Staffordshire terrier puppy Ruby started out as 17-year-old Shauna Darcy’s companion to help the teen cope with her anxiety after a spate of bullying. When Shauna’s health worsened, however, she was alerted to the extraordinary extent of Ruby’s ability to help her.
Four years later, the now-21-year-old calls Ruby her “lifeline” and the reason she is able to leave the house.
Shauna, who lives in the Australian city of Warrnambool, Victoria, relies upon her companion to alert her to a panic attack or fainting spell by pawing at her leg. Ruby can often sense an episode before Shauna is aware that it is happening.
Shauna didn’t know it at the time, but her panic attacks were being exacerbated by an underlying heart condition. Shauna had her first “episode” while she was at gymnastics, and she had no idea what was happening to her body.
“I look back now and I go, ‘How did I have that much energy?’” Shauna reflected. “I just miss being upside-down,” she added, thinking back to the gymnastics she had to leave behind. “I just miss the floor and I miss the trampoline.”
Then came the official diagnosis that gave Shauna some of the answers she needed. In 2018, Shauna was diagnosed with two rare conditions: postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Both are characterized by sudden drops in blood pressure, fainting spells, chronic pain, and chronic fatigue.
“Unless I had Ruby, I wouldn’t leave the house,” Shauna said. “I knew about guide dogs, I knew about hearing dogs and diabetic alert dogs, but I had no idea I was eligible for one,” she explained, having looked into the potential for formal training for her helpful Staffordshire pup.
“I had Ruby’s temperament tested,” Shauna continued, “and when she was approved, she started her training.” Ruby became accredited as a MindDog psychiatric assistance dog.
Today, to help Shauna cope with her chronic conditions, Ruby helps monitor her owner’s heart rate and blood pressure, retrieves emergency medication, carries groceries, retrieves out-of-reach items, and comforts her owner in the event of a public episode.
Even during a spell in hospital in October 2019, Ruby lay beside Shauna in her hospital bed and comforted her until she was strong enough to return home.
Life with chronic illnesses can be unpredictable. But Shauna, unable to maintain a regular job, has still found ways to busy herself at home with Ruby.
Shauna sews all of Ruby’s assistance-dog vests by hand. And that’s not all; Shauna purchased a sewing machine and now sews service-dog vests, blankets, and backpacks for customers overseas, sometimes from as far away as the United States, Canada, and Germany.
Shauna has also found a plethora of support through Instagram, and regularly keeps in touch with other people who have similar health diagnoses.
Shauna has found a way to reclaim her life, her happiness, and her independence despite chronic illness, and claims it would not have been possible without Ruby. “She comes everywhere with me,” Shauna reflected.
“She’s there when I’m unhappy; she doesn’t judge me when I’m unwell,” she continued. “Ruby means the world to me.”
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