?! — meet us at every corner

People tell me all the time that we’ve made so much progress
That mental health is normal now
That its entirely okay to talk about
And they’re not wrong
and I’m so glad about it

But mental health isn’t mental illness
And the fear that beats in my chest daily is not founded in mere thought
It comes from lived truth and honest pain
and it is real — in every single way

So — Yes
36 year old me is still learning to leave my house
To grab my two girls and adventure out into the unknown where the hate thrives and the stigma never takes a day off

But as I bask in the gift of Waffle’s well-being
And reckon with the truth that the world is only as small as you make
I see clearly that it’s high time I try again

So today
In my driveway
In front of all of you
With waffle’s head already out the window
And tug’s paw already on my arm

I vow to try again
Yes I vow to try again
To brave this world and give it another chance to love me the way I so desperately want to love it.

13/04/2024

WAFFLE HEALTH UPDATE 👇

As most of you know, Waffle had lung surgery four weeks ago to remove three nodules in her right middle lung lobe.

The surgery went very well and she is doing great — joyful, sassy, eating well — and very much her true well self.

We just received the preliminary pathology report and the doctors said the nodules are cancer.

They believe the tissue is either carcinoma or sarcoma but the results were not conclusive.

For this reason, the biopsy is now being sent out to a different lab to run more tests on the tissue to determine what type of cancer it is.

We should hear back about the results by the end of next week.

With those results, we will then know next steps.

Even though learning this while in Mexico has been A LOT — cue yesterdays weep-fest 💁🏻‍♀️ — there are many many many silver linings.

And because silver lining the sh*t out of things is the only way I survive (yes it’s a verb now), let’s do it together:

1. Waffy is still alive!!
2. Waffy is still her happy, sweet, sassy, snuggly self.
3. Waffy shows absolutely no signs of illness. She eating/drinking/walking/barking for more snuggles/playing like her well self.
4. We caught these nodules early! When they were nodules not masses.
5. We did surgery and removed them! They are gone!
6. When they did surgery, the nodules were at the very tip of her right middle lung lobe — away from the bronchi and lymph nodes meaning a very low likelihood it spread.
7. If it’s carcinoma, the surgery was curative.
8. If it’s not, there are many great treatment options we can (and will) take that are very promising in treating it.
9. Did I mention waffle is still here?
10. Did I mention that we are BOTH still here?

Okay — that’s all I can write without going full on into another breakdown.

Thank you for your love and baring with the confusion the post caused yesterday.

I head home from Mexico this afternoon and will be back with my girl tomorrow.

In the meantime, she is still with her daddy getting all the love and snuggles and Tug is taking great care of me.

And always always always —

💜 WAFFLE STRONG 💜

20/03/2024

Peak main character energy from last week at and 👑💜😎

~

We are obviously not back at Harvard this week but these photos and her joy working were too good not to share 💜

Waffle is doing great in her surgery recovery — power napping like a champ, getting all the bagel biteys and snugs and taking over our bed the way she deserves. Real talk — Dave and I shared 1/3 of our kind sized bed last night and this queen enjoyed the rest 🥰💜😂

26/02/2024

We had quite an adventure down at Tufts last week 💜

Before waffles MRI — that showed no additional damage to her spine! — Tufts conducted an X-ray of waffles chest (standard practice for senior dogs).

They found three nodules in her right lung.

Originally, they believed it was metastatic cancer but after a full body ct scan where nothing else was detected (truly incredible!!!), there are three options for what these nodules are:

1. Lung cancer — early stage

Lung cancer in dogs is very treatable if caught early. This is absolutely early if that is what it is. Since it is isolated to her right middle lung, it would involve surgery if we need to go that route.

2. The beginnings of cancerous tissue growth — benign tissue that will eventually grow into cancer (like the mass in spleen).

This is what happened in her spleen. The doctors are pulling research on this — but if this is what it is, it’s early stages right now.

3. Benign cysts

Like the cyst on her spine that they found at her surgical site during her spine surgery, it could be one of these… possibly the result of impact.

