Help Emma Get A Psychiatric Service Dog

Hi, my name is Emma and I'm a 21-year-old student who has been training service dogs for an organization for two years. Through training these dogs I have gained a lot more personal independence and developed coping mechanisms geared towards these dogs to manage my days. While working with my wonderful therapist she suggested getting my service dog to continue giving me a sense of purpose and companionship. A psychiatric disorder is an invisible illness. Invisible illnesses are a struggle for many trying to seek help, while those around them often cannot see and do not realize the extent of the illness or its effects on daily life. A psychiatric service dog would help me face these obstacles as he/she would be task-trained per ADA guidelines to perform tasks such as deep pressure therapy, blocking and guiding in stressful public scenarios, repetitive behavior interruption, and tactile intervention of sensory overload or dissociative episodes.

Some of you may recognize me from TikTok where I documented my service dog in training, Brutus, at Disney World during my Disney College Program. Brutus and all the dogs I have trained have helped tremendously in stopping reoccurring self-harm and lessening my social anxiety disorder.