Logan Smith Buice
Animals hold special powers. They can be protective, loyal, and the best of friends. Some can ease anxiety, while others provide sight to the blind. A dog held close to your heart can give you confidence in a room full of strangers. These precious creatures can clear your mind on an airplane, while sitting on your lap. This magic is beyond measure, and life changing for people with or without psychiatric disorders.
There have been regulations preventing “emotional support” animals from entering certain establishments, while “service” animals are allowed. Once or twice, I have seen a man with a mastiff service dog in the grocery store. The difference between that frighteningly large dog and a lap dog is training, paperwork, and permission from a psychiatrist. My psychiatrist once approved an emotional support squirrel.
I am of the mind that “emotional support” animals are of equal importance as “service” animals. When I begin to panic, I bury my hands in my dog’s fur and draw comfort from his companionship. Without him, sometimes I cannot suppress my anxiety. Who can determine the worth of my needs, interpret the value of my emotions, shut out my source of support from entering a place of business?
My emotional support dog, Logan, was trained to dissolve my anxiety. My emotions can be read in his behavior. If I am tired or sad, it is written all over Logan’s face. Happiness is twirling around and often (but not always) noticing the existence of his tail. When I am irritable, beware the wrath of my tiny dog if you get too close. He is territorial about “his” lap. The two of us draw energy from one another. I am no doubt his emotional support human.
Logan reminds me to take my medication at a certain time daily, after he eats lunch. He is trained to ride in a backpack carrier. When I carry him on my back, he is undetectable. Hidden, Logan is able to accompany me most everywhere I go. When he is not in my arms, I feel awkward and unaware of what to do with my hands in social situations. In this way and many others, he provides service. For a miniature being, his presence is immense. Logan’s favorite spot is my right shoulder. While I shoulder his burden, he shoulders mine.
–SJB