Kelsie Iris: Service Dog

Together through every new adventure 🌸 . We had our first day of classes yesterday! My girl has been kept awake by migraine pain two out of the past three nights, so that hasn’t been the best way to start the semester. But we’ve gotten through past challenges together before, and we’ll conquer this one too! . Photo description: A shot through a bush of purple foxgloves. Allie is wearing a white lab coat while sitting on a wooden bench. She’s smiling and looking down at Kelsie, who has her to front paws up on the bench next to Allie. Kelsie’s tail is in the middle of wagging. https://www.instagram.com/p/CAX6K26glyg/?igshid=bl7flvi7dmq9

Future midwoof at your service 🐶 . My girl and I are starting Emory’s accelerated BSN + MSN program to become certified nurse-midwifes! 💙 CNMs are a type of advanced practice nurse (like nurse practitioners) whose duties range from birth control counseling, IUD placement, abortion care, support throughout the birth process and postpartum period, and so much more. I’m definitely the program’s first “midwoof,” especially since healthcare providers with service dogs are rare (and even healthcare providers with a disability are uncommon), so it’ll be an interesting, unique journey and we’re very excited ☺️ . Photo description: Kelsie is wearing a human’s white lab coat that’s a little too big on her, and she has a stethoscope around her neck. She’s sitting in front of a sign that says “Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing.” (at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing) https://www.instagram.com/p/CANdcgkA2Wv/?igshid=nzu6x06pi580

Finding some bright sides in some difficult times ☀️ . It’s okay if you’re not learning a new language or training for a marathon or making art or doing that thing you’ve been meaning to do but never had the time. It’s okay if you’re not being productive right now. It’s okay to just exist ❤️ Times are tough, and you are enough just the way you are ❤️ . Photo description: Kelsie is standing in the shallows of a pond and looking alertly at something off camera. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_i6Ivcn4jL/?igshid=6fof03g3ijhx

Cheers to five years down and many more to come ❤️ . Photo derivation: Kelsie is sitting on a grassy field with her tongue hanging out from panting. She’s wearing a pink and black floral bow tie. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_IorzLgGiB/?igshid=vv2c9611cbsj

She’s such a good nugget ❤️

You can’t trick me ✌️ . While I was hanging in another room, my girl sneakily put a scent sample in her sock to see if I would notice. When I joined her a little while later, I paused a couple feet from her, sniffed the air, and then zeroed in on her foot and promptly alerted. Ya girl’s got skills 😎 Not pictured: my super happy wiggles afterward! I was pretty proud of myself 😏 . Image description: Handler’s view of Kelsie standing in front of her handler. Kelsie has a paw on her handler’s foot and is staring intently at her handler. (at Allston–Brighton) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-I1NB4g2M5/?igshid=1quk4jpz54ref

When you want to join your new friends but you don’t want to go swimming 😐 . My girl and I went for a nice long walk the other day ☀️ I got to splash in some water, stare at some geese and ducks, and crunch many sticks! The only downside was that my girl had a really big fatigue crash afterwards 💤 Even just putting words together to form coherent sentences was hard, let alone doing more involved activities like cooking or giving me a bath. She knew she was overdoing it and would face the consequences, but she didn’t think she was going to crash as hard she did. But that’s sometimes just how it is living with a chronic illness: things can be unpredictable. Even if you think you know your limits and your triggers, your body can vary a lot from one day to the next. The unexpected is to be expected. It can be hard for my girl to accept at times, since she never knows quite how any given activity is going to affect her, but at least she has me by her side to help her when she needs it 🥰 . Photo description: Kelsie is wearing a red backpack and is standing alert on the edge of a pond. She’s staring at three geese sitting on the water in front of her. (at Boston, Massachusetts) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9-lTF3gebb/?igshid=1d1elr650u6re

Happy Leap Day! 🎉 . To celebrate having a whole extra day to enjoy this year, my girl and I went to a park where dogs could roam off-leash 🐶 It required a two-hour nap before and an hour-and-a-half nap after BUT we managed to do our adventure anyway! I got to run through the woods, sniff other dogs, and chase balls. And I ran over every time my girl called ☺️ What did you do with your extra day? . Photo description: Kelsie in her pink winter coat is standing on top of a large rock. She’s looking off camera with her ears perked up. There’s a pine forest behind her. (at Middlesex Fells Reservation) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9LIehDgN-s/?igshid=g7omuh6v4thx

Winter can be bright and beautiful ☀️ BUT it can also be dark and depressing (and, of course, cold!) 🖤 Winter can be a hard season to weather, especially if you are already struggling with mental health issues. My girl’s depression has gotten significantly worse every winter for the past five years, but this sixth year, it’s been slightly better. Not only was this the first winter that she started taking Vitamin D3, but she’s also gone through some major medication changes this winter that have really helped to elevate her depression’s baseline. It’s still there, yes, but it’s not as oppressive as it has been — and even that small change can make a world of a difference ☺️ And as a result, I’ve gotten to go on more walks this winter! Although sometimes it’s too cold and dark even for me to want to go outside 😝 . Image description: Kelsie is wearing a pink winter coat under a teal harness while sitting on the snow in front of a rustic wooden fence and looking just off camera. A cottage and large tree are behind her, and a bright blue winter sky is shining overhead and making the snow sparkle. (at Lyme, New Hampshire) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9IjyyKAUmy/?igshid=1ktekawnv7szt

