"I DON'T LIKE YOU EITHER" that was beautiful

The part about anxiety is spot on. Anxiety can be disabling, but not many people know the difference between being anxious and having a panic disorder. There’s a difference between being anxious about an upcoming test and being so anxious all of the time for no particular reason or not being able to go out to get groceries without feeling like you can’t breathe and putting everything you have into suppressing a panic attack until you get to a safe space or not being able to focus on anything because your mind is going a million miles a minute or having to decide whether or not you can make it to class that day because your anxiety has caused physical issues and you cannot leave your bed or the bathroom. I have a service dog and his job is to help me with my mental disabilities. His tasks have prevented attacks and greatly decreased their duration. I worry all of the time that people think that I don’t deserve him or that I’m not disabled enough to have him. However, Caspian has allowed me to live much more normally again. Before He became my SD, I was not functioning.

omg your wheelchair is so cute! what's his name? can I pet him? oh! you have an oxygen tank too? holy crap everyone come look this girl has the most adorable oxygen tank!

I don't have a service dog, but I resonated strongly with what you said about anxiety. It makes me spit with anger when I'm having to escape to deal with an anxiety attack and someone is like "oh I get you, I get anxiety too!" and I'm just like... it took dozens of doctors including 2 resiratory specialists to realise my anxiety was SO BAD it permanently tered the way I breathe. I get heart attack like symptoms when my anxiety flares. That's not cute lil anxiety that the average person gets. That's debilitating, terrifying anxiety that I wouldn't wish upon anyone.

This video was INCREDIBLY eye opening for me. I am a non handler and have recently been educating myself on working dogs. I genuinely had no idea how compromising what I perceive as a compliment (your dog is so cute!) can be to a handler. I’m a dog lover and owner and when you said they are medical equipment it flipped a switch in my brain. I never thought about it like that and am going to spread that message. You’re right, I would never comment on someone’s wheelchair or hearing aid. Me saying your dog is cute makes me feel better, not you. Thank you so much for the lesson.

So completely rude you’re exactly right:( I can’t stand people who just can’t respect and give space to working dogs!!

I 100% hear what you’re saying about the service dogs for “anxiety.” My service dog in training is a psychiatric service dog for a literal disability and there are people out there being like “this is my service dog for anxiety cause he makes me feel better” No. he’s you’re emotional support animal. Which is totally valid. But you don’t get to take them with you to no-pet establishments. Because they’re pets. Service dogs must be TASK TRAINED. Mental health is a hard thing to deal with. Lots of people have mental health struggles that they cope with on the daily. And I’m not one to be like “I have it worse” but before I got Roscoe, I’d been on dozens of medications, been hospitalized several times, gone to residential treatment, received Electroconvulsive Therapy, and been in therapy for almost a decade. I couldn’t, and didn’t want to, live before I had him. Please leave the ESAs at home.

I hope it’s a misunderstanding because it seems like you’re saying anxiety isn’t serious enough for a service dog. Just to let everyone know what my panic disorder looks like when I’m having an attack, I get a severe lack of oxygen which makes me lose all feeling in my limbs. My vision gets spotty and sound gets all disoriented and echoey. I am unable to speak because my tongue and lips are numb, and I can’t pick things up because I’m so dizzy, panicked and numb. I get disoriented as to where I am. I turn blue and get rushed to an ER because my heart gets over stressed and I’m not getting enough oxygen. Once I’m stabilized (it usually takes about 2 days to reach my baseline again, my body is sore from all the times my muscles were flexed because I was so stressed. I also get migraines sometimes and migraines are a whole other animal. It’s scary and makes me anxious for the rest of the week because it’s traumatizing. One year I had almost 200 hospitalizations and I’ve also been hospitalized in a facility. It’s a disability and i would not wish it on any single person on this planet. Panic attacks, and the anxiety precursors are debilitating, physically exhausting and emotionally terrifying. You don’t seem like the type of person who would compare disabilities or engage in an oppression olympics mentality. I hope this is a misunderstanding. Love to you and Wes and I hope you’re doing better

Honestly, it’s videos like this that makes me question if I do need a service dog for my illnesses and then I remember all the times my illness has stopped me from doing things or sent me home that a service dog could have helped with. It’s these kinds of videos that help me know what I’m going through isn’t just basic stuff I can get over because i can’t just get over it and move on. This video helped me to think in the reality of what I have and keep questioning and making sure of my course of treatment. Service dogs are a big thing to do and not just a cure all everyone should have them.

Ahhhh. This is one of my biggest fears. In less than a month I will be going to university with my guide dog for the first time. I am so scared of how many questions I’ll get, how much unwanted petting and attention we will receive, and how often my dog will get distracted. It can be difficult enough just going out in public. Hopefully it will turn out well. If you and others can handle it then I believe I can too!

