Life with a service dog Part 1

This is my first post of a few I have in mind about life with a service dog. If you know me you know, have heard of or seen Riddick my service dog. If you don't know me then let me introduce him. Riddick is an approximately 16 months old  black and white border collie lab mix rescue dog who rescued me. I get a lot of questions and I mean a lot of questions about what he does and why. So I wanted to take the time to address those questions.

First what does Riddick really do? Riddick is both a hearing dog and a seizure alert dog. That means he pulls double duty every day. His job is to alert me to things I can't hear, which is pretty much everything. He lets me know everything from a person wants my attention to car horns to beeping microwaves. He also is my seizure alert dog. He can sense a seizure up to 5 minutes before it happens. During a seizure he lays on my legs and I hold on to him.

He's even gone so far as to place his paws on either side of my head to prevent me from hitting my head during a seizure. He then proceeds to lick my face and nuzzle me till I wake up. He's also been trained to bark to alert others if I'm having a seizure.  One of the most amazing things about Riddick is that he never really goes "off duty" at least not completely. He doesn't need a vest to know I need his help. My husband has seen him jump from tugging rope with him to rushing to my side during a seizure.

The next question I always get is why? Why have a service dog? Riddick helps me safely navigate the world. He makes being out and about much less stressful and much more safe. He's also a huge help at home. Something most people don't know is that home can be the hardest place to navigate.  He's my furry best friend and a life saver. While there are times its not possible to bring him with me, like being in a car with someone whose allergic or bringing him in someone's home that's allergic happen I do try my best to always keep him with me.  We're still growing and learning together but this is a partnership that will last a lifetime. To conclude Part 1 I want to share a photo I found that is both hilarious and very true to life.