#Paws4MentalHealth
His name is Solo.
He was adopted at three years old and passed away 5.5 years later after battling canine degenerative myelopathy.
Solo was an enormous white german shepherd who never barked, who loved to swim, who would lay in the grass and enjoy the sunshine.
In the span of six months in 2018 and 2019, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer and my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I struggled. I had people at home and people at work who were depending on me, but for a couple of weeks I was struggling to do more than watch gardening videos on YouTube.
Solo was right there beside me. Solo didn’t have sadness in his eyes. Solo wasn’t worried about the same people I was worrying about. Solo didn’t require much but he did need his food, water and exercise. His usual exercise was a daily hike in the nearby red rocks.
The dog still needed to get out in the sunshine. The dog still needed to move. The dog still needed the fresh air. That meant I got out in the sunshine with Solo. I moved with Solo. I got fresh air with Solo.
It was enough to pull me out of my depressive episode. When life felt out of control, Solo made me get off the couch.
Those hikes gave me a chance to reflect and cry and grieve. I was able to process the changes in my life and help take care of the people around me. In the end, Solo got us all through a year of diagnosis, sickness, treatment, diagnosis, death, more treatment and then death again.
How did Solo help my mental health? He brought routine and comfort and sunshine to a time in my life when I wanted to curl up on the couch and cry.
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Submitted as part of the American Psychiatric Association #Paws4MentalHealth campaign. According to their recent poll, pets help reduce stress and anxiety, provide unconditional love and support, offer companionship, provide a calming presence and are true friends. Integrated Psych would love to see our community photos too. Please tag @integratedpsychutah and use #integratedpets on your social media posts.