Where to begin. It’s hard.
My story is nothing compared to our veterans with PTSD, or children
with Autism and Epilepsy, or adults who need seeing eye dogs. But I
live with things that don’t always show on the outside. I live with
thoughts and feelings that make life hard for me and those around me
sometimes and I feel badly about that. I have a lot of making up to
do. I want to learn how to forgive myself by talking and giving to my
dog, and giving to myself and to those around me as unconditionally as
possible. The beauty of doing that with a service dog is it is all
done without words and I love that. I get a lot of healing from touch,
too, and I am so excited to cuddle with my dog.
I have done a lot of work around dealing with my issues and I’m
pretty proud of myself for that, but I think we can always be better
and do better. And I think having a service dog in my life will help
me be a better person – more kind and loving, more patient and
mindful, less anxious and focused on myself and my problems and more
on being a good friend to my dog, a better mother to my incredibly
beautiful daughters, a better wife to my husband, a better family
member and a better friend. And I am really looking forward to walking
with my dog, getting out and playing with him or her and of course,
cuddling, which I find so calming.
Thank you to K4Paws for accepting me into their wonderful program and
for understanding that although someone may seem very high functioning
on the outside, there are hurts on the inside that run very deep and
as I understand it, service dogs are trained to really help with this,
and that is what I’m looking forward to experiencing the most.
As a military spouse and the daughter of two WWII veterans, I am also
thrilled to be supporting K4Paws and the work they do to provide
service dogs to our veterans. We need to raise funds to get our
veterans the help they need.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Holly