Introduction

[tgolike]

Hi. My name is Tammy. I am 36 years old and have two children at home, ages 18 (has schizophrenia), and age 15 (has aspberger's syndrome, is on the autism spectrum, and has adhd), and have been married to a wonderful man for 4 years.

I have mobility disabilities from cerebral palsy and neuropathy. I also have severe insulin dependent diabetes, tyroid disease, MRSA, tachycardia, vision and hearing problems (the vision is disabling, the hearing is more of an inconvenience). I also have PTSD and anxiety disorder (especially social anxiety). All of these have been diagnosed by a medical doctor.

I have a service dog named Summer. Summer is a 2 year old lab mix female that has her CGC, has taken her PAT twice, and has also taken a task training test. She does many tasks that help to mitigate my disabilities, but does not do so well working full time in public. She seems to be more reactive the more times close together that she has to go into public.

We are looking into getting a puppy to train to help me while in public so that Summer can be more of a back up dog. We had tried a lab puppy, but according to my therapist, the reason I have had such a problem with bonding to another dog after Summer is that I was trying to replace her with an exact duplicate of her. That, of course, will never happen. My therapist also things that I am too bonded to Summer, and worries about my mental health if anything were to happen to her.

So, at her suggestion, we are looking into a puppy that is the total opposite of Summer in looks, and different from her as well in temperament. We are looking into getting a breed that I have had as a child while growing up, and have wanted again for a long time. We are looking into a german shepherd male pup.

Thanks for letting me join this list.

Tammy