Man’s Best Friend

“Let me tell ya ‘bout my best friend”

Seriously though, what would life be like without dogs? And to appease any of my followers who are cat lovers I’ll say cats too... really just pets in general.

I am here to tell you about the benefits of pet therapy. Before my injury, I saw pets as something to cuddle and play with. Growing up, I always had cats (thanks mom). Then in the army, I stayed with my friend who had a beautiful yellow lab / husky mix named Dixie. I would crash on the couch all the time and she would always sleep with me the whole night while I rubbed her tummy. That is where my love for dogs flourished. 

While Kass and I were doing long-distance, we would discuss different breeds of dogs and talk about getting one when we lived together. We both agreed that we loved Australian Shepherd‘s and we picked  the name Kona based off of my favorite beer. I wasn’t sure when it would happen, but planning for the future was fun while I prepare to get out of the military. Then I was shot.

While I was in the hospital I got to meet a few therapy dogs that would come in and spend time with the veterans in the hospital. One of them was a black lab. Unfortunately, I forget his name but I remember that it would shed everywhere. The one that I saw the most was a big golden doodle named Zippa. At the time I was just starting to get into the wheelchair but I still hadn’t figured out how to use my arms very well. I remember being so angry that I couldn’t figure out how to pet the dog because I couldn’t flex my deltoids or my triceps. Seems like such a simple task right? Just pet the dog. All I could do was really press my fist against it, so while I was in the wheelchair I settled on just resting my hand on it. There were a few times where I was in bed, and Zippa came by. The volunteer will pick her up and put her on my bed and I remember feeling so content having a dog resting against me. 

Kass and I talked more and more about getting the dog once we finally had the house settled. At this point I was pretty established in being in my wheelchair and more muscles had returned because of therapy. I was really skeptical at the time because I wasn’t sure how we would be able to take care of something else. I felt like I needed so much attention that getting a dog would be too much stress on Kass. I was afraid that the dog wouldn’t get enough love from me because of my physical limitations. I was just afraid.

It wasn’t until I actually got the dog where I started noticing huge mental and physical strides. Kass finally talked me into getting Kona. I wanted to make sure that Kona wouldn’t be too much work. As soon as I saw the pup in her tiny crate in the airport, I knew that this was going to be a game changer. We took her to our adapted minivan and took her out of her crate. We let her sniff around and get used to the new scents. She seemed so skittish leaving her crate, adjusting to the cold temperatures of New Hampshire. I just wanted to pick her up and put her in my arms. I remember the frustrations I felt seeing this beautiful little puppy and not being able to hold her and comfort her. We debated putting her back in her little crate for the drive home, but I needed to hold this puppy. We put her tiny little dog bed on my lap and I reclined in my wheelchair. We then put Kona in the dog bed and she sat in my lap for the 40 minute drive back home from the airport. I remember that holding her was difficult as she squirmed around. Being in a moving vehicle is hard enough for me as it is because I have to support my upper body with my arms, and I just remember sacrificing my own comfort to hold this little ball of fluff. I knew then that I would give anything for her. I would fall out of my chair before I let this dog fall.

The first weeks were pretty tough on me. I was trying to figure out how to love this new puppy properly and it seemed like she naturally gravitated to Kass. Obviously I was OK with that because Kass was being a great dog mom but I was really missing that affection from her and I was afraid that I would never get it. That me being in a wheelchair would make me impossible to love. How wrong I was. 

We started training Kona to be a service dog. She went away for 5 weeks to get obedience level one and two training. These are the steps before you can start the service dog route. Already the house seems empty when she was gone. One of the times that she came home for a visit during her training, we were doing training in the front driveway on the new asphalt. We had her in a down stay and I remember that the ground was hot. She wanted to be a good girl and suck it up but I remember when we gave her the release, she bolted up and leapt up onto my lap for the first time on her own. I was so happy that she chose me as her source of comfort. We decided in the end not to go with the service dog route. She was way too quirky and we didn’t need a robot in our life, we needed a wonderful little family dog. 

Getting a dog was mentally one of the best things that I could’ve done. Having something to take care of instead of worrying about myself has been such a big part of my growth curve. Whenever Kass is not around in the house, I’m not just sitting there bored out of my mind. I have this beautiful little lady that I can roll next to and pet. I have this puppy that is just craving love and attention. As I write this blog post, she is currently laying on my feet. She gives me a reason to come back home and is always so excited when we get back to her. She really makes me push my physical limitations as well. I learned how to do a lot of stuff that I never thought I’d be able to do again just because I wanted to help Kass with some of the workload. I had to learn how to open and close the back door and use the lock. I had to find the strength to hit the light switch to take her out at night. I had to learn the right ways to hold her bone to play fetch with her. I had to learn different ways to go on walks with her in my wheelchair.  I had to learn how to engage different muscles in my arms to be able to pet her. She truly has become my best friend.

I can’t imagine not having her and I am baffled at the fact that I was skeptical to get a puppy in the first place. She is a bundle of joy and love and excitement and she really does complete me and Kass’s life together. Having her is just another check mark in the old list of goals. 

Here is a shout out to all of the therapy animals out there. All they’re doing is loving naturally, but pets really do have such a huge impact on us. 

God Bless