Comedian Jeremy Hotz is bringing a pretty important guest with him on his upcoming cross-Canada tour: Shackleton, a long-haired chihuahua.

For Hotz, having a support dog is a big help in dealing with the anxiety disorder he was diagnosed with years ago.

“I have this thing in the morning when I get up and I’m immediately struck with fear,” he explained.

Having Shack around gives him a reason to get out of the house. That might sound small, but it can make a massive difference to someone with his condition, he said.

Hotz has talked about his anxiety in his comedy act for years now. A lot of different things make him anxious — but he says that improvising onstage isn’t one of them.

He’ll be talking anxiety, dogs and more in his upcoming cross-Canada tour. Watch him open up about his disorder and how he copes with it in the video above.

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