Page 936 - Total War on PTSD

he takes his paw and paws my leg. So, I take that as a clue that we need to go outside. Whenever he does that we just go out, and everything seems to work out perfectly. When I have anxiety attacks and I get kind of angry, and my chest hurts, he tries to jump on my lap and licks me in the face. That's something I never taught him to do...he just does it. He's been by my side constantly for the past 10 years...so I guess I never really thought about what he does on his own versus what he was trained to do. He just knows what needs to be done and does it. I don't have anxiety attacks as bad as I used to. I said something to the doctor a while back about whether he thought I still needed a dog, and he told me "If it ain't broke don't fix it. If having the dog with you makes you calmer and keeps you on an even keel then it's worth it. Sam gives you something that most people don't have, and that's a sixth sense. It's a sense in your mind that somebody has got your back. You don't have to look over your shoulder all of the time anymore."
That's why we are training Maggie to take over for Sam. When Sam is okay to go out with me, when he isn't hurting, then we will go out. When he wants to rest or just stay home, then I'll be able to take Maggie with me instead. Sam used to be my alarm clock. Every morning he would get up on the bed. I was lying in bed and all covered up, and all of a sudden, I could feel his breath on the side of my face. He wouldn't touch me; he'd just lay there. If he caught my eye, he'd know I made it through the night and it was all was good with the world again. He'd get on his back and look over at me, and then he'd 'talk' to me, a lot like Siberian Huskies do, and he'd show me his teeth and growl at me, and go on like that for ten minutes or so, and then it was time to get up...to get out of bed. Well, Maggie has taken that over. She is sleeping in the bed with us. When it's time to get up around 5:30a.m., she just comes over and sticks her big wet nose in
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