The only way to know what these are is with surgery. They are impossible to needle aspirate because of their location.

NEXT STEPS:

We meet with the surgical team to discuss options this week — to wait and see if the nodules grow — OR — to do the lobectomy of the right middle lung.

It was definitely a rollercoaster of a day for all of us but Waffy is honestly doing great!

She handled anesthesia like a total champ.

And now that we are back home, she is happy and sassy in all the ways and requesting endless snugs which she, of course, deserves and is receiving.

Dave and I — after some processing — are doing well too and staying positive. We so appreciate your love and support and will keep you posted this week.

With love — Waffle Strong 💜

07/02/2024

Waffle fell down the stairs last night while I was sleeping and Dave was out. It was absolutely terrifying and she struggled to walk afterwards. Her hind legs kept giving out and she couldn’t stand on her own.

She is doing better this morning — she managed to walk out to p*e which felt like the most monumental big little victory.

I’ve called tufts to schedule an MRI and they recommended crate rest and leash walks to go to the bathroom only.

Though I am completely rattled and seemingly can’t stop weeping because it is so reminiscent of her emergency splenectomy and hind leg paralysis, I am leaning into the magic that she is and honoring it with gratitude as best I can.

Because SHE IS STILL HERE.

Yes.

SHE IS STILL HERE and that is the greatest — greatest gift.

26/01/2024

Ten years together 🥰 Before there was Waffle, there was just Dave and me.

While most people think our love story was a traditional fairy tale — a singular hardship, a Prince Charming coming to my rescue, and a beautiful resolution — it was actually not like that. It was not like that at all.

We both struggled deeply with our mental health throughout our early days together and the result of navigating both our mental illnesses proved relentlessly challenging over the years. Our relationship from its inception was messy and hard — so messy and so hard, in fact, that multiple times it neared implosion.

But, as hard as our relationship was at times and sometimes still is, that makes it better. That makes it better because it makes it real.

In this week’s Substack newsletter, I share a glimpse into our beginnings, our awkward meet-cutes, and messy near-misses because the only way we will ever find our people and enjoy recovery is if we get out of our way and embrace the mess and hardship that goes hand in hand with the joys of life.

Yes, the only way we will ever find our people is if we realize the truth that love of any kind is a fairy tale — and the mess and the hardship of a human relationship is guaranteed. And if we embrace it — yes, oh if we embrace it — we have the chance to cultivate real fairy tales far more often.

To read the adventure of our adorably mishap and anxiety filled adventure, head to the link in my bio.

18/01/2024

I won’t ever recover when you’re gone
And I wouldn’t want to even if I could

You’re a part of me
And that pang in my chest is you beating the drum of my heart

Day in
Day out

Forever
A Part of me.

10/12/2023

Happy Birthday, Waffle Bear!!! It is the greatest joy being your momma and a true honor to have you here in all your sassy glory at the incredible age of 9! 🎉💜😭 Since you (and your perm) made it into the New York Times this year, I’m not sure where we even try to go from here but holy heck, I am so grateful to have you beside me as we figure it out 💜🙃🎉💜

27/11/2023

Before Waffle, the only way I knew what was real and what wasn’t was by taking pictures.

Most of my pictures from that time are like the second photo I shared here — me hysterical and tortured, realizing that the demons I saw were not real to anyone but me.

And I was alone with them.

It was me against the world.

When my psychosis got really bad, I would become su1c1dal and end up in the hospital.

Back then, a night in the psychiatric ward cost 18,000 dollars.

And for me, an in-patient stay to stabilize my symptoms would usually last 2 weeks — costing my insurance approximately $252,000.

In my twenties, I went in-patient at least four times a year.

This means, every year, my inpatient care alone cost one million dollars.

When I got Waffle, I stabilized so notably that I never went inpatient again.

I also made friends, built a family and got a job.

Yes, that means one dog saved one million dollars ANNUALLY and gave me a meaningful life.

Now, this is not all about numbers — about the astronomical costs of mental health care and the funds needed to simply survive with serious mental illness.

