Pocketful of Posie

"Does this dress make me look like a service dog?"
(Patch says: Service Dog. Access Required.)
No matter how focused or well-behaved or clearly trained Posie may be, there is always someone ready with an eye roll or a scoff or a spit of downright meanness about her ability to be a service dog (or my need for her services). These are not folks whose minds are likely to be changed with reasonable discourse, so why not have an outfit that's perfect for flouncing off?

🤷‍♀️👑

Nerdy Charlie

The Force is strong with this one.
Happy Star Wars Day, Rebel Scum!
💫💫💫💫💫💫

Pocketful of Posie updated their website address.

Friendly reminder that whether you see a walking on their own feet or working diligently from their stroller or being carried or wearing a cute sweater or taking a break to just be a dog for 3 minutes or ignoring your child no matter how much you point and say "look at the cute doggie!", it costs you exactly zero dollars to mind your manners and keep your uninformed opinions to yourself. While I appreciate the assist with training to ignore overbearing and obnoxious distractions in the wild, your posturing doesn't make you look like much more than an ableist and entitled jerk. Be better.

Posie is testing out her new gear for our upcoming . She fell asleep almost immediately after snuggling into her front pack and putting on ear protection. I'm calling it a success and looking forward to cannonballs, grim grinning ghosts, and nightly fireworks!

Posie had a not-so-scary adventure at Busch Gardens Williamsburg playing with all of her friends from Sesame Street!

Friendly reminder that Service Dogs come in all shapes and sizes, and their tasks are as varied as they are.

Posie is not in love with the sounds of brass instruments and prolonged kaboom-pops from high quality fireworks shows. She's also not in love with the tight compression of traditional snoods. So, we compromised on a crocheted cotton blend that can be whipped up in no time and decorated to her human's content (we're thinking mouse ears, flowers, tiaras, maybe a full wig?! 🤣🤣).

Posie is learning sign language for basic commands like sit, stay, come, and go potty. These are incredibly helpful when we are out in situations that are loud and distracting. She was happy to help this middle school group work on their own signing skills during an after-school 21st Century Community Learning Center program!

It's time for a (long overdue!) pupdate!

Today, September 21st, Posie turned 6 months old and weighs 7 lbs, 1 oz. She spent the summer having the BIGGEST adventures, including a dolphin sightseeing tour on the Atlantic Ocean, enjoying her guest membership to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and spending a fantastical day in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World! Most importantly, she's made so many friends along the way and she is always happy to talk with folks about what it means to have a big girl job as a psychiatric service dog! To celebrate her half-birthday, Posie had her very first groom with Barks And Recreation and then helped teach sign language to a classroom full of middle-schoolers. She'll get to nap for at least the next 16 hours and will be ready to accept offerings of pupaccinos and cookies tomorrow.

*Favorites:*
Sibling: Walter
Command: Take it outside
Food: YES
Toy: Sticks. Real ones. Don't come @ me with those plastic fake things.
Treat: Bully sticks
Sound: Mommy saying, "I love you"
TV show: Turner & H***h
Place: Ridgewood Animal Hospital, but Magic Kingdom is a close second
Outfit: Pajamas. the kind with the legs. I'll wear anything, but I love jammies.

*Least favorites:*
Sound: Horn instruments, much to my daddy's chagrin.
Animal: That big cow at Busch Gardens. Imma eat it.
Place: Not in love with the Festhaus at Busch Gardens. Oompah band ruined it for me.
Care task: This one is hard, but I'm gonna go with ear drops. I hate that.
Command: Stay. I may never learn it. You can't make me.

"Momma, tell me da story again about how you chosed me. It my favorite."

Well, little love, once upon a time there was a broken little yorkie that your momma fell in love with.

"More broken than my ear?"

Your ears are perfect. This little guy did not have a family who loved him. He did not have any friends to play with. And he was kept in a cage with no blankies or toys or chewy things to make him feel safe and secure.

