Mental Musings

This is a blog about my service dog, Talulla, my service dog in training, Neo and our experiences together. There's also a lot of shitty mental illness content.

[nw-intp]

✨🌸✨🌸✨❣🦄❣✨🌸✨🌸✨ I just want to say thank you so much to anyone who shared Neo’s fundraiser! We were able to raise about half of the money for his vet bills and my dad and I split the rest. What was a very stressful situation was made a lot easier by generous people and I am very thankful. Neo got a crown reduction and pulpotomy last week and is doing great! We have a recheck in 6 months, but I think this is the end of our trouble with his cute little overbite ❣ Long story short, it was like all my critters and me were needing expensive medical treatment all at the same time that I had to quite my job…. Still broke as hell but I got everyone through the past few months…

[mymentalmusings]

I know that they don't instal locks on the outside of bathroom doors for my own safety.... But I also really want to be able to lock the toilet monster INSIDE the bathroom every night....

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

In terms of service animals, ESA's (emotional service animals) they are not the same correct? They require no trianing from what im told. They can not go the same places service animals can right? Thank you!

ESAs are not legally considered service animals and do not get public access rights, correct. They’re not trained but with a medical prescription can be allowed in pet-banned housing. Service dogs are trained to do a specific task; ESAs just exist.

[capt-syvennia]

I wanted to confirm. My younger brothers girl friend got her dog resgiesterd and since alot of people don’t know the laws, grocery stores let her in along restaurants and other places..

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

There is no ESA registry, so whatever she used isn’t valid identification. Also, it’s unethical of her to abuse those laws - people know the law but they’re terrified of getting sued for standing up for themselves. She needs to stop.

[capt-syvennia]

Holy crap.. i had no idea there was no online registry… Yeah they sent her a vest, card and everything. I have tried to say something but shes 16 and doesn’t seem to get it…

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

It’s straight up a scam sadly. You need to tell her she got scammed and is break in the law. Maybe shock value will help…

[pluckedanarchist]

This article by NPR breaks down one of the biggest “ESA online registry” sites. From the article: 

“Tim Livingood runs one of many websites that sell certification paraphernalia. For $65, customers can procure papers, patches and vests to make their dogs look official. They can even buy a prescription letter from a psychiatrist after taking an online quiz.The laws are broad enough to allow that, Livingood says. While his business, the National Service Animal Registry, sounds official, he says government-sanctioned registration agencies do not exist — federal law does not actually require registration or identification patches. Property managers or airlines cannot mandate that service animals come with patches, and they can’t ask owners to produce ID cards.”

I’ve even gone as far as to contact the Disability Rights Section and they’ve told me that there are not government-recognized emotional support animals. These services take your money for useless “certification” and make it infinitely harder for the handlers of trained service animals to get service animals and be respected.

As a pharmacy retail worker, I will tell you that business are not allowed to ask you to prove your disability or prove or animal is a service animal. This stipulation is in place because it’s unlikely a disabled person will have documentation of their disabilities on them while they’re grocery shopping, going to the movies, etc. I certainly don’t have my audiogram with me when I go to work. We are trusting people not to claim their pets are service animals. 

If I brought my cat–a great companion, and pretty darn cute, but not a service animal–into a store and claimed she’s a service animal, sure, they couldn’t ask me to prove it. But that action makes it that much harder for people with actual service animals to be taken seriously.

Not to mention in some places, like California (link to the specific penal code), it’s illegal. It’s considered fraud, and can be punished by jail time, fines, or both.

Sorry this got long, I’ve just been down this particular discussion before!

[mad-dyspunktional]

Am I the only one who thinks emotional service animals should have the same status as other service animals? Why are service animals acceptable for physical disabilities but not mental???

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

You’re missing a crucial distinction - the issue is not the type of disability, but the training of the animal. 

Service animals for mental illness do exist, and they’re totally legitimate service dogs. However like service dogs for physical disabilities, they still have to actually perform a service for their handler that is more than just being present, and they still have to have a lot of specific socialization and proofing work to be granted public access. Behaviors a service dog for a mental illness might perform can include deep pressure therapy, physical distraction during brain spirals, keeping the handler from hurting themselves by restricting or redirecting movement, or leading the handler out of an overwhelming situation to somewhere calmer. 

The problem with ESAs is that people seem to think that having their pet around to help with anxiety is enough to qualify them as a service animal. It’s not. If their anxiety is actually so bad that they need their animal with them at all times to help them, then they need a legitimately trained service dog and not an ESA. Unfortunately, the “I need it for my anxiety” thing has become a way to bend the rules and it delegitimizes people who actually have service dogs for real illnesses and disabilities. 