This is about a life — someone’s life that will be unequivocally transformed by a service dog.

TODAY, FOR GIVING TUESDAY, WE ARE FUNDRAISING FOR THAT LIFE — for that human being who deserves to not only survive but to live — freely, profoundly, and beautifully with friends, family and meaning in this world.

Yes, today we are fundraising for that life and another Waffle — actually another TWO Waffles.

We have until Tuesday, November 28 at 11:59PM PST to raise the full 7500 to unlock the matching 3500 from a generous donor.

So, if you can — if our story has touched you or helped you in any way, please help us give that to someone else.

It’s all I ever wanted to do with this page — pay it forward — and honor this life by giving others the same incredible chance I had.

Please also:

- Like this post
- Share this post
- Tag a dog loving, mental health advocate in your life below
- comment 💜💜💜

THE BIGGEST BIGGEST BIGGEST THANKS FROM ME, WAFFY, TUG, MARTHA AND THE WHOLE PACK!!

02/11/2023

HELLO—GOOD MORNING—FEED US COOKIESSSSSS!!!

24/10/2023

What if today
Just for a moment
We believed in ourselves as much as our dogs believe in us?

What if today
Just for a moment
We loved ourselves with that same vigor too?

____

Waffle and Tug are continually my self love role models.

I try daily to be as unabashed and self-accepting as they are.

I have come an incredibly long way thanks to their help.

I can assuredly say I love who I am now — and that is a huge win.

I still don’t love my body though.

My body is the final frontier — the one I have been fighting to accept since I was a little girl who binged for the first time at age 5.

Body hatred is a currency in our capitalist country.

Body hatred propels the diet industry — the fashion industry — the makeup industry and even the health industry.

If we hate ourselves, we’ll shop to “fix it” even though there is nothing to be fixed.

I often feel overwhelmed and helpless when it comes to taking on the beast of capitalism and the patriarchy.

But today, I actually have a way for us to take on the diet industry and change children’s lives.

I would love your help doing this.

PLEASE JOIN ME AND USE THE ACTION ALERT IN MY BIO TO TELL TO SIGN S.5823C/A.56 INTO ACTION.

This bill would prohibit the sale of weight loss supplements to minors.

Currently, kids of all ages and genders are purchasing and consuming these supplements at an alarming rate.

These loosely regulated products are damaging children’s mental and physical healths.

Not only are these products gateways to eating disorders, the deadliest mental illness, these products are also often laced with additives that result in long term physical harm.

I grew up hating my body and thinking these products were the answer and here we are, 30 years later and they are still readily available to kids.

Please join me in supporting this.

TAG IN THE COMMENTS BELOW

And

CLICK THE LINK ABOVE TO ENTER YOUR INFO.

It takes less than a minute.

Thanks in advance from the bottom, the top, the everywhere in my heart for your help — it is beyond appreciated!!!

___

📸:

16/10/2023

Pinch me. Waffy and I are in the ➡️ today. What an honor.

This means I can finally tell you what I’m doing with Harvard — building out public mental health campaigns to grow a healthier, safer and more accessible future!

Mental Health for all — Let’s goooooo!🔥🔥🔥

Massive thank you to Ellen Barry and for the incredible piece and photographs.

Huge thank you to for recognizing the power of online advocacy and giving me the chance to help shape the future with it.

And most of all,

THE BIGGEST OF BIG THANK YOUS TO YOU!

I am here because of you!

I have been creating mental health content for 9.5 years (10 years this December) and this community is a pure gift to me. A pure gift.

I am so proud of how far we’ve come and oooh baby, I cannot wait to see where we go and all the good we will do along the way.

We love you.

Kate, Waffy, Tug + Dave

02/09/2023

Five years. Holy wow. We are the luckiest 💜✨😘

07/08/2023

Harvard invited me to its inaugural summit on Mental health.

Out of all the creators in the world, Harvard chose me, one of 25.

I keep trying to find the words for what the experience meant to me and how overwhelmed I am by the honor.

