Our Four-Legged Conversation Starter
Our star, Dancer
I’ve written before about the benefits of having service dog for our son with autism. One of the benefits of having a service dog for this mom of a child with autism is the open invitation to talk that Dancer extends for me.
Being an autism mom can be isolating, so I appreciate all the conversations she’s started for me. I learn so much about other people now just by doing errands.
Here are some of the things I’ve learned lately:
– One man is teaching his dog to be an alert dog for diabetes to detect when someone’s blood sugar is dropping.
– One woman’s dog died recently. We talked about how non-“dog people” just don’t get her grief. I told her that’s because they’ve never been loved by a dog, so they can’t fathom the loss of that deep love.
– One woman recounted how a service dog in training did a perfect down-stay during a meeting, but kept “perfuming” the room. “This will be the only service dog I’ve raised who will flunk out because of farting,” the handler told this woman.
I never feel alone in the world when Dancer is with me and I am so very grateful when she opens up more of the world to me.
