Dakota Jewel

He may be short, have knobby knees, and may smell a little but he’s my best friend and my hero. I have a five year old Basset hound named Dakota. I suffer with anxiety every day. In a odd sense, Dakota is the one that helps me get through it.

In my life, I don’t know what normal is. Anxiety has taken over my life. I have overcome a lot, but I still have a ways to go. Anxiety is a brain disorder where serotonin isn’t at the right amount to supply my brain. I just can’t do certain things that normal seventeen year old teenagers do. I carry a stress ball with me, and pictures of my dog, but still there are somethings that my body just refuses to let me do.

When an anxiety attack comes on, I know to think about my happy little Dakota wagging his tail at me. I look at a picture and try to occupy my brain. When I am with him, I know to call him near and somehow he knows that I’m getting an anxiety attack. He will sit next to me until it has passed.

One day while sitting home alone, a strange vehicle came into the yard. I didn’t know what to do. With a giant anxiety attack occurring, all I could do was send my other dog out after the strange man. I held Dakota close to me to calm me down. As I sat there trying to calm myself down, Dakota looked up and licked my face as an assurance that “it’s okay”. While stroking his ears, I knew that everything would be okay. I know I’m not the normal seventeen year old teenager that parties every night and stays out late. I’m unique in my own little way. I do the things that my body is okay with me doing.

Many people have different kinds of heroes. My hero is my dog. He listens to me when I need him and is always there for me.