"Is that why you always put one of everything in my nap box?"

Yep. My first little yorkie buddy was also very sick and people had been mean to him and given up on him because he was not going to be able to get better. But I saw him and he saw me and we loved each other as hard as we could, but it wasn't long enough. He had to go somewhere that I couldn't follow.

"Is that why you always keep me on a leash or in my stroller and hold me close?"

It is. That little yorkie's name was Niblet, and if I had not met Niblet, I never would have met Pickett. Pickett was another tiny yorkie who had been kept in a dirty cage for all of his life and only saw the sky and the grass and the sunshine once a year. I brought him home to pay forward all of the love that Niblet had given me. I did not know that I could love another little dog who was so broken, but he had the happiest spirit and the brightest eyes of any being that I had ever met. He was my best friend.

"I thought I was supposed to be your best friend?!"

People and dogs have endless love to give each other - it doesn't run out and it doesn't disappear and there's always more to give, even when you're sure that you couldn't possibly have anything left. Pickett was a little old man when he came to live with me, and even though he only had a couple of years left before he too had to go where I couldn't follow, they were filled with sunshine and friends and warm beds and so, so much love and laughter.

"So, I guess I'm not special at all, then?"

Of course you are, sweetpea. See, I loved you even before you were born. I chose you the moment I saw you, months before I ever met you. And you were chosen for the most important job any dog could ever have: full-time friendship and a life of adventure, sunshine and fireworks, laughter and naps, and constant companionship. I'm proud of the puppy that you are, and excited about the dog that you're growing up to be. You are my constant joy, my pocketful of Posie. 🧡💐

Hewwo, friends. Mama say she been bad at the socials lately, but de troof is dat I am keeping her vewy vewy busy bein' a PUPPY. Takin' a small break from puppyness to remind Mama dat I am a Puppy of the People and the People needs to see my cuteness, 'specifically on hard days. Seems most days are hard days, but I hope she'll do better and I'll be better and we can all have betterness togever. Dat's de plans. Boopboopbye.

This is the best day of training ever. 😍

Posie shows off her first pair of #kicks . #shoes #dog #dogsofttiktok #puppy #servicedog #training #petsoftiktok #doginshoes #goodgirl #cute #yorkie Dylan Kennedy Grey () has created a short video on TikTok with music Michael_Servicedog natsingssongs. | Posie shows off her first pair of .

, you say?
Posie is here to remind you that Black Lives STILL Matter.
🖤🤎❤🧡💛💚💙💜

5 lbs, 8 oz at 18 weeks old.
88 ounces.
Five whole and one half pounds.
Every ounce, perfection. And maybe some brattiness due to teething. But mostly perfection.
Perfection in pajamas.
Night night, friends.

With just a small amount of cajoling, it didn't take Posie long to figure out that the beach life is for her (even though her face says otherwise in some of these photos! 😂) She was safe and secure in her life jacket with a chinny-chin-chin buoy and a sturdy nylon tether, along with FDA-approved puppy sunscreen. Posie got to walk in the sand, splash in the tide, and even swim a bit while her human held onto her life jacket handle. An incoming storm cut her beach time short, but her swim goggles and sunscreen and bathrobe are packed for another adventure very soon!
(Be sure to check the comments for video!)

Your belated weekly pupdate is worth the wait!
Posie is 17 weeks old and weighs 5 lbs, 3 oz (!!!). This past week was full of firsts: a trip to the beach, a boat tour on the ocean, dining inside restaurants, learning to walk and potty on different surfaces, and a visit to Busch Gardens! We were able to engage in some public education about what being a service dog means, and how important exposure training is, and made a lot of new friends along the way! Each of these experiences will get their own post and story, so now's the time to like, follow, and share for one of the hardest working and most adorable puppies on the interwebs!

Mondays are made better by pillow forts and Toy Story jammies.

