I don't know where to start. It all began with Tally, the best Airedale ever. She was my heart dog. I began by "stealing" her. Began working with her and just never returned her. She, as all the rest, were Pat's dogs, but they all came and lived with me. When they say the Airedale is an all around dog…they aren't kidding. Tally would have done anything for me and she did many, many, many things for me.
As I said, it began with Tally. I then began adding them to my house like beads of a necklace….all more precious then pearls.
I added Hunter, who helped us raise and guide my grandson. Then came Clint, who was my right arm and I took him with me everywhere and ALWAYS felt safe. Then came Tori, who was Tally's granddaughter and Hunter's daughter. She taught me more of what I was doing wrong then anyone. Then came Tommy, one very large bundle of love and willingness and a huge, huge heartbreak as I lost him way to early. How can one dog teach you immense love and sorrow at the same time?
Then came Kinzee and now her daughter, Karlee. I also sucked in there a couple of others that were not really mine to have but I stole them too…that would be Guinness and right now Annie. And, for a short time Paige was part of the pack back with Tori.
Many years passed in that paragraph. Many stories for each and every one of them. Oh my goodness this little trip on the memory train is making me cry again, for each one that left me.
I think the one most people will remember is Kinzee. Beautiful and oh so steady Kinzee. She, like Tally of old, would try her best to do what ever I asked of her. Kinzee was the one that introduced me to the world of service dogs. After I had knee surgery, Kinzee came to the rehab center and lived there with me for the couple weeks I was there. Every day I had to get up and get moving. Every day Kinzee went with me to physical therapy even though she hated it. PT was very painful for me, and Kinzee tried everything she could to make it stop and go away. The therapists absolutely loved her. One time Kinzee decided she could make the therapist leave me alone by climbing in between me and the therapist and start kissing her and demanding attention from the therapist so she would back off and leave me alone.
In occupational therapy Kinzee always amazed the workers and the other people also there for therapy. For instance, if I dropped something there were always people quick to want to pick it up and help me and I had to tell them, "No, that's her job." I would tell Kinzee to take it and she would go pick it up and bring it to me. Every day it seemed, Kinzee was able to show them how much she helped me.
Kinzee walked beside my wheelchair and, as I graduated, my walker. We roamed the halls together, me learning to walk all over again and Kinzee would do Therapy dog visits. As we passed open doors to rooms the patient would ask if the dog could come visit. I would tell Kinzee to "go say hi" and drop her lead and she would go in and lay her head on the person's lap and let them pet her. Kinzee knew when time was up, and she would simply come back to me as I waited in the hall.
One day as I lay down in my bed I was feeling a little down, and Kinzee got up off her bed and came and climbed into bed with me and just cuddled up against me.
Finally it was time for me to be able to go home. Kinzee was soooo happy to get back home. The workers at the re-hab center kept asking if Kinzee could stay there with them. There are several more stories of Kinzee and my stay at re-hab but, time and space here.
Unfortunately, at the beginning of this year I lost my beloved Kinzee. I cannot even find the words to express how much I still miss her. The one good thing here is Kinzee left behind a daughter to step into her work. Karlee has some huge footprints to follow. Karlee is now learning many of the things that Kinzee did for me, and she is my constant companion also. Karlee is almost a duplicate copy of her mama. Both in the way she looks and her personality. No mistake, Karlee is her own personality, but she is soooo much like her mama that some things are just eerie.
I have a million stories written down about each and every dog. I really need to take time to organize them. None of them would have happened had it not been for that first one that Pat allowed me to steal and each one after that right on down to today. I could not possibly be where I am at now with out the training I learned at Quansa and the Manners In Minutes classes. These dogs and the training of them has been a HUGE positive chunk of my life, and God be willing, they will continue to be so. They take me places in my life that would not have happened with out them. They help me educate the people we meet about the relationship and leadership skills available to anyone, simply by learning from their dog.
