Hello, my name is Vanessa and I have actually needed an assistance dog for quite some time now. I grew up with dogs and honestly cannot imagine my life without a companion. Why I need an assistance dog: I have been living with mental and physical health problems since early childhood. I have suffered from allergic asthma since I was eight years old. In 2012, I was first diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and affective schizophrenia. This year, the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder was confirmed, and I was also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, recurrent severe depression and PTSD. What kind of support I would expect from an assistance dog: In everyday life, things simply become too much for me very quickly. I suffer from panic attacks both at home and when out and about (whilst shopping, travelling by train and generally when I’m out and about), which usually lead to self-harming behaviour. An assistance dog could provide me with a sense of security and act as an anchor, helping me cope better with the outside world again and, if necessary, shielding me from other people when it all becomes too much. Especially at night, I very often suffer from nightmares and flashbacks, and at times from sleepwalking, so his support would certainly be helpful in helping me find peace again. A dog would, of course, also give me a purpose again and help me get the symptoms of my depression under better control, so that, for example, lying in bed for days on end is simply no longer an option. Due to my borderline personality disorder, I very often suffer from high levels of emotional and physical tension, which I usually notice too late; he could help me with this too, so that I can act sooner and self-harming behaviour doesn’t occur as frequently. And as for my allergic asthma, it would of course be very handy to have someone who is able to get help in the event of an anaphylactic shock or an asthma attack. I simply wish for a loyal companion whom I can count on and who also needs me, so that we can simply be a good team.

Perhaps you could help me make this dream come true.