Service Dog Training and Medical Bills
Most of you who know me, know I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and BiPolar disorder. I don't try to hide it. I tell people all the time because I feel then they have some understanding for some of my actions. However, I'm not always the best at asking for help with it.
This past year has been particularly hard for me. November lead to a very serious breakdown. This lead me to seeing my psychiatrist again who my insurance does not cover $175 per visit.. Ouch! He and I discussed how a Service Dog could be really beneficial for me, however, a dog isn't a prescription.
Normally, your medical equipment would be covered by insurance, however, a psychiatric service dog is NOT covered under insurance. I applied for program dogs that are non-profit organizations and I was denied by everyone I tried, whether it was because I was out of state or because I wasn't a Veteran, Police Officer, or EMT I was denied.
We found Zora at the humane society and her temperament/behavior were perfect for what I was looking for. The next battle is training her.
Which can be as low as 7,000 and as high as 30,000, it depends on the dog, the handler and the trainer. See below. (Source- https://speakdogtricities.com/uncategorized/training-a-service-dog-for-public-access-privileges/)
The trainer I am seeing - http://www.tntpawsitivek-9training.com
We will be doing a combination of private lessons and group lessons to keep the costs as low as possible. (The trainer said her temperament and behavior were perfect for what I was looking to do as well!)
In this program Zora will learn how to interrupt anxious behavior such as knee bouncing, interrupt self harming behavior such as skin picking and scratching, interrupt "zone outs", deep pressure therapy, during panic attacks (which have lead to teeth chattering attacks where I break teeth, scary stuff!), and medication retrieval, because for the life of me during a panic attack I can't go get my Xanax. All these tasks can help improve my daily life and hopefully lead to me being employable again.
I've never been good at asking for help, neither has Jason. If any of you have asked me what I'm running in Pro Solo this year and I dodged the question this is why. We're not doing national events this year. Between my medical bills ($8000 for an Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program) and Zora's training, we can't afford to.
Thank you in advance for anyone who is willing to offer some help, share this, or just not flame me too hard for asking for help. 
