Hedwig here!
Hi guys! It’s been a while since Mama let me post but I begged her to let me write today’s blog. I’m sick to death of Mama reminding people that they can’t talk to me so I thought that maybe everyone would listen to me, instead.
Without fail, everywhere we go, even to places where everyone already knows us, people still feel the need to talk to me.
Trust me, I GET IT! I’m adorable and I know it’s really hard to just ignore me… but YOU HAVE TO!
I have a very important job to do. From the moment Mama wakes up, (even before that really) I’m on duty. It’s my job to help her wake up fully in the morning. Mornings are really hard for Mama because no matter how good of a day she is going to have with her Tourettes, she will always twitch in the morning. You see, what little control she does have over her body is lessened when she’s asleep. And so, waking up and trying to regain control over herself is even harder. I would say 5 out of 7 days a week, Mama wakes up twitching – physically and mentally. Usually this entails her head shaking and her mind hyper focusing on one repeated thought. This is particularly common with Tourettes; known as a mental tick, this typically consists of one or two thoughts repeated over and over again. For Mama, it is “five six seven” *pause* “eight nine ten”. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but think that 500 times in a row and you’ll see how exhausting it can be for her.
Once Mama is up for the day, it’s out the door to work. Now, my Mama’s coworkers (my Aunties) are very good with not talking to me. They know how important it is that I focus on my Mama and can alert her to any oncoming issues. Other people, however, always have to stop and comment. Sure, it’s usually nice comments, but that doesn’t stop them from distracting me. I do my best to ignore them, really I do, but I’m still just a dog!
The worst part is when they insist to Mama that it’s okay because I’m clearly not working right then.
THAT COULDN’T BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!
My vest on or off, laying on my bed or standing beside Mama, eyes open or closed, eating or drinking, I AM ON DUTY!
This is a 24/7 job!
There are times, where it looks like Mama is fine and I am doing nothing, but that’s why it’s so important to NEVER interact with a service dog. To you, I’m just lying down, but to my Mama, I’m closely monitoring her for any signs that she might start twitching. Even her mental ticks, I can pick up on because I can smell the change in her. It’s my job to make sure she sits down before her legs give out, to climb up on her lap and pin her arms down so she doesn’t smack herself in the face when her arms start twitching.
If I am distracted, for even a second, I could lose the opportunity to warn Mama. She could fall, tick while holding scissors or hot coffee, hit herself, hit someone else… really, there are a million different ways that she could hurt herself and it’s MY JOB to keep her safe.
So please please please please PLEASE DO NOT TALK TO ME.
Even if Mama seems fine to you…
Even if you think I’m off duty…
Even if you think I’m sleeping…
DO NOT TALK TO ME, LOOK AT ME, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF INTERACTION.
At the end of the day, every time you distract me, you are putting my Mama in serious danger.
You never want to be the reason some gets hurt, right? So you should NEVER interact with me, or any other service dog.
Save a life and don’t talk to me!
– Hedwig