What is Athenas Job?

We started AtenasJob when we were fundraising for Athena. We started to notice how many people weren’t talking about mental health as well as how many people didn’t have knowledge about service dogs. We started taking time to educate people about what we were doing and getting people talking about their mental health; AthenasJob was born!

About Athena           

Did you know Athena is a rescue dog?

Athena’s story doesn’t start out as a happy ending. Athena is a shepherd-husky mix. Living with a family with little knowledge on the breed, she began to have trouble at home. She was living on a farm and being her breed, and lacking proper care and attention she needed, she began to tap into her natural prey drive. Once Athena started acting out, her owners were very upset with her. They chose to discipline her by locking her in her crate. Athena spent most of her early life in a crate where she began to lose much of her strength. She started to lose weight and was not living her best life as a free, fun-loving dog.

Athena was pulled by animal control!

Animal control came and grabbed Athena and was moved to an animal facility. She was very weak and very underweight. Since she had prey drive for small animals, she wasn’t considered an ideal family dog. She was then placed on death row. where if she wasn’t adopted soon, she would be euthanized.

Athena was saved by Critical Care for Animal Angels.

We first noticed her when she had her picture posted by our local rescue friends. They had posted her picture stating they had just pulled her from the shelter and she would be joining our group of dogs. Immediately I knew she was meant for something more. We began to work with her new foster family in developing a relationship with her. We eventually brought her to our home where we adopted her, helped her regain her strength, weight, and confidence. Once she was fully recovered, we sent her to school to become a service dog. Athena recovered with great leaps and bounds and eventually started focusing her negative behaviors into positive ones. She finished her training early and has been an amazing addition to our home and the community.

About Rebekah

My name is Rebekah and growing up was somewhat difficult for me. No matter what I did or how hard I tried, I always seemed to be different. My mind is a whole new world that, unfortunately, most people don't understand. When I was 13, I noticed that people's lives kept moving on where mine just seemed to stand still. It's like no matter how hard I tried, I could never seem to catch up.
This battle in my mind began to overpower me to the point where I was sad. Sadness slowly turned into a battle with depression.
When I was 15, I finally became afraid. Afraid of life, living, and what I was going to do to myself. I will never forget the day I came to my mom for the first time in tears and said, "I think I need help." Lost, confused and completely overwhelmed with life, I went to the doctor and got my first prescription for antidepressants. I started counseling and for the first time in a long time I was finally able to put my mind back together.

I met JT, who is now my husband, who quickly became my #1 support. Long story short, we got married when I was 19 and two years into our marriage he joined the military. Through this time, I was on and off of medication and no longer going to counseling. Everything in me wanted to fight this, and at that time I had the strength.

When he left for the first time my heart sank. Who was I and how was I going to fight this on my own? Luckily for me, I had an amazing support team in our hometown. I can't tell you the endless amount of days I would run to a friend's house or to our church home and cry my eyes out. Thankfully, I made it through and off we went to California.

California was a dream for me but surely enough this dark enemy within me started sneaking up again. My husband was working all the time, I was on the other side of the country with no friends, no family, and feeling completely alone. I remember one day running to the ocean where I would often go to unwind wishing all the screaming in my head would just stop. I began to take refuge in my dog, Addams. The culture was different. I could take him anywhere, and I did. I was strong and I could do things on my own. I still ultimately made the decision to go back on medication and go to counseling. But of course, being a military family, it was time to move again.

My husband went to Mississippi and I went to Florida. Things once again quickly spiraled out of control. I couln't have my dog and I couldn't talk to my husband. I went to the doctor to talk about my medication and when he walked in the room, I broke down. He just sat there watching me as I cried. "Well Mrs. Van Hove, looks like we need to re-evaluate." He took me to the head of the mental health department and I was assigned a social worker. I saw him regularly in attempt to somehow cope with my every changing life.

Finally my husband got orders, again, and we were headed to our next duty station where we would be for a while. FINALLY, I would be able to set some roots and this would all go away. We are together again and here it comes... it's back. Endless amounts of sadness, lonliness, and I hate everything. Back to the doctor I go. Once again, I'm back on medication and told I need to stay on it this time for at least a year. One year later... It's not better. WHY, WHY, WHY is this happening to me??? It's supposed to be better now!!! I once again start going to counseling and I'm contacted by the hospital twice a month, checking on me, evaluating my progress, and listening to me cry. NOTHING MAKES SENSE! It's time. It's time to be re-evaluated and find out whats going on.

In June 2016, I'm finally diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, Adult ADHD, and Autism Spectum Disorder (Aspergers). Everything falls into place. With my whole life being this crazy unexplainable madness, I am beginning to make sense of it all. The more research I do, the more I start to see the patterns, behaviors, and signs. But still it's this crazy huge journey of relearning my whole life.

Even though this is only a smidgen of my story the bottom line is this, mental illness is serious. Between the lines, you see a meaningless, emotionless body with a brain. A brain that runs 1,000 miles an hour, 24-7. I'm afraid. The people around me are afraid. How do I fight this?? My psychologist recommended a service dog for me.

Looking back at the years, the times I was the most free was when I could take my dog with me. I know I can have an emotional support animal, but reality is they can't go everywhere with me, still leaving me in the same place. Home. Alone. Afraid. I won't eat and I can't leave the house, even to buy groceries. I need a dog that can help me do all of those things. Addams is amazing and my best friend, but honestly he isn't up for the job. I needed a working dog. I needed a dog that is up for the job. Having a copious amount of anxiety plus Aspergers, I needed a trained service dog. We adopted Athena and had her trained for my specific needs. She’s been amazing. The new found freedom I have by working with a dog has changed my life.