Man's best friend

Lately I've had an intense desire to be around dogs. Even dogs that, in earlier phases of my life, might have made me feel uncomfortable are suddenly the most wonderful and fascinating things in the world. I submitted an adoption application for a dog (a 4-year-old labrador retriever/Australian shepherd mix) and I've been trying to think of what I will say to people when they inevitably ask, "Can you handle taking care of a dog?"

The question is completely fair. I complain that I don't have the energy to get groceries. How am I supposed to walk, feed, and care for a living thing? Well, for one thing, I won't be alone. My wonderful roommates will be able to help out quite a bit if and when we welcome a dog into the home.

This need to justify my dog obsession also got me wondering about how dogs could be used in therapeutic settings with narcolepsy and other sleep disorders. Turns out some people suffering from narcolepsy with cataplexy actually work with service dogs that make their lives more livable. Here is a sweet story of a girl in the UK whose life was turned around by a narcolepsy service dog:

"Service Dog Aids a Narcoleptic Teen

Could an untrained dog do some of these things for me? Can any old mutt detect when one is about to have a narcoleptic episode, or was Theo particularly prepared?

In this example from Belgium, it explains a little more about how these dogs are trained for this specific task.

"Narcoleptic Dog Own Gets New 'Leash' On Life"

However, a story from here in Boston about an adorable mutt named Shoebox gives the impression that dogs can sense cataplexy episodes without training. Giving them specific protocol to follow if an owner is having an episode would be the added bonus of any instruction.

So basically, I want a dog and these promising finding from all over the world leave me feeling prepared to answer for myself when people say, "Can you really handle taking care of a dog?" Not only do I think I can do it, but I'm pretty sure the dog will also be taking care of me.