it's official!

Shortly after my last post, Tinker officially became an emotional support dog.

I had to go back to Walter Reed earlier this month. At first, we were going to board her -- I had even set all of that up. After much deliberation, it was decided that she was going. Let the last-minute madness begin.

The woman that does my meds wrote up my letters. She was more than happy to do so and had them ready for me in less than two days. One was for my university, and the other for Tinker. Step number one -- the biggest one -- was done and out of the way. Time to move on to the four-legged side of paperwork.

First of all, I want to let you know that my vet is awesome. They squeezed me in just hours after I had called, as well as getting me everything I had requested and more. A quick check-up at half price, a rabies shot, a health certificate, and a short note stating that she is healthy, up to date on her shots, and is seen at the vet regularly. They even put a copy of the note from the VA prescribing her to me in her file. Seriously, awesome.

Tink was all ready to come with us. Unfortunately, the hotel we were staying in was a little resistant. My mom and I each called once. I was told that I needed to have a note from my doctor at Walter Reed and that my dog needed to be seen by a military veterinarian in order to be allowed to stay -- even though I already had all of the necessary paperwork. My mom calls, explains we're staying for only one night and with that in consideration, they changed their answer.

The hotel employees were everything from a bit rude to the usual "aw, what a cute puppy!" While checking in, Tinker barked once at something and I got a rather cold warning that she "better not do that all night." No, she won't, she'll be quiet and sleep all night. Which she did.

In the end, I'm just glad that I carry an envelope of paperwork in her backpack. It makes a world of a difference.

great big grey area

Service animals have to be accommodated, regardless if someone in the area is allergic. They have access rights. They can stay in hotels-without a pet deposit.

The only two situations where emotional support animals legally have to be accommodated is on aircraft and in pet-free horsing. Greyhound permits them, Amtrak does not.

I can't find any information that concerns hotels. If an ES dog is neither a service dog or a pet, then what?

Welcome to the big grey area. Let's see if I can navigate it.

work and puppies don't mix

After much drama and that tiny stipulation of doing what they tell me to, Tinker is no longer welcome at work. Which is quite sad, because she is a very well-behaved puppy (not to mention cute). It's such a good thing that I don't belong to the unit I work with - I have a feeling that Monday is going to suck.

There were two reasons I was taking her to work: she's a letter away from being an official emotional support animal, and she needs to be properly socialized before I can consider training her to be a service animal. Going to work was helping both of us - I was not as anxious and she was making good progress.

But, such is life. I didn't have proper authorization to bring her, she doesn't have her official letter, and emotional support animals don't have the same access rights as service animals. Luckily, I didn't get in trouble for bringing Tinker or how I left work yesterday. Something about leaving without telling my job site supervisor, insubordination to an officer, and I wouldn't be surprised if my supervisor tried to add more BS to that list. If my med board goes smoothly, I don't think I'll be working for The Man for much longer.

The good thing? Tinker definitely did her job yesterday. Good dog.