But since I can’t share 22 pages and nobody wants to watch me weep in gratitude and relief, I’ll just say this:

We did it.

You and me and all of us.

We did it.

We made mental health part of the conversation and not the uncomfortable part or the ugly part or the part you wished you didn’t say.

No.

We made mental health an integral part of the conversation — the part you respect and talk about for days at Harvard.

~

I have advocated for mental health for twenty years – since I was 15 – and not until I stepped on Harvard campus last week did I finally realize how far we have come.

When I started, everyone thought I was out of my mind for demanding to be heard and respected.

But I did it.

I did it all the way to Middlebury College and every day thereafter.

No part of my advocacy journey was easy.

Honestly, most of it was gut-wrenchingly painful and deeply lonely.

But no matter how many times I was stigmatized, bullied, or shut down for activism, I never stopped.

Even when the death threats started and the countless messages that told me they wished my su***de was successful arrived, I still didn’t stop.

No — no part of me ever thought to do anything but continue because of all the truths I know, this is the one I hold most dear:

There is no shame in mental illness.

There is only shame in stigmatizing it.

Last week, Harvard acknowledged that loud and clear.

Harvard said - damn straight, mental health matters.

I have worked my whole life for that to be the truth and today it is, thanks to all we have done.

But don’t think that means I’m stopping anytime soon.

I plan on crusading forward until mental health is respected in every single place on this planet.

I am so proud of us for fighting to get here and I, for one, cannot wait to see where we take this work together as we change lives like it already has mine and continue to save them.

19/07/2023

I’ve spent my entire life saying
Maybe
Just maybe
If I go to bed earlier
And sleep later
And stop using devices after 7pm
Maybe
Just maybe
Someday
I won’t be tired anymore.

I’ve tried it six ways to Sunday
I’ve slept more — entire weekends even
I’ve done less — sometimes even nothing

And no matter what
I always end up in the same place
Exhausted
In bed
Alone
Drowning on dry land by a suffocating fatigue and the impending doom of a life spent un-lived

This vacation
My lovey and I tried something entirely different
Instead of doing less
We did more

Instead of days spent in practical paralysis
We left the house, our two best girls in tow
We biked
We explored gardens
We lost ourselves in a lavender farm and filled each day until both girls couldn’t even keep their eyes open

Yes
This time
Instead of days spent doing less
We did more.

I have spent my entire life saying
Maybe
Just maybe
Someday
I won’t be tired anymore.

If only I had known sooner
The fatigue wasn’t from living
It was from my avoidance of it

Yes
If only I had known sooner
The very way to live beyond the tired
Is to live a life where you fill it to the very brim.

10/05/2022

Who’s excited for Tug to go on her very first run?!?! Me too!

I am also stoked to be doing it with and their new Magic Link.

Fable knows what’s up. They get that for dog parents, circumstances and weather change at the flip of a hat and you always need to be prepared.

This waterproof, mold proof — ie Vermont proof — Magic Link is more than just a leash.

It can be used in a multitude of ways and worn hands free in two different ways — street style or waist style.

It has a built in collar for all those times at the park or on the trail when you need to wrangle your sweetie mid adventure.

And, it comes in 9 super cute colors and two sizes.

Join us in stories to see it in action and share in the joy that is Tuggie’s first run!

Also, drop any and all tips for training a running dog below 👇 🤸‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️👇

We’ve got the gear now but definitely need help scaling her (and me) into running.

27/04/2022

Baby Tug 🥺 and Chapter 7…

Without even an introductory greeting, the attending physician robotically apologized for “seeing me like this” and then proceeded to discuss my case and a medication increase… this was their way - talking about me like a specimen, hypothesizing variables like I was a simple chemistry beaker.

Finally, the medical student had his moment in the sun to practice talking. ‘So, Kate, how do you feel about this?’

It was my moment.

‘I feel like absolute fu***ng sh*t.’

