All week I watched the news in horror, often in tears, as innocent shoppers were gunned down by white supremacists claiming inspiration from Trump.
News footage showed rows of golden retriever emotional support dogs on the disaster sites for mass shooting survivors to cuddle.
Luckily, since last month, I've had my own seemingly born "emotional support" animal.
Whenever she hears me moaning from pain, or sniffling from sad Trump news, rescue dog Fergie crawls up against my arm and begins vigorously licking the "chakra" calming pressure points on my wrists.
Dunno if it works by distracting me, or if Fergie has a healing instinct. But those are the calming chakra points I used to press on when I taught in Thailand and rode dangerous public transportation.
One day, when my cannabis oil sleepy/contented affect had worn off a bit, I recognized I had deep, underlying sadness. That happened just before I got cancer also.
I'm now living in my sister's house, but she and her husband have their own health issues and can barely cope with helping me. My sister has a dog hair allergy, but when I told her I probably needed to do something to raise my spirits, and asked if it was OK to get a grey-banded kingsnake for a pet, since they don't shed, are quiet, calm and gentle.
I used to catch occasional wild snakes in the woods on our KY farm, and let the kids keep them as pets for a few months before letting them go, and king and rat snakes were our favorites.
She asked her husband, Tom, and he said he was afraid of snakes, so my sister volunteered that I should get a shelter dog. I was shocked, but grateful, and even though Fergie's short coat isn't too bad, and my sister was with me when I chose Fergie at the dog shelter, I have to keep her in the bedroom or yard, where Fergie uses a piece of turf mat in the corner, for elimination purposes.
My sister set up two powerful air cleaners also, and says it's not too bad, as long as I keep the door shut.