About Two Years Ago

It occurred to me this evening that it was about two years ago when I first started thinking about getting a service dog.

I can't remember what sparked my interest in getting a service dog.  I think I must have come across something online about psychiatric service dogs, but I can't recall what it was exactly.  Prior to that, I hadn't realized that dogs could be trained to perform tasks to mitigate a disability like PTSD.  I was vaguely familiar with the idea of emotional support animals but didn't understand how they differed from service dogs. 

Once I become curious about it, I dove in.  I always do that with things.  I am good at research and I read everything I can get my hands on about a subject and find people with more knowledge and experience than I have to talk to and learn from.

I remember visiting my sister sometime shortly after I'd become interested in getting a service dog and talking to her about it.  I don't remember exactly when that was but I started this blog in May of 2012 and it was sometime before then.  She teased me, saying I should get a service monkey.  It was a friendly kind of teasing, though.  She was interested in the idea and she also said she thought she'd like to get a puppy.  Which she did, before I got Isaac, but she didn't keep it long.  It was a lot of work, imagine that.

I know I'm lucky that I was able to get a service dog as quickly as I did.  I had no idea two years ago that two years from then I'd be sitting in my own apartment with a wonderful service dog named Isaac.  I had no idea how much my life would change.