The room went silent. This room of distinguished health care providers had seen me in my adherent, complacent state for 15 hospital stays over the course of 8 years. They had witnessed me be their “perfect patient.” I was the first to try new treatments. I was the first to say ‘yes, I will work on that.’ I was the first to throw myself into a new program, on new medications, into a new exercise regimen and do all of it with extreme hope and discipline even though none, absolutely none of the interventions, had ever worked out. I had always done everything exactly the way they wanted.

But finally – finally, I had realized that being the perfect patient was the fastest way to ending my life by su***de or in some god forsaken long term psych program.

So, today was the day I stopped being their perfect patient. Today was the day. Today was my day.

I continued to read the sp*ech in my hand that I had prepared earlier that morning...

‘I have had enough. I take twenty-seven capsules a day of thirteen medications and I still live with extreme mood swings, graphic hallucinations that haunt my every moment, constant suicidal ideation in addition to a slew of extreme physical symptoms due to the side effects of these drugs.

I don't know who I am anymore and let’s be honest, you don't even know what you are treating anymore.

I am the side effect of a side effect of a side effect.

And, the one thing I am certain about at this point, is, it is not me. I am not me and I need to meet me. It is time. I need to titrate off all of these god forsaken medications before it is too late.”

To read the full chapter, head to the link in my bio

25/04/2022

I’m all sorts of out of sorts
I’m riding the waves
Some big, some small, all tenacious

I don’t know if it is the toll of the last two years
or that I simply am not in alignment of purpose
I don’t have the answers

I keep saying that in therapy

I don’t have the answers, Dr. C

I don’t have the answers
I just want to help people feel less alone
I just want to make a difference

Helping is the only thing that feels good

Some days I’m drifting
Others I’m swimming for dear life
but the question always lingers

you know the one
from that Mary Oliver poem

Tell me
what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

I repeat it often
and then I go back to swimming
to fighting forward for forwards sake

But then
then
Waffy head bumps my elbow and offers a paw and a sweet stare
Waffy frolics with her leash and head tilts toward the door

and I come home to myself
to my one wild and precious life
and I ask myself as I walk out the door with her

What is forward for forwards sake?
What is this life if I don’t actually make a difference?

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Holy gratitude. @noahkahanmusic at @fenwaypark 💜 As most of you know, I’m not one for toxic positivity or grandiose statements about how it will all work in the end. I’ve lost far too many friends to mental illness to live and write that way and I will never say that their tragic passing was something “working out.” Nevertheless, I still feel compelled to say this and believe it in my entirety: You matter. Your fight matters. And even though this world can’t see your light just yet, I can. And it is bright and bold and beautiful. And every day you face the darkness of your mind and this world, your light grows ever stronger. And one day soon On an unexpected Saturday morning Or perhaps a late Tuesday afternoon, You’ll see it too. Yes, you’ll see it too and you will be oh so glad you stayed. And in that moment, You’ll learn the truth I am beginning to walk each day: Our cracks were never about the light getting in. No, not that at all. Our cracks were always about our light getting out. Yes, our cracks are how we light up this world. 💜💜💜 ———————— This night was only possible because of my small, mighty army: Thank you @mbrous723 for sending that DM and offering your tickets. It was such a gift meeting you and going together. I already can’t wait for our next adventure. Thank you @sjcallaway for being one of my people since pre-school and bowl cut days. Holy grateful you were there to walk beside me & explain my panic attack to @sirbagrit 🙃😘 Thank you Emma and all other members of this beautiful community who went die hard to get us tickets and said hi that night. Thank you lovey for bearing with my six breakdowns and watching waffy. Thank you Waffy for getting me there even if you couldn’t walk me there yourself. And thank you TUGBOAT for fighting so damn hard to become a truly incredible service dog. Though it’s not yet official, this night felt like your graduation and I am so so proud of you.

