What does an emotional support dog do, anyway?

Koufax relaxing

I was often asked this question. Sometimes I’d offer a few words, “Helps me feel safe”; sometimes I’d be abrupt, “I don’t want to talk about it,” and sometimes I’d overwhelm whoever asked with the long story explaining why I needed a service dog. I’d then launch into how I’d received a traumatic brain injury, the consequences, various changes in my life, and on and on. No answer seemed adequate.