Weekly Pupdate!
(This one's a biggie!)
At 16 weeks, Posie's weight has plateaued at 4 pounds, 12 ounces. She's finished up with all of her puppy booster shots and is bravely taking ear drops twice a day for an ouchie inflammation (the drops help immensely and she's not a bit bothered so long as she gets them on schedule). She went to her first movie in a theater and either slept or intently watched the whole thing (up until she needed a potty break just before the finale - we should have chosen a shorter film!). After that, we had a sit-down meal on a lovely covered deck of a neighborhood restaurant. While Posie was still better behaved than any of the children in the establishment, she was a little fussy and antsy; her humans were super proud of her, but we maybe pushed her a little too hard for one day. The next day, it was off to a local festival for music, shopping, playing, and meeting new friends. Posie's safe space is her stroller, and she does an excellent job acclimating to new experiences from that vantage point. She'll get a few days of rest after such a big week, but we're preparing for a long weekend at the beach, and she's got her life jacket and goggles ready to go!

Weekly Posie Pupdate!
At 15 weeks old, Posie is holding steady at 4 1/2 pounds. She is active and agile and her bright personality shines through more and more each day. This week's experiences included a kiddie pool, watermelon, and her first fireworks show in preparation for upcoming adventures. We've worked with lots of different desensitization techniques at home, so by the time the first firework exploded in the sky, Posie could not have cared less. She does, however, care deeply about watermelon!

Weekly Pupdate!
Posie is 14 weeks old and just weighed in at 4 and a half pounds.
This week has been spent on hardcore teething (yeouch!), napping, hiccups, and getting used to different styles of harnesses and clothing (because of who her mama is as a person).
She loves her kong frozen with kibbles, cold baby carrots, and frozen waffles. Her favorite dogs this week are Amelia, a sweet chocolate cockapoo, for cuddling, and Gillyweed, a mouthy little morkie with fused front legs, for playtime. Posie accompanies her humans to sign language class and gives cuddles as rewards to hard-working learners at the end of each class. She has made peace with her archnemesis Vac-Oom, and pointedly ignores the other dogs in the house when they are barking their fool heads off at who knows what in the yard (because her actual favorite thing is being a Very Good Girl). Her color change is starting to come through more clearly, and her coat is showing tones of gold, cream, and milk chocolate. Posie has become very committed to her bedtime routine of falling asleep in bed with the humans before being tucked into her crate on mommy's nightstand, and waking up before alarms go off for a morning snuggle as well. Posie's basic training is coming along beautifully, but it is unclear who is actually training who at this point in the relationship.

Soooo what *is* a service dog, exactly? And how does this little nugget get from here....to there?

A service dog is a dog that is well behaved and predictable in a variety of settings. They've been regularly and systematically exposed to lots and lots of common and less common stimuli in their world that they may encounter as they're doing their job. They should be under control of their handler at all times, and if they make a mistake, the handler corrects it (or removes the dog if they become a nuisance).

At this point, I've described a well-trained pet dog, or emotional support animal (ESA); if you are comforted by having a pet with you, a simple note from a doctor or diagnosis that is served well by having an ESA can provide access and support in many areas.

The difference between a service dog and an ESA or pet dog is simple: a service dog is specifically task-trained to help one person with a disability better access their world. Many dogs do this "automatically" (e.g. a dog that is trained to alert her owner when his blood sugar drops); other dogs are trained to perform their task on command (e.g., a person in a wheelchair says "open" to their dog, who then performs a trained task of opening a cabinet or door).

Many wonderful companies train service dogs for very specific tasks and disabilities. Still more people individually send their own dogs off to professional trainers to do the bulk of the work. These can take many years-long waiting lists, and many thousands of dollars to complete. However, the ADA is clear: service dogs are not just for people who can afford one to be trained by others, and you can train your own to meet the expectations. Well-behaved, well-exposed, task-trained dogs are service dogs. And Posie? She's well on her way to being a shining example of a self-trained service dog.