Our Service Dog

 About 3 years ago I discovered that bipolar people could benefit with a service dog. ( http://www.psychdog.org ) We embarked on a long journey well worth the effort. We acquired a Jack Russell terrier a year ago at the Humane Society. We chose her because she chose my daughter. We had her trained in obedience and have worked with her ever since. She has been wonderful. She has made a tremendous difference in R. We have taken her to Disneyland, on Amtrak, everywhere we go. The only drawback is that people are uneducated and we have run into problems on countless occasions. But we persist. And R. has learned to speak up without being obnoxious.

Some sucess

  So we have fought with our school district for several years. They are completely incompetent. As soon as we get some small success someone will sabotage it. It begins to feel like a conspiracy. For example my daughter would act up in a bipolar fashion, in her IEP would be the tools to deal with the issues. Her IEP sat for the entire school year in the principals desk. Not one person dealing with her had ever seen t. Not the teachers, not the vice-principal. Frustrating. 

  So now here we are 2 weeks into the new school year and we are finally allowed in with her service dog.  We have threatened, pleaded, hired a lawyer. It only took a year. A wasted year for her. But we are ready to start on Monday and we are hoping all will do well.

The Beginning

  Four years ago our then 12 year old daughter, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, anxiety issues and oppositional defiant disorder. We have known for many years that something was wrong, but could find no one to listen to us.  So now here we are, still floundering. We live in a small, somewhat isolated town. There are no facilities to help us.