My Dog Is My Lifeline
I’m not sure I’d have made it without her
I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive. -Gilda Radner
My dog Luna is… kinda everything.
I adopted her at the end of May 2018. We had a rocky start.
Actually, it was really rocky. I was trying to figure out how to train a dog who didn’t even know her damn name while not realizing I was mired into a deep depression, about to get thrown into the depths of it all.
I was kinda awful, pretty shitty to her at first.
I thought I had to rule with an iron fist and a loud, frightening voice.
I was wrong.
As May turned into June turned into July and my entire world feel completely apart, she was still there for me. Even though I was angry, confused, trying to be ‘dominant’…
I think I’d watched too much Dog Whisperer episodes.
Yet there Luna was, standing at the precipice with me. Keeping me company. Helping me stay alive while everything feel horribly apart.
Panic attack after panic attack — there Luna was.
Crying jag after crying jag — there Luna was.
This dog was always there for me.
No person has ever been so loyal, so fiercely committed to loving and protecting me.
Luna follows me from room-to-room.
Luna goes to work with me, calming and distracting me from impeding episodes of panic and terror.
Luna goes to church with me, telling me if I need to leave early because my anxiety is building too quickly — letting me panic in peace in my car alone instead of a sanctuary full of strangers.
Luna goes to Costco and Trader Joe’s, alerting me if I dissociate to bring me back to the present, where I’m left wondering Why is my hand bleeding? Wasn’t I getting some milk? How did I get in line?
Luna is my lifeline.
Thank goodness for Luna and thank you for reading.❤
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