Sarah and Ziggy became teammates in October 2023 when Sarah adopted Ziggy to train her to be her service dog through Medical Mutts.

After Ziggy received some diagnoses, we learned the service dog life outside of the home wasn’t quite the right fit for her, so Sarah made some changes to be home with Ziggy as much as possible. Out of the need for innovation, this project and Sarah’s business were born!

I’m an outdoor enthusiast; Education PhD student; and aspiring photojournalist, storyteller, and disability history documentarian.

While I spend much of my time in and around hospitals receiving care for my constellation of impairments, I hold an interactionist perspective of disability. I understand it as something that emerges when societal attitudes, environments, and systems interact with bodyminds to create barriers that restrict individual and collective access, agency, and full participation.

Ziggy Shark, Pea Pod, Love Bug, Stinker Jane—she’s a girl by many names (Ziggy is her 3rd “official” name). Her favorite words (via her buttons) are “cuddle” and “food!”

Ziggy is a German Shepherd Lab mix who was rescued as a heartworm-positive 8-month-old and rehabilitated until she was ready to move to Sarah in Chicago 7 months later. Sarah named her Ziggy after the Ziggy Alberts’ song “The Great Divide” and the symbolism of the zigzag stripes in the former Disability Pride flag.

Ziggy is also a complicated medical-experience girly and has the best vet team that help us manage her chronic illnesses.