Petting Is Not a Task

To be a service dog, a dog has to be trained to perform tasks that mitigate the handler's disability.  Petting is not a task, because a dog does not have to be trained to be petted.  I understand that. 

Still, petting Isaac is very soothing for me.  A couple days ago, I took Isaac with me to get the oil changed in my car.  I thought I was going to one of those places where you don't even have to get out of the car, but at this place, they wanted me to sit in the little waiting room while they worked on the car.  I put Isaac's service dog vest on him and took him into the waiting room with me.  It was only a very short distance from the car, so it wasn't much walking on his sprained ankle at all, but if I'd known he would have had to get out of the car, I would not have taken him with me.  I think he was really glad to get out of the house, though.  And he did great in the waiting room.  We were there about half an hour and he just lay down and napped on the rug while we waited.

I was feeling anxious, though.  I was worried about money and about my teeth and about Isaac's ankle and all sorts of stuff.  Then the mechanic came in to tell me that the serpentine belt on my car (whatever the heck that even is) was badly cracked and would need to be replaced soon.  So that made me even more anxious.  I reached down and rubbed Isaac's head and ears and he sighed and stretched out his neck and it seemed that the petting was relaxing both of us.

I read somewhere that there was a study that determined people's blood pressures go down when they pet an animal.  My blood pressure tends to run low anyway, but that's beside the point.  Petting an animal helps anxiety.  Petting Isaac helps my anxiety, a lot.  It's not a trained task, but it sure is an excellent bonus that comes with having a service dog.