Welcome to our Blog
Welcome to Sit Happens! We are so happy that you are here!
I know there are a million dog related stores and training companies out there but I truly am glad you ended up here! See my about page for the general reason behind Sit Happens but I thought I would get a little more personal in this first blog post!
Since the age of 12 I started having health issues and was diagnosed with POTS, I thought that was the end of the world back then but little did I know what the world had in store for me. I found out that I was allergic to gluten and had to cut that out of my diet at 15 and boy was that a challanege and again thought it was the end of the world but I started to get better and thought we foudn the source. Did I still get sick and have bad flares? yes, but I was able to live as close to a normal life as I could. I was a competietice swimmer (sports are much easier with no gravity) and was able to work as a lifeguard swim coach!
I joined my local fire department at 16 and fell in love instantenously. I started on the ambulance and finally found a place I belonged, I was slightly obsessed but knew from day one thats where I wanted to be. I got my EMT while I was in high school and got my Firefighter right at the end of senior year and was as content as I could be cause I was doing my passion every single day. I got my paramedic about a year after I graduated high school and moved down to Charlesoton SC away from my family and started my careeer. I felt like I fit right in and gound my passion. Shortly after, ironically right before COVID hit big, my health took a 180. I started having GI issues no one could figure out and spent more days in the hospital then I could count. I ended up not being able to work which through my mental health down a drain because it is all I ever knew and was my passion. I ended up on a feeding tube, PICC lines and multiple surgeries. I had to travel to Boston to have a surgery on a super rare disorder that involved an open abdominal surgery that was quite brutal. I had to move back in with my parents nad I thought my world had co e to an end becuase that was the last thing I wanted to do.
I tried to figure out where I belonged now, I was too sick to work on an ambulance or firetruck and honestly too sick to do much of anything and just staying at home isisnt for me. I finished my bachelors online and started teaching EMT classes so I was at least doing something but was still struggling with my health enough that I couldnt take any job that required a commitment and would pass out on a regular basis and was not able to have almost any indpendence for safety. I discussed wiht my fmaily and they decided that we could look into a service dog for me, but we quickly found out getting a fully trained dog was not happening as they go for abuot 40k…. I already had enough medical bills this was impossible. I was kinda kicked down at first but kept researching and found more affordable ways…. this is when I started fundraising and reaching out to trainers and breeders in the area. I finally found Bentley, who was almost 4 months old and the breeder was actually holding him for someone else who fell through. This breeder was a very reputable breeder and he had already been temperment tested, now that was a gamble but I felt like it was worth the risk and im glad I made that desicion!
I started working with trainers to get Bentley his basic and advanced obiedence, and his demeaner was erfect. hes a calm dog who can have some serious stubborness but once you get over that is super easy to train. It takes about 2 years to fully train a service dog and takes a lot of work that most people do not realize. I was working at a swim school as an assistant manager when he turned about 6 months and he had enough obdience my boss was kind enough of letting me bring him into work. He got so much socialization and time with babies toddlers and special needs kids that shows to this day. We worked on off leash obidence as well as some simple service dog tasks like deep preesure as he was still so young. I would try to do at least 4 15 minute training sessions a day and had his obdience good enough he came jhust about everywhere. He started naturally alerted my heart rate before he was even trained for it and all we had to do was shape his alert.
Having Bentley has truly chagned my liffe, we are able to live alone he alerts my heart rate and my blood sugar, can retrieve meds and anything I ask, he can provide deep pressure therapy for return of blood if I pass out or for anxiety attacks, he can go get help, counter balance, help me up off the floor, create space walking through crowds and learning new things every day.
He has some wierd irrational fears like cardboard boxes but his superhero vest goes on and he can do anything! He has been to concerts, gun ranges, festivals, crowds of over 80,000 people, flownn on an airplane, been on a gondala, walked across the suspension bridge in Gattlinbutg and is my absolute best friend and buissness in crime and i ahve no idea what I would do or where I would be without him.
I want to now be able to help others have the companionship and security of having a well trained dog wether its a house dog or service dog a connection is something that everyone should experience cause its one like no other. Thank you for reading my story if you made it this far!
Giving back: I would like to start a campaign of chosing someone to help raise money for their own service dog! this will be coming soon so look out for it!