Good for you for spreading this important message (u go girl!) especially on a platform that millions of people use all of the time. Its really important for people to hear from someone who experiences this daily specifically because people dont always realize that they are being harmful when they think they are just complimenting what they think is just a cute dog. I know that watching videos from service dog handlers makes me more aware of what i would do if i came across a service dog and i really hope that it makes an impact on others as well! Thank you❤️

Thank you! For speaking the dang truth

I wish more people would watch videos like this. I have a mobility problem. At this point I can do without a service dog, BUT, my condition is deteriorating. I have gotten a puppy and started working with her. If I wait, I won't have the physical ability to train her for the help I need. She is coming along very nicely and is starting to task by picking things up and handing them to me when I drop them. She is learning to ignore surroundings and stay focused on me. As with you, it gets so annoying when people want to compliment her appearance, as if that was why I chose her. I chose her because of my mobility issues and needing a dog strong enough to help me get up from sitting at times so I can move to where I need to be. I also need a dog smart enough to be serious and able to learn new tasks as I recognise new ones where I need or will need help. Eventually that part of her job will be more important. Right now, though, picking things up for me is a must. Sometimes when I bend down, I fall. Or have difficulty standing back up. Yes, she is pretty, and right now she is cute in that gangly, big-footed puppy way, but like you said, no one would comment on the beauty of my wheelchair, or how cute my cane is... Thank you and people like you who bring these issues to the public's eye. I keep telling myself they mean well, but... Update, two months after first post: NaLi has currently saved me from falling three times now. She is 8 months old now and still coming along nicely. The Christmas season slowed us down some as with the crowding in stores, she is still young enough to get slightly frightened over shopping carts crowding her and then I became ill and have not been able to go anywhere really for about 2 months now. Finally getting better and will soon get back on track. Walking pneumonia is tough when you have a compromised immune system.... yuck.

It's like "OMG, come look at this O2 tank! Cool, and procedes to start touching it"

Seriously, you do such an amazing job expressing and explaining why these comments are problematic. Thank you for sharing this story. It helps build my confidence.

Yeah. On one of my many trips to Disney world I was walking into magic kingdom (luckily with a friend) and Livius had his shoes on as usual. A tour guide (not Disney cast member) with a speaker said something like “oh a dog in shoes!” Then into his speaker to his 30+ group “Everyone look at this dog and shoes!” Apparently I dropped the leash and ran to hide in the nearest bathroom. My dog did his job and barked and pulled my friend to me. I remember one minute getting ready to enter the park the next being on the floor of the parking lot bathroom dog at my side, friend at the stall front, cast member talking to my friend. I didn’t get into the park that day and they ordered a Mini van to take us back to our hotel no cost to us. (And some serious apologies even though Disney had nothing to do with what happened) People just don’t get it. We have them because we need them not to call attention to ourselves. I’m used to 1 or 2 people calling attention to us but groups of people turning and priming to take photos I fail. Good video! Thank you for sharing!

I’m so sorry this happened to you😔 but on another note your eyebrows are BOMB😊

Thank you for the anxiety bit. I do have a type disabling anxiety but it's due to a brain injury that rewired /destroyed a part of my brain . I hate it though cause when I tell people I have a form of anxiety they just say "oh me too!" . Like yes..but no because your brain still works normally.

I love your eyeshadow in this video! 💜

Omg the part about anxiety said everything that needed to be said. I don't like people who fake disabilities just to have a service dog, and I don't like people who fake service dogs in general. Roscoe, my STiT is currently training to help with my anxiety. Due to the fact that I can't bring him with me to my school yet, I do have to try and keep calm during the school day, but there have been multiple occasions where I have had anxiety attacks and am frozen in place with nobody there to help me. Thank you for pointing this out to all fakers and everyone else. Us handlers really needed this.

I don’t understand- it’s like people have never seen a dog working before just craziness.. I wonder about people some times /: so sorry this happened to you!!

Wow big day u had...but u kicked its but & got through...good on u...u r an amazing example of staying strong even during an event...hugs from Australia 🤗😎

This kind of stuff happens to me all the time and it's so annoying. That message was spot on perfect.

I resonate with this a lot. I do not bring my SDiT with me to class because people on my campus are so awful with him and it makes my conditions worse. However, not having in class with me is awful and causes a lot of mh issues and makes me miss classes and it is so unfair. But, since he is still in training and easily distracted if I would bring him he could be seen as disruptive and make me fee bad for giving working dogs a bad rep. It is so difficult and I hope by grad school he can come with me

Wow I actually didn’t know people would just ask if it’s anxiety. I believe anxiety is a MEDICAL TERM. I have disabling anxiety and depression and ptsd. That’s the reason I need my extra medical equipment (Nike my service dog) I think people get nervous and scared. But anxiety is when it goes to the next level. That’s just what I think.

