Get to Know a Girl and her Service Dog!
My name is Shelby. I'm 17 years old and have been working with my multipurpose service dog, Jessamine, for almost two years. Quite early on, I realized Jess had the potential to become a psychiatric service dog for my anxiety and PTSD, which seemed like my last option. I was on medication and going to therapy, but my PTSD is chronic, which means it will never go away, and I knew Jess could possibly be the solution. I've loved dogs all my life and had become quite good at working with them, so after some careful consideration, we began the difficult, yet incredibly rewarding, job of owner training. It started with her learning to alert to hyperventilation episodes, blocking people off from me when needed by standing between us, and doing deep pressure therapy (DPT) to force me to take deep breathes. Right around the time she was becoming considered fully trained, I started experiencing symptoms related to what we assume to be Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS. I'd been having minor symptoms since being diagnosed with Covid-19 at the end of 2021, but it was chalked up to anemia and I was put on iron supplements. My health started declining quite rapidly after that, and I started going to doctor's appointments more often and even a cardiologist. I took blood tests, an EKG, had a heart monitor placed, and everything came back normal, which is exactly what happens when someone has POTS, though I'm still attending regular appointments and haven't been officially diagnosed. Since I started experiencing these physical symptoms, I've been working with Jess on alerting and responding to medical episodes, which she's been amazing at. For example, she does light mobility when I'm in syncope, alerts to a high heart rate, and responds when needed by doing DPT during fainting spells, which has been proven to regulate heart rate faster than just lying down.. Though every day can be a struggle, having Jessamine right by my side has improved my quality of life immensely, and I strive to educate the public about dogs with jobs like Jess and help young handlers whenever I can.
