Let me start with a confession: this isn’t really about dogs. It’s about you. It’s about us. It’s about the inescapable absurdity of trying to be a human in 2025, where the world is on fire, the algorithm is watching, and somewhere in the distance, your neighbors just joined a dating app for swingers. Against this glittering backdrop of digital dread and quiet existential thrum, enter the dog. Not just a dog. An emotional support dog. The kind of dog who stares into your soul at 2am and says with their eyes, "No, you are not in fact too much." This is part one of a series exploring the profound, often hilarious, sometimes heart-shattering, always very real relationship between humans and their emotional support animals. Dogs, specifically, though the occasional rogue cat or guinea pig may sneak in as supporting cast.  As many of you know I have one that is an extension of my soul, my pain, my stability, and my capacity to love my pup deeply and feel grounded and secure. ...

I believe in the power of empathy and compassion. I believe we live in a world with much too little of it. Hurt people hurt people. If we were able to reach people in prison and find their humanity, then imagine what pups can do for the loneliest souls who need love and to feel needed.  I have spoken about my emotional service dogs. They are as loved as my human children, as essential as oxygen, and understand me in the deepest way that no words can explain. A change in my voice, the speed of my pulse, or a foot tapping lets them know to ground me, touch me, comfort me, or lay on my feet. I have one that goes everywhere, and I mean everywhere I go. If I travel for work, so does my dog. If we go on a holiday, so does my dog. We are symbiotic. He would protect me with his life, and I would do the same. If you have any issues that make life a little painful, or you have social anxiety or PTSD, consider training one for yourself. I go to a specific trainer who knows my issues and train...