Thank you so much lillyanne for your post. I go to the shelters all the time, but it never occurred to me that I could take them out for walks. What a great idea. You haven't been too personal at all. I don't know how to message anyone on here - where would I find out? The SPCA has low cost services and specials on dogs. They offered me one for $15. The thing is, I can't pay all of my bills each month, so I don't know how I will be able to take care of a dog. I think much of my depression stems from my financial situation - never expected to wind up like this. Thank you for your encouragement.

@paracat and all, to message a specific Connect member privately, click on their Connect username (@something) and click Send Private Message. This will send an email directly to the person. The How to Get Started on Connect link is in the left column on the bottom of each page on Connect...or you can click the link below to get there:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/get-started-on-connect/
John

@paracat~ I don't know how to personal message, just thought all the doggie talk might not be best here. I'm on another website that lets you personal message. This site is much better because the other only covers one ailment. Believe me, I know all about the loss of income, identity, purpose, & future plans. It's hard to find one place to get all the best answers, there isn't one. Social workers suppose to help & patient advocates. They are good places to start. Write everything down. Start small, it might get overwhelming. I lived in a city that had an organization for people with ANY kind of disability. They were MOST helpful.

The best thing is to have a dog that is your Service Dog. That way all their expenses from food, grooming, Veterinary... is written off in your taxes or deducted from your rent if you have subsidized housing. I trained my first one by myself 15 years ago. That was sufficient than. I don't know how the rules have changed. Some are different State to State. Back then all you needed was a doc to write a letter stating you needed one. He's semi retired now, so I'm training a new one. I believe one change is you have to have a certificate from a school that offers a Good Conduct Certificate. They usually have them at Community Schools for about $15-$20. My teacher let me make payments.

Here's a website that asks you to foster & they cover all the expenses: http://www.rpsm.org/ The program needs Foster homes to acclimate shelter dogs they then put into prisons to be trained & re-homed with some going as Service Dogs. Depending on your needs you might want to inquire on getting a service Dog there. You might have to live in their State, but you may be able to find a similar program near you. I found their site from this story: https://www.petcofoundation.org/love-story/jessica-dakota/

Another idea is to doggie sit a dog for someone who is away at work all day. If you are home most of the day. The hardest part for me is early morning & late at night when they need to go outside & my pain is at it's worse. It might be a good way to start if you are getting use to any new weaknesses... to see how much you can do without a total commitment. I'm looking for a tiny one for a friend in a wheelchair & I will be backup caretaker to her pup if she needs to go in the hospital or something. I think it would be easier to have 2 little ones because my arm can only play tug a few seconds. Pups go on for 3 1/2 hours! I love it!! Best of luck. There's a lot to think about & we can revisit this topic anytime. It's my FAVORITE thing to discuss!

@paracat, I apologize that this took me a week to find, but I think you would like the conversation on pets and how they can help us heal. You can find that discussion here, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/what-pets-can-do-health-and-healing/. Just click on the link and you will meet many members talking about the therapeutic value of having pets.