If people tell you either that service dogs can't really help people with mental health needs or that a pet is inherently good for a mental health situation, what's going on at my house right now disproves both ideas.
In the photo, the blond standard poodle 🐩 is Tarquin, my service dog. The tricolor dog 🐶 is Matilda the Australian cattle dog. Somebody dumped Matilda near my inlaw's house. Why I have Matilda now is a long, messed up story. I really need help getting Matilda to someone who can properly take care of her. I've tried really hard. I really can't do this. (Seriously! Don't be judging. This is complicated and heartbreaking.)
Service dogs are wonderful, highly trained dogs who usually have special breeding as well as their training (although many are also carefully saught out "lucky" finds who also get the same training.)
More typical pets CAN be great for mental health but they can also make things worse. It is important to choose a pet carefully, especially if the person who will care for the pet has special needs or otherwise limited resources (and really who doesn't have SOME kind of special needs or resource restrictions)
#ServiceDog #PTSD #ChronicIllness