How My Dog Saved Me from Depression

I hit the worst of my worst in June 2016. I was working at a non-profit foster care agency and just moved out on my own, away from my family. Don’t get me wrong, I loved working in foster care but the hours were demanding and there was tons of paperwork that I often got behind on. I also remember getting home after midnight and working a 22 hour shift one time. Every time I’d come home from work, I went straight to bed. I hardly ate and on the weekends I didn’t want to leave home. I became so numb and I didn’t express any feelings or emotions (except for sadness). My digestive system was messed up and made me very sick.

My doctor prescribed me some anti-depression medication and they just made everything worse. He also wanted to test me for a food-born illness, parasites, and hepatitis. Everyone in my family knows that I can’t routinely take pills because I forget. So, I went back and he asked me if I ever had pets and how I felt around them. I told him that I had two dogs when I lived at home, but my landlord at the time wouldn’t allow me to have a pet. My doctor told me about prescriptions for emotional support animals. He prescribed me a different medication and wrote me a prescription letter to give to my landlord. He also came up with the conclusion that I had IBS-D which was brought on by stress.

I brought it up to my landlord and let me tell you, he was not happy. He then proceeded to tell me that I could get a small dog. I searched for the whole month and put up a ISO on Facebook. A friend from my hometown messaged me and told me he had a pug mix puppy for sale. I told him I would take it and would meet him Labor Day weekend.

On September 2, 2016 my life changed. I met with my hometown friend and as soon as I held the tiny, black puppy in my arms I started to feel again. I named him Dexter Morgan (from the TV series Dexter). His nickname is Cheeky. We became so attached it hurt to leave him when I went to work. I also walked him every morning and every evening when I came home from work. I taught him tricks using chicken nuggets. He was the best thing that happened to me that whole year (besides marrying the love of my life). Also, my IBS-D faded mid October that year.

Around November, I submitted a request to bring my ESA dog to work. I didn’t hear back from the administration until February 2017. I was called in for a meeting with my supervisor, my program manager, the human resource officer, and the chief financial officer. Let me tell you, that meeting didn’t go so well. I was accused of threatening to sue them.. which never came out of my mouth. I vented to a coworker about not getting my answer and stated I wonder if people could get sued over that. This led to them developing a new policy to not even allow service dogs to work. They stated that Dexter could not help me perform services at work, therefore, there was no need to allow an ESA there. I was also jumped onto for my hours and was told when my supervisor asks me to do a placement that I shouldn’t complain about it and just do it. February was when I finally had it with everything, I started job searching.

Dexter continues to provide me with therapeutic needs. He knows when I am upset or if I have been crying. He continues to make me happy even when I am at my lowest. I have been off my anti-depressants for seven months now. I never knew how animals could heal you and bring out a side of you that you never seen. I will forever be grateful for such a small creature.