When everyday was a blur and I couldn’t remember the days anymore, Buddy, my Labrador retriever, brought a ray of hope into my life. Diagnosed with severe depression at 16, I was unable to complete my secondary education due to my deteriorating mental health. At a time when I felt I had no reason to continue, my parents introduced Buddy into my life. Now, at 19, Buddy is my constant source of comfort and joy, giving me a reason to get up everyday.

A letter from my doctor attests to Buddy's importance to my mental well-being, recommending that he stays with me for the betterment of my health. We have been living in our public government housing estate for almost a year, under the belief that Buddy is allowed to stay as long as no other residents complain. To date, there have been no complaints— not one.

Despite all that, on one random day, Buddy accidentally had uncontrollable diarrhoea within estate grounds which is an occurrence that never happens, Buddy nor I can control or train him to stop uncontrollable diarrhoea, everything was also cleaned but the new estate management officers witnessed this happening and they rudely demanded that my dog cannot live here anymore in a very insensitive way, despite the words from the other estate officers allowing us to live in peace for several months now.

They demanded we give him away to family or friends soon, as if doing so was that simple and easy. We have to live in government housing because we are a poor family so we do not know any people who are able to take a dog in so quickly and easily. 

For almost 4 years now, I have managed to avoid being sent to the emergency psychiatric ward. No question massively due to my amazing dog, but as soon as my mother told me the bad news, I was overcome with a flood of tears, stress, anxiety and rage. I did not understand why I was  so unlucky, I was so heavily heartbroken I ended up overdosing and woke up to the voices of paramedics and my distressed family. All my hard work and progress to stay out of harms way from my mental health came crashing down on me.

I not only had to face the painful reality I was experiencing but also 3 miserable days of staying in the emergency ward where I felt alone, stressed and uncomfortable. All I wanted to do was hold Buddy in my arms but I was instead being fed saline through my hand.

By signing this petition, you lend your voice to support a compassionate change in public government housing policies, one that recognises the therapeutic value of emotional support animals. You also help save a young girls life even if I may be a stranger, I hope our love for animals and the importance of mental health reaches your heart.

Please sign this petition to ensure Buddy and I remain together, saving us both the trauma of losing one another. I just want to live a life with my Buddy, as long as I have him I feel much safer. Thank you so much for your time.