Golden Retrievers provide emotional support to people with disabilities and mental illness. People with mental illness often have a lack of connections and support as well as a lack of social skills are often alone and suffering silently. I am grateful to God that I have enough money to pay for a dog and the hard earned social skills to get approved for a puppy from a reputable breeder as well as the ability to care for a dog with God’s help. Not all people with mentally illness who could benefit from the unconditional love of a Golden Retriever are so lucky. For people with mental illness, it is a struggle to get approved for a dog, to pay for a dog’s care, or to care for a dog. The people who are most in need of canine companionship, are often the ones who struggle the most to attain and retain it. I agree that the needs of a dog should be considered and there are unfortunately people who lack the skills needed to be a fit and responsible dog owner. There are many people who should not own a dog. However there lonely people who are of good character and integrity who might be at risk of losing their dog due to financial or health concerns or people who know how to reasonably care for a dog, but due to their emotional need and/or lack of social skills act desperate for a dog and are turned down by rescues and breeders. Dogs are very therapuetic and beneficial to mental health. How could that be a luxury? Golden Retrievers provide unconditional acceptance and support to those who might not be getting it from humans. Of course, turning to Jesus Christ for unconditional love is of utmost priority since we are to worship the creator and not the creations. Still, Golden Retrievers can still teach us about Jesus and often God uses animals to communicate His love to us. Dogs can provide unconditional emotional support to people who might otherwise not have any human support. It’s a catch 22 unfortunately that those people who lack connections and support may have a harder time aquiring a dog since they lack rapport. I hope that someday through my ministry with Mercy I can help be an advocate for people who struggle with disabilities who are lonely and need canine companionship. Until then in the meantime, I will continue to raise Mercy to be a therapy dog.