Hello! My name is Jillian Goode, n this is Nippet Momo Goode. She is currently about 1 year and 6 months old (as of 30th September 2024, as this is an edit). She is a long haired tuxedo that was rescued as a runt of her litter from our porch last April. When she came inside her eyes weren't even really open yet, except for the lil corners by her nose. We have rescued 5 kittens (Nippet n her brother Rosho, as well as 3 kittens from a previous litter) from our adopted porch cat. Unfortunately, for her health n safety, as well as the health n safety of her remaining 3 boys, they were given to the local shelter where they were then fostered together, n later adopted together by the same foster.
What makes Nippet so special to me isn't just because she's so beautiful. It's not because I see as my daughter, not just a "pet." It is partly because of how strong a survivor she is, n how much she's grown. What makes Nippet Momo Goode so very special is how loving n caring she is. She's not just my furry feline daughter. She's my ESA (Emotional Support Animal).
More on family in future posts.
She knows when I'm depressed. Knows when I'm stressed n getting too mentally overwhelmed. Feels my anxiety. She also has alerted to my physical pain; sometimes before I really feel it myself. She has also alerted on my mother's seizures too. She even alerts n tends to the anxiety of her older sister Hyo.
My intentions for this blog is to try to advocate n raise awareness for true needs ESAs. What I mean by "true needs" is that these are animals performing a service to people with true mental health issues. Not people who just want to abuse the service title in order to scare landlords n business owners into allowing them to go wherever, n live wherever, they want with their pets.
That is not the purpose of an ESA. There are studies that show that animals have healing capabilities. Canines n felines are especially naturally empathetic to the people they love. I have seen in other animals as well, such as domestic rabbits n guinea pigs. That natural empathic ability allows the animal to become more attached to, n sensitive of. The person they are most bonded to. For me, of my 4 furry daughters, it is Nippet, who is my youngest, that is most bonded to me. Part of that is due to how she was bottle fed as a baby. Even though she is fully weaned, she still has an emotional attachment to her baba. I assure you, her vet said it is fine to allow the behavior, that it is the same thing as a security blanket. It would be too damaging to stop it.
Too often I have seen posts around the web of people calling ESAs "bs," "nothing more than over-privelaged, glorified pets." For people who need an ESA, this is damaging n painful! I fully believe that true needs ESAs deserve better treatment, to be recognized as being just as important as physical needs service animals. Even places like mental health clinics do not recognize ESAs. That's the best place for an ESA to shine brightest, because you're at your most vulnerable emotional state when you are talking to a therapist about your past history.
I have tier 2 bi-polar syndrome, depression, anxiety, bad social anxiety, n am in the 80 percentile of people most likely to have Asperger's Syndrome. I have issues controlling my emotions, especially when stressed. I am prone to getting easily mentally overwhelmed. As previously mentioned, I do experience some pain issues, especially regarding migraine-like headaches, abdominal pain due to chronic cystitis (bladder inflammation), n she has even started to alert on me when she senses my menstrual cycle coming before I start to spot. As a bonus, she also tries to wake me from bad dreams.
I may look physically healthy on the outside, but not on the inside. Mental health issues are real issues that deserve equal treatment n respect.
After this post (my apologies for the length!!), I will be highlighting all the moments of Nippet doing what she does best, being my daughter n ESA. The majority of these posts will be from her perspective, her telling the story. Please don't judge her too harshly, she is still a baby (at least in the sense that she's not a year old yet).
Thank you for letting me ramble on like this on a very near n dear to me subject!
#Please support Emotional Support Animal (ESA) programs. Service animals are not just canines, n not just for physical disabilities. I may not be physically handicapped, but I have mental health issues that have needs. True needs ESAs do provide a service!
