Why does everyone leave?

Ignorance is what fuels fear--and fear causes avoidance.

A friend told me this and now I understand more completely why some of our family and friends leave when they find out that we have decided to get a service dog to help us with our needs.

I know that friends, boyfriends, girlfriends and even spouses have left after many of us decided to get a dog to help us. Family and friends stop coming by and calling as often. They do not like going out in public with us, mostly because of the attention it gets us. Having a dog in the store or restaurant is not really something new but if you have an invisible disability, than most people do not understand why you have a dog with you. So we get stares and fingers pointed at us from strangers, and the people we are with don't like to be with us when this happens.

I have a friend whose husband is just like this.

I have another friend who once she got her dog, she started noticing that she was not being asked to come to family events as often or anymore. She would find out afterwards that there was a party for someone.

I myself lost a fiancée because of my condition and my service dog. He could not handle that I was no longer going to be the girl I once was and that I had and wanted to depend on a dog for help.

I would gather that they have all kinds of reasons why they no longer want to be friends with us.

To this day I will never understand it, but when my girlfriend told me Ignorance is what fuels fear--and fear causes avoidance, then I understand it a little more. It is up to the individual to decide to forgive.

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