I don’t know about you, but whenever I see a news story involving an animal pop up on Facebook or Twitter — I automatically click. I’m such a sucker for inspiring or uplifting stories about pets. I also love any opportunity to help rescue dogs and find them happy homes. Hi, I’m Kait and I’m a crazy dog lady.
How My Dog Saved My Life
If you’ve been reading here for awhile, you’ve met my beautiful dog, Judy, but if not…
Dane and I have known for a very long time how special Judy is. From the time we got her, she has had a sweet demeanor and spunky personality. For anyone reading that has met Judy in real life, you know her goofy tendencies. She’s just a fun-loving, happy dog. Often, she acts more like a human than a dog.
Before we even got a dog, we knew that we wanted to enroll him or her in a therapy dog program to help wounded warriors at the local hospital. Judy took to training immediately — listening to commands and acting accordingly. She was a dream come true to train – honestly! 
Around the time Judy was entering her second year of training, we hit a setback. I was sexually assaulted and I watched as life fell apart around me. We moved and I fell into a life filled with depression and constant anxiety. I failed to maintain friendships, my job and, ultimately, my happiness. I knew I needed to ask for help and when I summoned the courage to do it, I was diagnosed with PTSD. My therapist, who is a strong advocate for animal therapy, suggested that I seek assistance from a therapy dog.
Through this whole ordeal, Judy was my ray of sunshine — always happy to see me, never leaving my side and periodically forcing me off the couch to go outside.
So many people always tell me, “it’s so nice that your dog is helping people” and while I usually nod, I can’t help but want to yell “She’s the one who helps me!”. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that Judy is the one who would save me. Before all of this, I had strong beliefs about helping dogs, but now I am even more passionate. Animals have such a soothing nature to them and I can’t imagine what my life would be like without Judy. 
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