by Carolyn J. – Published May 4, 2023

Two workplace accidents left me with permanent chronic pain and an upper body mobility disability. Both hands, arms, shoulders, and neck have been permanently injured. Naproxen helped reduce the pain but left me suffering with irritable bowel syndrome and I lost 20lbs. I had to stop taking NSAIDs. I ended up being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. The symptoms affecting me include pain throughout my body, deep throbbing pain, aching pain, tingling nerve pain, sleep disruptions, morning stiffness and unbearable pain, fatigue, and chills. I am left with this upper mobility disability combined with Fibromyalgia and no treatment is available. I am left on my own.

I was a special education teacher. I have exceptional knowledge of curriculum and program development for life skill students. I assisted teachers in their understanding of accurate assessment and evaluation for life skill students placed in regular classroom settings. I have a natural and creative knack for meeting all students’ needs. I began programming for myself. A large part of the programming included a dog named Sirius-LEE.

Regular walks with LEE help me manage the pain throughout my body. The morning walks are extremely challenging. But the needs of the LEE motivate me to get this done. These walks to walk off Fibro pain. Sometimes, LEE carries a backpack and sometimes she pulls a trailer. I recognized that LEE was working for me, and I trained LEE to work as my Service Dog. Service Dogs Canada recognizes that I can train my own dog to meet the needs of my own disability. As per Service Dogs Canada, LEE is a stable, well-behaved, and unobtrusive dog to the public. I have control over LEE. She follows verbal and visual instructions. As a team, we do not pose a public hazard. In fact, we are welcome wherever we go. I taught LEE to pull grocery carts for me in the stores. I trained LEE using the knowledge and skills I developed over the course of my teaching career.

LEE is helping me at Walmart. She helps pull carts in the stores. She is carrying ICEPACKS to keep her cool. The employee is not afraid of this Service Dog.
This is LEE at GoodLife. She helped pull my gym bag, yoga mat and other items in her trailer. LEE would just lay on the turf while I performed PT stretches and strengthening exercises. Even in the change room, she would just lay waiting for me to shower and change. Accommodations are now in place for my needs without LEE’s assistance.
LEE is a happy Service Dog. She loves to support me.
LEE is helping me carry items I just purchased at Lulu’s in Limeridge Mall. I put items in her backpack, and I hook bags to her harness. She is even carrying her own water bottle. LEE loves to help me shop!!
This is LEE rigged up to her trailer. It is a bicycle trailer that has been modified for carting. LEE pulls heavier loads for me.
LEE is happy to support me when I go shopping. I had the back seats removed from my Jeep to accommodate a large dog needed to carry and pull heavy loads. LEE is remarkable!!

I had to find myself a new puppy to train to be my Service Dog.

I have been working with ZURY. In this picture, ZURY is only 4 months old and is happy to help as a Service Dog In-Training.

Currently, ZURY is 7 months old and is very happy to help me pull grocery carts in stores. When ZURY is full grown she will be able to learn how to carry a backpack and pull the bicycle trailer.

I am very proud of my ability to transfer my training as a Special Education Teacher to program for myself and my needs following two workplace accidents. Accommodations and the daily program I developed, has allowed me to function independently without the use of drugs to manage the chronic pain in my upper body and the symptoms of Fibromyalgia.