THE 5 RULES OF HEAT WAVE DOG SAFETY 🔥👇 1. PRE-HYDRATE — HYDRATE — RE-HYDRATE! Dogs need ~1 ounce of water per pound of body weight per day. Waffy, a 95-pound dog, needs ~ 12 cups of water a day. Tug, a 65-pound dog, needs ~ 8 cups of water. Ways to motivate hydration: - Frozen licky mats: pumpkin puree + water, bone broth and coconut water are easy and affordable - Fruit popsicles (just freeze chunks — watermelon is the most affordable and highest water content) - Add bone broth to mealtimes 2. UP AND AT EM EARLY! Sunrise is your time! Side walks have cooled and the air is as cool as it’s gonna get. Always bring water and if possible, walk in wooded, shady areas near water bodies. Sidewalks and blacktop are always hotter than the air. According to JAMA, when the air is 86 degrees, the asphalt is 135 degrees. To tell if pavement is too hot for your dog to walk on: - Place your hand on the pavement for ten seconds. - If it’s too painful for you, it’s too hot for your dog’s paws. If that’s the case, use booties or don’t do it. 3. EVAPORATIVE COOLING FTW! Evaporative cooling is your best friend in the heat. Well, second to your pup. Use it to your advantage: - Hose down your dog pre-walk/ when you take them outside. - Use evaporative cooling vests/ bandanas. We love the swamp vest from @ruffwear. 4. SWIM! The tried and true winner of heat waves: - it exercises you and your pup - phenomenal low impact strength training - offers enrichment 5. REST! Yup. Unpopular opinion but it’s important to remember, especially when emergency room vets see a massive spike in cases during heat waves. it is okay to take the week off and keep your pups safely indoors in the AC. Training, games and snuffle mats can tire them out and you can get better m to it next week. Remember— Your dog’s safety is way more important than one week of exercise. What other tips and tricks are you using to beat the heat? 💜💜💜 _____

Which bonus deserves extra EXTRA points? I’m leaning towards Superman with a side of foldy paw but the sassy look is also (as usual) something else 😅💜😂😂 #bernesemountaindog #ilovemydog #bernese #bmd #bernesedaily #dogsofinstagram #mydogiscutest

Sassy Waffle says you’re welcome 💁🏻‍♀️ Literally just can’t with her and her sassitude 😂☠️💜😂😂 Hope you — like Waffy and tug — had a great long weekend. Wishing you a day! ____________ #bernesemountaindog #sassywaffle #bmd #bernese #bernesedaily #berneselove

It’s been 11 months since I started this whole cold plunge endeavor. I actually started out to appease my doctors. My A1C was high. I was pre-diabetic. And cold plunging was far more appealing than returning to the land of eating disorders, even if doing so was under the guise that this time it was “healthy.” I started it the way I start everything — with gusto and the recruitment of accountabilibuddies. I knew I would not get in the river every day if someone wasn’t holding me to it. I’m a Leo after all. I need you to clap for me every single step I take. When I began, I had no expectations that cold plunging would offer anything more than obnoxious instagram content I could post to prove to the world that I was still here — that I survived after my company restructured. But instead, I found the most miraculous things. I found nervous system regulation. I found days without fugue states and weeks without night terrors. I found pause and peace and the ability to make it through a yoga class IN MY BODY. And most of all — Most of all — I found reclamation — reclamation of body and mind and self. Reclamation of a life I got to choose. So yup, 11 months later, I’m finally making plunging a part of my daily routine with a vintage cast iron tub that only has three legs. And even though my doctors are thrilled that my A1C is finally within normal limits And my friends are thrilled I can make it through a conversation without dissociating or getting lost in a ptsd trigger, I’m not doing it for them. I’m doing it for me. Because the discomfort of this practice is the cost of a life I actually want to live. _____________________ #coldplungetherapy #coldplungeformentalhealth

Please thank Officer Waffle for her service 👮💜👇Also the sly smiley after policing Cordelia Rose is toooo good ☠️☠️☠️ And for everyone who is about to @ me… No children were harmed in the making of this video. ________________ #labrador #bernesemountaindog #sassywaffle #dogfunpolice #dogfriendsforever

Who else puts the car window down for their Berner? 🥶🙈 Follow @wafflenugget for more Vermont-based adventures. ~ ~ #bernesemountaindoglovers #lablove #labradorlife #polarvortex #bmd #vermont . .

