“Today I want to talk about my service dog, Felix. First, I want you to know that he is a medical device and not a pet. That means you may not pet him or talk to him because he will be working. He is for two things: for my ADHD and for my anxiety. What he will do is distract me if he senses I’m stressed or redirect me if I need to stay focused.  Another thing he does for me is he will give me pressure. Pressure means he will lay on my lap like a weighted blanket. If you see him doing pressure then it means I probably need space. It is best, if possible, to give Felix and me a little space wherever we are.

Also, he is still in training and sometimes gets excited. He is not allowed to bark. If he does, he will be walked out of the area. You should not feel like you have to take care of him or help. I know it is hard to not talk to him or pet him but you can compliment him by talking to me or my mom. If he is doing a good job, like if he is tucking under me or my mom (tucking means to lay still under things like a chair, a table, or under our legs) you can tell us what a good job he is doing. One of the best compliments we can get is, “Wow! I didn’t know that he was there!” Or, if he is walking next to me, you can say, “Wow! He is doing so good!” 

 Thank you so much and have a great day! 

By: Henry Ragans and my secretary” 

Welp, as Henry’s personal secretary now, allow me to clarify some things. I am Felix’s primary handler. If you have concerns, questions, or would like more information, I am more than happy to help! I understand not everyone is comfortable with dogs for many reasons. I take this seriously and would love to meet any feelings or beliefs around having a dog in the sanctuary and in our RE Program with an open mind and heart. I believe for Henry and Felix to be successful we should all feel comfortable discussing this change and problem-solving together.

Lastly, Felix has been actively training every day for over a year. We still have 6-12 months before he is certified as a Psychiatric Service Dog. The state of Florida allows service dogs in training to be in all public spaces during this training as long as the dog is accompanied by its handler. We are not planning on bringing Felix until we have completed his reactivity training which should be done around the end of April – middle of May. I am hoping this gives us all time to communicate and feel better equipped to welcome Felix to our congregation. We are so grateful to have you all involved in this life changing process.

Please feel free to reach me at ragans2014@gmail.com