The only unbelievable beast on this campus 🐉 . Photo description: Kelsie, wearing a pink winter coat, is sitting in front of two snow-sculpture arches. Dartmouth’s library is in the background. (at Dartmouth College) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8sLQjGAKH8/?igshid=1qin3pdoxqsjo

These New England winters make me want to retire somewhere warm with a beach 🌊😋 . I’m lucky that unlike a lot of humans, I can retire whenever I want. But I’m the kind of girl who needs a job to be happy 🦮 I get bored if I don’t have a purpose in life. Don’t tell my girl, but I actually get bored when she has good health days because there’s less for me to do in my job as her service dog — I prefer when she’s having a sick day so I can actually help her out 😋 Sometimes people mistakenly think I’m forced to work and feel bad for me, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m very opinionated, so if I didn’t like my job, I just wouldn’t do it 🙅‍♀️ I’m more likely to be forced to retire, not forced to work. Can you blame a herding dog for being a workaholic? 😋 . Photo description: Kelsie is standing on top of tide pools with ocean waves crashing in the background. She’s excitedly looking off camera. (at La Jolla Cove) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8FXrcvgQB5/?igshid=oz3vbbexprlo

A spontaneous trip to a small, local botanical garden meant a chance to befriend some koi...or at least attempt to befriend them 😋 . Spontaneity can be difficult with a chronic illness and a service dog: my girl has to prepare for both her own health issues and my needs before going anywhere. The problem, too, with spontaneous adventures is that when you have a chronic illness, every action, every “fun” thing, has a price to pay afterward (where the “price” is a flare up of symptoms 😕). So when you’re someone who has to carefully ration your energy, spontaneity isn’t always an option. But every once in a while, we can make it work. This was a very small adventure close to home, and we both needed an excuse to get out of the house, even just for something short and low-key. My girl’s fatigue has been particularly prominent recently so she’s been glued to her bed, and I get antsy if I don’t work for a while (even if I get adequate exercise — I’m just a workaholic 😋). For a couple of hours, we were able to look at lots of plants and befriend some koi and turtles 🌿 . [Image description: Kelsie is putting her front paws up on a rock and peering over it into a small pond. Behind her is the lush greenery of a greenhouse. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7Kr43sgxfz/?igshid=kqwgq40m8lr2

...in which I almost rip my girl’s pajama pants 😹 . Last night I helped my girl undress before bed - and as you can see, I’m a very enthusiastic helper! 😝 You may wonder why I do this for my girl since she’s physically able to do this herself. But this can be helpful for days when she’s experiencing bad fatigue, a lot of pain, or a migraine. And I’m always very happy to help! My job might involve serious matters, like health problems, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun and be silly along the way 😋 . Video description: handler’s view of Kelsie bringing a purple rope toy to her handler. She grabs the right leg of her handler’s pajama pants as instructed, but she tries pulling to the side. She’s redirected to pull straight back, which she does successfully. She continues to pull enthusiastically even though the left leg hasn’t been removed yet, and she’s hurriedly told to Drop It, which she does...and then immediately tries to play with the pajama leg again. She’s then directed to pull off the left leg, which she does, and then she shakes the pajama a little bit before finally handing them to her handler. Her rope toy is tossed as a reward. . Audio description (Allie speaking): “Oh, thank you. Hold on, hold on. Okay sock. Kels, you’re gonna want to go that way. Sock, yeah good job. Good job. Okay okay! Kels drop it! Kelsie!! Kelsie give. Thank you. Kelsie sock. Good girl, good girl. Can I have it? Thank you, good girl. Okay there you go. . (Lol yes our cue to undress is “sock” because my girl didn’t think she was going to teach me to help with anything but her socks. Hindsight is 20/20!) (at White River Junction, Vermont) https://www.instagram.com/p/B56lkPdAGOM/?igshid=1kmqknu62cbts

My second note is that no dog is perfect!  They’ll make mistakes.  Just this summer (or maybe the summer before?  I don’t remember, time is a construct), I made a pasta dinner for my mom and me.  We eat at a low coffee table (aka snoot-height), and I left the room momentarily (to refill my water or something).  My mom was still in the room though.  I walked back into the room to see Kelsie chowing down out of my mom’s bowl – and my mom didn’t even notice!  When Kelsie heard me approach, she looked up, made eye contact with me, and deliberately took another bite of pasta.  I found it so funny that I took a photo of my naughty pooch before telling her to Leave It (actually I doubt I even had to utter the command – usually I just have to say her name in that tone and she knows what I mean).  So she’s not perfect.  But she also has a mischievous/rebellious streak and likes to push boundaries every now and again, so I expect to be kept on my toes from time to time.  And luckily there was nothing toxic to dogs so she was just fine – and probably even a little smug!

TL;DR last night a Leave It saved my service dog from a bad tummy ache, but tonight it saved her from something potentially far worse. Leave It saves lives

GIF description: (handler’s POV) Kelsie is sitting in front of her handler. She’s presented with a cotton ball in a small jar and immediately paws her handler’s leg. Her tail is wagging in the background and she’s slightly bug-eyed from being excited.