Drop a 💜 if you missed these two best girls!!! We missed you!! We so appreciate all the kind messages — we are absolutely okay, just went on a digital detox. We are so glad to be back! And today, with this blizzard walk, we remind you of these inherent truths: The little things Are actually the big things. All we have is now. #natureformentalhealth #optoutside #mentalhealthrecovery #mindfulmovement #joyfulmovement #blizzard

Do you loathe this color like me? 💁🏻‍♀️🤢 Emotional responses to color are a very real part of all of our lives and color impacts more than just mood. Color can impact functioning. Color can be particularly influential for individuals who are neurodivergent. I live with ADHD and am a hyper sensitive person. I live with sensory processing dysfunctions. What this means is that everything in the environment impacts me to a far greater degree than it does the normal person. Color, Design, noise, texture, energy, emotion — you name it — I don’t only notice it, I feel it. My body seemingly cannot get over the color of a wall, how a couch is positioned, the art that hangs oddly high or the very texture that multiple pieces create in a room. This reality is exhausting. It can also be fascinating because I am acutely aware and in tune with those around me and the spaces I occupy. For the last five years, I have been so busy working as a CEO that I didn’t have time to update my house. We moved into it when I just started that role and my husband and I just threw everything we could into closets and haven’t done much since then. Now that I have left that job and have time, I am going to use applied color and design psychology to re-design (and dog-ify) #thedrwafflehouse. My goal is to build a home that helps me heal instead of hinders it. Follow @wafflenugget for nerdy psychology interior design adventures and ways to dog-ify your house along the way.

This Thanksgiving Eve, we want to say a massive THANK YOU for being here with us. My doctors told me I was never going to survive outside a locked psychiatric unit. And yet, here I am — married, dog mom and teammate of Waffy and Tug, the CEO of @thedogist and most notably, a happy — well — human. For years, I was laughed at for having an instagram page devoted to my dog. But you didn’t laugh at me. You joined me. You got it. This page is not just a page in honor of my dog and all her hilarious and adorable quirks. This page is a celebration of survival — of getting to live an actual life — of adventuring and getting messy — of being our whole selves and loving that whole self, just like our dogs do daily. If there is one thing I am certain of, it is this: Being a human is hard. And yet, when we are all in it together — dogs included, of course — it’s manageable and meaningful, beautiful even. So today, I want to emphasize my gratitude for you. You make our life meaningful and beautiful. It is a true honor to be seen and loved by you as we adventure through this crazy life. If you celebrate, wishing you a delicious and family drama free Thanksgiving. With love, @kate_speer Ps. Shoutout to my stylists — sleep deprivation and holiday e-commerce prep — for making me look SO glamorous for this video appearance 💁🏻‍♀️ I mean c’mon now, you don’t have to tell me, my melasma looks faaaabulous today in this morning light 🙃😅🤣

Cooking is way more fun when playtime with my girl is involved. She has a knack for eating and also an amazing ability to sniff out smackerels on all our dish towels. Her sillies with them are so cute that I can’t say no and it’s the best knowing we can #getdirtywithconfidence each and every day, no matter what we are cooking. @LGUSA has the highest customer rating in the business and we know why - they let us play hard in the mess and enjoy a clean home all the while. #ad

It's time to #getdirtywithconfidence

No day is complete without an adventure and, given Waffle's tendency to get filthy each every time we venture out the door here in Vermont, a bath. Thanks to @LGUSA, we #getdirtywithconfidence each day knowing the ultra capacity load feature has our back and can clean and dry all 7 extra-large towels she requires each night before we head out the next day to romp again. LG is the top rated home appliance brand on the market and thanks to amazing features like this, they are also top rated in customer satisfaction. So, for all you fellow dog mommas out there, I encourage you to join us in our commitment to #getdirtywithconfidence knowing that @LGUSA is always here to take care of the mess from every adventure this world has to offer, no matter how dirty

Snow much snow!!!!!

Derp-tactical.

What do you mean this is not my bed?

Somersaults & Snow cones. #thisismyjam

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