My Dog
By CivilCybil,
My dog’s name is Niko. It wasn’t the name I picked out for him, but it was the name he was use to when I got ahold of him. I was looking for one when a friend told me about him. She said he was real sweet and smart, but I was a bit leary because of his breed; pit bull. She kept telling me that the owner was threatening to take him to the pound because nobody wanted a pit bull that she could trust to take care of him the way he deserved. So, I agreed to at least to take a look at him. The day I met him, and the day he waltzed into my home, was the day he stole my heart. He has this great big head with the most soulful face I have ever seen.
I started training him when I broke my leg. I had time to kill and was a bit immobile for some time. Now he knows about 30 commands and has bonded to me quite well. He knows when I am sad or sick and need a snuggle buddy. While talking to my doctor one day about my dog, he wrote me a prescription for him. He said it seemed to do me a lot of good to have a focus when I’m out and about. I heard that people had dogs for PTSD, but it had never occurred to me how they worked. It seemed that I had trained the perfect dog.
Talking to other PTSD’s, I found out that I had trained my dog the way their dogs were trained professionally. Basically, he occupies my mind. I am too busy controlling him in public to really be concerned about other people around me. And, I feel safe… because after all he is a pit bull and doesn’t appreciate people yelling at me or being aggressive toward me. Those that have dogs trained for this purpose have said the same thing, but most were trained professionally.
Does anyone else here have a prescription for their dog? I know that I can get a service dog certification for him. But most sights for such a thing are pay for’s and not really legitimate certifications. I looked up the national registry, and I could probably get him certified by sending a video of how he reacts to me, and how I react to him, and how well behaved he is. One day, I’d like to be able to train him in grocery stores, and on the bus, and such, just so I can have him on adventures when I don’t feel as secure as I should be. Anyone else done this? Anyone even considered this as an option?
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