Thank you for sharing this. I had a class mate in college who had the very something happen to him it pissed me off. lucky for us his brother was a campus police officer and he handled it. Im also thinking about getting one for my health mental and im not looking forward to the issues handlers have to deal with. but if I get one I don't know if I could keep my cool. if someone said that about me. im SD would be tasking all the time

you are amazing case you went thru all that and still went to class and did your presentation I woulda been like nope not gonna happen i cant deal any more so kudos on your strength on that. I agree with you 110% the one that set me off big time was the guy at the hardware that pet my dog and said after i told him not to pet him he was working and in training (and yes it set me off so bad yelling and angry manic that i remember his exact words) "it's ok if i pet him because my dog is in training to be a service dog too he goes to pediatric wards in hospitals." i dont thing he was expecting me to scream in his face (ill leave the caps out) "you have a bleep therepy dog not a bleep service dog get your bleep bleep hands off my dog now (turned to mom) ill be in the bleep car"

I agree you should NOT be harassed, stared @ or agitated/triggered. Especially for your needs or Wes’ when you’re just trying to get stuff done. I’m a full time powerchair user. I get harassed specifically about my equipment regularly. Typically, they don’t call my chair “cute”. They do call it “fun”, easy” quiz me about prices & if I “really “ need it or comment “how nice it is I’m ‘let’ out”. People grab me or chair & demand rides. You deserve better. The reality is harassment over use of all types of medical equipment is real. It’s cruel & counterproductive. It’s crap. But please don’t imply people who need wheelchairs/DME aren’t harassed. We deserve better too.

I actually have disabling social and emotional anxiety. Brought on by years of bullying due to being different.

I have a SD in training for my chronic disorder called POTS dysautonomia and I'm beyond scared of this happening. I would love some tips on how to keep calm during these situations

I have a dog. He’s not a service dog but he has a harness that looks somewhat like a service dog vest. It is the frontpet explorer harness if you want to see it. I walk him downtown since we live in a small town and it’s only 5 minutes from my house. I don’t take him into any buildings that are not pet friendly though. My neighbor asked me if he was a service or therapy dog and I told her he’s just a pet.

I have crippling anxiety and i hate people saying two things when they find out hes for an anxiety disorder (he also does mobility but i get way too many questions from that..) the 2 things i hate most is "everyone has anxiety you dont need that dog." And "i have anxiety where can i regenerate my dog?" And i life in the us so no registration is required.

I just have an honest question about this because I'm on the wait list for a service dog and I am actually very nervous about this part of going out too. I have a LOT of pain & going places is exhausting & obviously increases the pain & fatigue. So is it worth it, taking your dog with you? Does he help you enough to make your trip less tiring and easier to compensate for this type of behavior from the public?

Deal with this all the time it is a trigger love ur video its like omg someone who gets what I go threw having a s.d

I have a service dog in training for anxiety and panic attacks and to help me with my stability

I want to train my Cockapoo (who is 4-6 yrs which yea it is old but I am desperate because I, nor my family, can afford a service animal) to help me by letting me know when I should leave the area or get into a position that I can not hurt myself if one day it gets so bad that I will collapse or hurt myself. I have severe anxiety& panic disorders, Autism and I show multiple severe signs of PTSD. I not afford to buy a trained service animal and I can not afford expensive classes for training. I would like to find good training places or sites or even just try to train alone with her. Can I have any possible suggestions, tips, or even just advice on how I can train her? I also want to get her registered as soon as I can so I can train her in different areas when appropriate.

so I have bad anxiety and tons of panic attacks, my doctor requested we get our German shepherd puppy professionally trained to be my service dog! I really hope we can find a good trainer and pretty quickly.

I have a psychiatric and medical alert service dog. People will not stop making comments to her and calling her and it’s so annoying!

What video editors do you use?

I am 12 and I might have diabetes but I’m very high like type of it and my doctor said that I might be able to turn my 14 week old puppy into one which is a service dog and I’m just wondering if there’s any specific trainers to look into because my mom said she’s willing to do anything to help

would love to see a grooming video!

Is it okay to say “cute dog” in passing to a service animal handler?

This makes me scared to go to college 😭

i have an anxiety disorder along with depression and borderline personality disorder. mental illness is not a fun ride. i had to leave school early today cause my mental disorders cause serious side effects like dizziness, nauseous, etc. i felt so sick today. i'm a senior and getting ready to go to college.. we're considering possibly getting either an esa or a service dog. we're not sure yet. i can't stand it when people dismiss anxiety. everyone gets anxious and stressed, especially at this time of the year for us seniors. but not everyone experiences debilitating anxiety and panic attacks, along with crazy mood shifts with my bpd and being on the bipolar disorder spectrum. just leave us people alone. whether you have an esa dog, service dog, or neither. you disrupting with us makes us worse...

Would have told them to knock it off that i want a circus side show. I have a big problem with fake sd. We have had them try to attack us many times.

Jeez! That many freaking people would trigger my PTSD. Back the fudge off people! Mind your own business! W2G for standing up for yourself.

I owner traind my dog to be my medical alert service dog

Is crowd control a task

Ohhhhh my. There are some obnoxious people in the word.

I say if you have anxiety take a zanax. Handling a Service dog causes anxiety. Just saying.

im sorry this sucks... people are so weird

Oh My Fuckin god I have a service dog and I don’t give a fuck what people say you. Need to deal with people saying stuff like Awwww so cute or Awww i want to pet it Get you head in your head