[mymentalmusings]

Bam bam bam! I do think it would be nice if ESA's could be allowed PA, but they'd need all the same PA training SDs do, and there would need to be restrictions about species and it would probably get really complicated...

[awbrainno]

To all the weird, shadowy, glitchy creatures moving in the corners of my vision lately: I consider u my friends so please stop hiding when I try to look at u

[demonprincex]

a call-out post to the ethereal shadow mice in my apartment: i saw you, are you real, and come cuddle with me 

[bigbardafree]

being mentally ill is just being fed up with your own shit 24/7 like oh my god are we really going to do this again can I have like one hour of peace just one fucking hour oh my god p l e a s e

[jadelyn]

I feel like neurotypical ppl tend to underestimate MI ppls level of self-awareness abt our disorders. Like, believe you me, I am well aware that my brain is a rampant shitshow. That doesn’t mean I can make it stop doing shit though.

[oldsouldier]

[trans-junk-rat]

who The fuck names meds “Zoloft” sounds like some dark wizard cursing me for not wiping my feet before I enter his house and “sertraline” is his snakewife

[meme-theft]

[capacity]

I really just ignore phone calls. Like leave a message. I don’t check those either but like

[mymentalmusings]

Hi, I came across your tumblr looking at silken windhounds & saw the video of Talulla alerting to your leg shaking. I know it is a terribly personal question, but I would really appreciate any answer you could share. What is the leg shaking a symptom of? I have recently started to have an issue with my left leg shaking like that & when I'm sitting cross legged. I am going to talk to my psych ab it this week, but knowing I'm not the only one with & what is a problem for you would be relieving.

Hi, sorry it took me so long to get to this. The leg shaking you saw Talulla alert to wasn’t exactly a symptom of anything. It’s a nervous habit that shows up when I start to get overly anxious, when Talulla alerts to this she’s really alerting to a rise in my anxiety which is helpful so that I can asses my surroundings, myself, and start to perform healthy coping mechanisms and techniques learned from my social worker to relieve my anxiety and focus on my dog and not my outside stressors. Talulla not only alerts to the fairly vigorous leg shaking that comes with anxiety, but also to little wobbles in my legs if I start to loose my balance due to fatigue. This lets me know I need to stop walking/sit down and take a breather so I don’t end up stumbling and falling.The leg shaking itself isn’t a problem, just a cue for my dog to let me know what I need to know.

[femcassidy]

i think what’s wrong with me is that i don’t live secluded in a hut in the woods. i don’t bang enough rocks against enough things. i just haven’t forged any swords

[poems-and-words]

Book of the week: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Get the FREE Kindle Reading App

[chronicpain09]

When you have a chronic illness...

and then you get sick along with that

[mymentalmusings]

Probably 50% of the food I make at or bring home gets left out for HOURS before I remember to eat it…. Like between 0 appetite and 0 memory I’m so impressed with myself for still managing to eat on a daily basis….

[nw-intp]

I know no one on here has money either... but worth a shot

Neo, my 7 month old Service Dog in training needs two dental procedures done over the next two months in order to prevent his bottom canines from growing into the roof of his mouth. I have an appointment for Monday for the first procedure but don’t think I’ll have enough money by then. Medical Details: First, they have to place an orthodontic appliance around Neo’s bottom two canines and the teeth adjacent to them. This procedure is meant to encourage the canines to move into a manageable position (one that won’t result in them growing into the roof of his mouth). This appliance needs to be placed asap because the window for the second procedure is   8-9 months old. The second procedure will only be necessary if the orthodontic appliance doesn’t work (which it very well may not, but it will at least keep his teeth from hurting him until we can do the second procedure). In this case, they will need to remove the crowns of Neo’s bottom canines and perform a vital pulpotomy (to protect the exposed tooth). About Me: I am a 21 year old, disabled college student. I work part time at a veterinary hospital but what I make is just barely enough to pay for the food and monthly care for my retired service dog and service dog in training. I depend on my parents monetarily for my own food, medical expenses etc. and though they will do what they can for me and Neo, they just cannot afford to pay his bill up front. I will be taking out a loan for his procedures because they really cannot wait, but I really need help offsetting the costs. It’ll be Neo’s job soon to help me stay safe and healthy, and it’s my job to do the same thing for him, so even though it pains me, I’m asking for help. Every bit counts.                    

[nw-intp]

I have just been informed that I forgot the link for the gofundme…

https://www.gofundme.com/neos-dental-fund

[mymentalmusings]

Lol... one more time for the people in the back.... 😬

[jwstudying]

the truth

[norcalguy76]

[beecumingabutterfly-deactivated]

🐝

[giataty-deactivated20170418]

Yep 👍 🌙🔥❤

[teeth-in-your-throat]