10/23/2026
Not every disability is visible. Every person deserves to be heard. 💜
For Invisible Disabilities Awareness Week, I want to share a little about myself—and why awareness, understanding, and communication mean so much to us at Balanced Paws.
If you’re new here, hi! I’m Bry—the owner of Balanced Paws Pet Care, one of the newer pet salons here in Leonardtown. I’m a groomer, Certified Master Dog Trainer, Certified Pet Dietician, and usually the person trying to figure out how to help one more animal. 🐾
If you’ve been here for a bit, you’ve probably seen the grooming photos, training updates, rescue dogs, and pieces of my life mixed in along the way. You know how much of myself goes into this business. But you may not know what’s happening behind the scenes.
I live with fibromyalgia, severe alpha-gal syndrome, and bipolar disorder.
I was officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2024 and severe alpha-gal syndrome in 2025—but who knows how long I’d really been dealing with them before I had answers. A diagnosis date isn’t necessarily when something started. Sometimes it’s just when you finally get a name for what you’ve been experiencing.
With fibromyalgia, working a physical job while dealing with pain and fatigue can be a lot. You might see me getting through a full day at the salon without seeing how much rest I need afterward or how little energy is left for things at home.
My alpha-gal syndrome has caused life-threatening allergic reactions and required emergency treatment, including an epinephrine drip. Eating, traveling, and making everyday plans require precautions that weren’t always part of my life. Some of you have met Moscato, my medical alert service dog, who alerts to my anaphylactic reactions. His presence has a purpose, even when I look perfectly okay.
Living with bipolar disorder feels especially vulnerable to share as a business owner because people have assumptions about what it means. But taking care of my mental health matters just as much as taking care of my physical health.
That’s part of why this awareness week matters. Someone can be smiling, working, laughing, and showing up for others while managing something you cannot see. What you witness during a short interaction rarely tells the whole story.
These experiences have shaped the environment I’m working to create at Balanced Paws. 💜
For my staff, I want a workplace where they can tell me when they’re overwhelmed, hurting, need help, or need something explained differently. Where asking for a break or saying “I’m having a hard day” can start a conversation instead of feeling like admitting failure.
Our work is physically and emotionally demanding. I want my team to feel comfortable speaking up before they’re running on empty. We still have responsibilities and expectations, but we can talk honestly about the support needed to meet them. I’m still learning how to do that as an owner, too.
For our clients, I want that same room for honesty. Maybe phone calls are difficult and written communication is easier. Maybe you need us to slow down and explain something again. Maybe you’re overwhelmed by your pet’s care, embarrassed about their coat, or nervous about how they’ll behave.
I would rather you tell us what’s going on so we can talk through the options than avoid reaching out because you’re worried about being judged. You don’t owe us your medical history or your entire life story to tell us what would help.
And through ALL of this, communication is by far the most important thing. 💜
We can’t always see what someone is struggling with, and we can’t assume we know what they need. That goes for me, my team, and our clients.
Tell us if you don’t understand something. Tell us if a plan feels unmanageable. Tell us if your pet’s needs have changed or if something about your experience didn’t feel right. Those conversations give us a chance to work together.
That responsibility goes both ways. We need to explain our recommendations, communicate expectations, be honest about our limits, and let you know when plans change. If we misunderstand or miss something, I want there to be room to address it respectfully.
I’ve shared before that my phone stays on silent during workdays because constant notifications can become overwhelming. Sometimes replies take longer while I’m caring for the pet in front of me. Good communication doesn’t always mean being available immediately, but it does mean listening, following up, and being clear about what we can realistically do.
One of the hardest things about an invisible disability is that people see what you can do on a good day and assume that’s what you should be able to do every day. I’m still learning to set boundaries and rest without feeling guilty. Those experiences remind me to give other people room to have limits, too.
For me, awareness means carrying that understanding into everyday interactions: believing someone when they say they’re struggling, respecting a boundary without demanding proof, and asking what would help instead of making assumptions.
That’s what I want our comfort-first approach to mean beyond the grooming table. A place where pets receive patient care, staff can ask for support, and clients can have honest conversations with us.
We won’t get everything perfect. But we can keep listening, communicating, and making thoughtful changes.
To everyone who has offered patience, respected a boundary, spoken openly with us, or checked on the human behind the business—thank you. You help shape this environment, too.
And to anyone living with something others can’t see: you deserve understanding, even on the days you look “fine.” 💜🐾
