Bridget is feeling better & doing well.

It took Bridget over a couple weeks to fully recover from the med side effects & ear infections, but she's doing good now. She was pretty lethargic for awhile due to the side effects. She's put on lots of weight since our first meeting & her hair has grown in so thick, long, & pretty. She looks like a different dog than when she first arrived at the rescue. She has been living with us rather than the trainer for just over a month now. & learning DPT (Deep Pressure Therapy)/cover command, to alert & respond when I'm having a bad POTS flare, & an anxiety interruption. She's doing pretty well on learning those so far. The trainer & I are still working on improving the prey drive for squirrels, & stray cats, plus her distraction to other dogs, but confident she will get there. She has already made some improvents & is easily corrected when she does get distracted, or wants to chase.

She is such a sweetheart & has already helped me in so many ways. She is already helping with my anxiety & PTSD, & also with the POTS flares. My doctors are in agreement that I am a huge fall risk due to the fainting & dizziness causing falls that could cause more injury to my spinal issues. Some say that I need get out of the wheelchair & to cautiously walk as much as possible to build muscle strength back up, while a couple others say I'm to big of a risk until something more can be determined & treated. I'm way to stubborn & bull headed though so I have been pushing myself out of the wheelchair & to walk Bridget some around our neighborhood. We make lots of stops, know where every bench in our village is located,lol, plus consistently sitting in the middle of the sidewalks for her to do DPT. Just thankful that she has given me the courage to get out & try more. I know I shouldn't be bothered by what people think, but when you faint, or near faint without a service dog, & are lying or sitting in the middle of the floor or sidewalk people stare & glare at you like you are a freak, drunk, or high. When it happens while with a service dog people automatically realize that it's due to a medical issue & "fewer" people no longer do that. Having a service dog gives a sense of security in a chaotic world, not to mention the help that they bring with their many other tasks.