Category: main works

• The Final Days – how I prepare for the death of my hospice care animals

  

  As a canine hospice caregiver, and someone who has a life-limiting illness, death is something I have had to become intimately acquainted with. It is a part of me, and a part of the work I do. The intention of canine hospice care is not necessarily to prolong the life of those I care for,…

  Dani

  June 14, 2024

  aftercare, all topics, animal care, animal hospice work, grief, main works, mico, sammy, service dogs, sorrel, the grief of loss

  aftercare, animals, canine hospice, grief, mico, sammy, service dogs, sorrel, the grief of losing a service animal

• Solidarity across species lines – when disabled animals and handlers work together

  

  “…I think a lot of folks make the assumption that disabled and chronically ill people, who are often in the position of requiring care, would not make good caregivers themselves. This isn’t necessarily true. Like any other generalization, this blankets over all variants and complexities that make up the reality of our collective experiences.”

  Dani

  May 6, 2024

  aftercare, all topics, animal care, animal hospice work, disability, mental health, chronic illness, & neurodiversity, grief, main works, sammy, sorrel, the grief of loss

  aftercare, animals, canine hospice, disability, grief, sammy, sorrel

• In defense of “un-joyful” movement, and the demoralization of “personal choice” : (part 1)

  

  When a doctor decides to talk about my weight, exercise, or diet, I know I have to remain aware that systemic, medicalized fatphobia will likely impact even the most self-aware doctor out there. This fact made me extremely aversive to trusting and following any advice I was given about my weight and adjacent factors. I…

  Dani

  February 2, 2024

  all topics, disability, mental health, chronic illness, & neurodiversity, eating disorders, ehlers danlos & the trifecta, harm reduction, main works, medical trauma

  chronic illness, disability, eating disorders, Ehlers Danlos, medical trauma, the trifecta

• Canine compassion and consent – understanding and respecting our animal’s “no”.

  

  …We have extremely high expectations of our dogs, and even higher expectations for working animals. We train them to tolerate anything and everything. For a service animal, it is essential to be able to prioritize their handlers’ needs over their own, and I have seen many service animals in training “wash out”, or be unable…

  Dani

  October 13, 2023

  all topics, animal care, main works, mico, service dogs

  animals, mico, service dogs

• This morning, I thought about ending my life. Here is what I did about it:

  

  Trying to regulate my breathing made me feel like I was suffocating. “Mindfulness” felt like a mockery of my cultural and spiritual upbringing. Trying to be “present in my body” made me hyper aware of the pain I felt and the dysfunction within. I felt more shame and panic. Why wasn’t this working? Am I…

  Dani

  July 27, 2023

  all topics, animal care, disability, mental health, chronic illness, & neurodiversity, main works, medical trauma, mico, service dogs

  chronic illness, disability, medical trauma, mico, neurodiversity, service dogs, suicide, trauma