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Prior to my diagnosis of arthritis, I always thought that whatever was wrong would eventually go away. One day I would wake up and I would be back to normal. Then after I had learned more about the diagnosis through the Arthritis Foundation, the reality set in: this wasn't going to go away. Although I was following the treatment plans that my doctor had laid out, I wasn't going to go back to being the way that I was. I needed to make changes to my lifestyle to help me cope with this new diagnosis and loss, and with the requirements of my doctor's treatment.
At first, a good friend helped a great deal when he was not traveling, but this put a lot of undue stress on our relationship. Moreover, when he was traveling, I was back to pushing myself to get everything done and would end up having terrible flare-ups.

It seemed I had to choose between being dependent upon others or have flare-ups trying to keep up. I couldn't do the latter. As a person who is extremely independent, you might as well have given me a death sentence. It wasn't realistic to ask me to make a major personality change like this overnight. And after watching the effects of my relationship change with my friend to a care-giving role, I knew that this was not a healthy answer for me.

I wanted to find a way to maintain my independence; I wanted to find a way to recapture a part of the life I had to leave behind. So, I researched what options there were for getting help outside of my family and friends. I looked into hiring maids, personal assistants, yard maintenance companies, and home health aids. The problem was that all of these cost a great deal of money.

A friend of mine suggested that I contact Delta Society’s National Service Dog Center to learn more about what service dogs can do and if this would be a viable option for me. I had never owned a dog before but liked animals very much and I thought it couldn't hurt to look into this suggestion. Susan Duncan, RN, manager of the center, helped me to learn all of the things that dogs could be trained to do and how those things could help me in my everyday life at home and at work. Service dogs go through specialized training and can do a variety of tasks from opening doors to loading clothes in a washer to being trained to help people with seizure disorders.

The cost effectiveness and full-time availability of a service dog is what eventually drew me towards the idea. Training can cost from nothing on up, depending on whether you train the dog yourself, get it from an organization that gives away these specially trained dogs for free, or if you pay an organization or trainer to train the dog for you. Typical care for a dog is about $1000 or less a year for food, vet bills, and licensing. This is significantly less than any of the other options that I looked into. Plus, a service dog can be there 24 hours a day. I realize that a service dog can't do everything that a person can, but it would reduce the role my family and friends would play in care giving.

It was during the first two-month period that I started to work with my service dog, Blue, that I discovered that he would be helping me with more than just chores. Whether it is due to the fact that he is non-judging friend who is there all of the time or that he acts as an external focus for my attention, I found that he was helping to rebuild my self-esteem. Whatever the reason, I discovered that I was going out more and getting back to doing the things that I had always enjoyed doing.

In addition, not only was I going out more, I was going out more alone. A couple of years ago, prior to getting my service dog, I was accosted on my way to an appointment. Ever since then I have been leery of going places alone. I have always been one to go out and do anything but this experience threw me because I realized how vulnerable I am when I am in a lot of pain. When Blue has gone out with me, I have found that strangers leave me alone.

In the two years that Blue has been helping me, I have found that I have more energy to devote to activities which ultimately help with reducing the painful flare-ups of arthritis such as exercise. Long walks were something that I greatly missed and am glad that I am able to get back to doing them. I especially enjoyed being able to participate in this year’s “A Joint Walk” with Blue. The Arthritis Foundation has done a great job educating the public about the many forms of arthritis, raising money for research, and educating people with arthritis about their illnesses and ways of coping with them. Blue has been an important coping mechanism for me in dealing with this chronic illness, and coping is half of the battle with arthritis! I felt it was important to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation so they could continue on with their mission of education. I am glad that Blue and I were able to participate in this and look forward to our participation next year



Below is a list of some of the tasks Blue has been trained to perform. Some of these tasks I don’t need help with at this point, some of these tasks are only done on very bad days, and others are done on an on-going basis.



Click here to see pictures of Blue in action.

If you think you might be interested in using a service dog, contact your doctor, occupational therapist, or physical therapist to help you evaluate your disability-related needs. Federal law protects individuals with disabilities to be accompanied by their service animals in public places like doctors’ offices, hospitals, restaurants, health clubs, and other places of public accommodation. To find out more about service animals, visit Delta Society’s website or call 800-689-6898 for a free catalog.