Hi! Awooo! OwO I'm a Furry that has a service dog.

* I recorded my service dog, Spirit, tasking. For awhile I made sure to always have my phone with me everywhere, ready to record, in case he did something. So that's how I was able to “catch” him doing things. This was not scripted.

* Service dogs and emotional support animals are different and are ADA protected differently. Service dogs (and miniature horses) are trained to respond to specific triggers/commands with specific tasks that alert or aide the disabled individual in relation to their mental and/or physical illness. Emotional support animals provide comfort for their owner merely by their presence. They are not trained to do any specific tasks. ESA’s are ONLY covered under ADA laws insomuch that they must be allowed to fly.

* What is an invisible disability? It means having a mental and/or physical illness or disability that is not visually obvious. People are more used to/comfortable with accepting someone who is blind or is in a wheelchair. But bipolar, borderline personality disorder, ptsd, anxiety, migraines, side effects from medications are literally all in my head. So I “look” fine/normal. A lot of people can’t even imagine what a service dog can do, other than being a guide dog. Well…

Spirit alerts me if i’m going to have a panic attack, if I'm nervous/anxious/scared/manic etc. by whining, staring at me, calming signal nose touches, and pawing me
He leads me out of stressful areas, finds safer areas for me
Adjusts his walking pace so that i’ll slow down because i’m getting lightheaded
Provide tactile stimulation/weight comfort/grounding/shielding (depends on the situation). He lays/ stands on me or distracts me.
Breaks me out of dissociation brought on by stress or ptsd.
Guards/covers/blocks me when I feel vulnerable. Usually my back, sometimes my side. Or places himself between me and other people so that I'll feel safer. Not that i ever “really” feel “unsafe” logically speaking...but sometimes paranoia doesn't give a shit
Encourages me to get up if i’ve been spacing out
Leans on me for physical support

* A note about “calming signals”. This is something I just recently noticed thanks to a dog trainer. Calming signals are things that dogs do to decrease tension and stress in a situation between each other and us. Behaviors include nose licking, yawning, and touching their nose to the ground. So this is just a theory, but it seems to fit. I think spirit is offering the calming signal of nose touches as another signal to me that something isn't right. Because he's not actually sniffing anything. And he usually whines before or after. shrug just a theory :)