For The Love Of Pets

I love and live for my pets and always have hence this website. And I know that most people are reading this and wondering why to read any of this, or you're thinking I'm just another animal lover. Don't get me wrong, I love animals. But I wouldn't be writing this article today or even be here if it wasn't for one dog. And so I owe it to her to write this article as just a small tribute or fraction of gratitude for the life she has given me. Meet Gracie. Also know as Bean or my best friend.

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Now, Gracie wasn't born to be a lifesaver. She was born a yellowish-orange lab mutt with goofy ears and a tail that wagged just to the thought of happiness. She's always been a stubby dog but at first, she was homeless. Not because she was any less deserving of a home and not because she wasn't wanted. She was just destined for more than the shelter could give her.

 

And even in her puppy stages when dog meets hell and the devil tells them to chew the couch, she was a good dog. Good dogs don't always make it out of the shelter in fact, most don't. But Gracie had a purpose and was removed from the shelter to fulfill that purpose. She was loyal, smart and trainable. She was a service dog then just as she is now. 

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To be a service dog is to be a hero. She went through alot to make her the hero I needed. 

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So how did I get her? First, context. When I began my freshman year of college, about half way through I developed unexplained and uncontrollable health conditions. These caused me extreme discomfort and put me in and out of hospitals and doctors offices. These also confined me to chains of my bedroom and forced me to miss out on months experiences that a normal college student got to take part in. That and it put a halt to my career in athletics at the university as well as, missed education. I was decaying within my own body and without a solution I would lose my body and my mind. 

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So I took a leap of faith. I ended my wallowing around the life that I once held and clung to the hope that the new life I'd be given would be fulfilling. I must mention that to this day, that was the hardest goodbye and the loneliest space I have ever had to fill. When you lose everything you know, you have to find a way to move forward and oddly enough it was Gracie. 

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On the day I met Gracie, I did not know how much one dog would give me. I had driven with my sister on just an ordinary day searching for my answer. We were headed to Boulder, CO where a woman said she had a dog who fit my needs and she believed would be my answer. She was right. Gracie was held in an ordinary kennel facility but was selected as a potential candidate to become a service dog for me. When I saw her, I saw a soul that was just as far from home as my own. She was clean and quiet and patient and it was as if she knew we were meant for each other. She gave me her paw and I gave her my heart and we went home. 

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Now the training didn't start when I took her home, it started long before that. She had to have the right temperament, the right body type, she even had to be able to both sense and smell my problems before I could even take her home.

 

Once I did, we had to work hard for her to understand my body, her job alongside me, and the proper behavior for each situation with me. I had to learn her cues and she had to learn mine. But with her trainers help and with effort from both of us, we progressed smoothly into everyday life. Soon we were going to stores, school, even practice together. I no longer had to conceal myself because of fear and my quality of life improved. More importantly, Gracie got the life she was lacking and the opportunity to save me everyday. 

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And she does, she saves me everyday again and again. Without complaint, without a sigh, and it makes her happy to do so. People always ask who saved who? I say I saved her once and she saves me all day everyday. So meet Gracie, the dog who started it all.