There are so many facebook pages regarding animals that it sometimes makes my head spin. I'm partial to the ones regarding service dogs and K9s (either police or military) - the bond between the partners is amazing. Throw into the mix the dogs that show up around our military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan and are devoted to our service members, pulling them back from the bleakness and reminding them of home, and it's time to break out the Puffs Plus.
I'd like to take some time to tell you about one of the service dogs I've been following on facebook. Her name is Hattie, and she's a hearing service dog; she's also a chocolate lab, so she gives chocolate kisses! She alerts her momma when timers go off, or someone is at the door, or if there's a siren. Her momma carries treats with her to praise Hattie for alerting her. Momma was living a much different life before she and Hattie became partners. She was often nervous and afraid of what she might be missing. Having Hattie as her ears meant that she could relax a little and enjoy life a little more.
Hattie was trained by Dogs for the Deaf, out of Oregon. She was recently in the running for the 2012 American Humane Society Hero Dog Award in the Hearing Dog category. Despite my best efforts and voting daily, Hattie didn't make it into the finals. Every dog that was nominated in each category is a hero, and they were "competing" for funds for the charity they represented. Those who won in their category are now "competing" for additional funds for their charity, and the dog with the most votes will be the Hero Dog of 2012. It's a great way to raise awareness of just how versatile these 4 legged therapists are.
I pretty much stumbled upon Hattie's page by accident, but after spending a little time there, I knew it was a happy accident (and y'all know I love those!). I loved the way momma posted about Hattie's activities, and was always positive. Hattie's momma posts about others who are in need, asking us to do what we can to help out; sometimes it's sharing information, sometimes it's shipping pop top tabs to an organization that helped fund a surgery Hattie needed, and sometimes it's simply prayer. Hattie and her momma are very much behind "Pawing it Forward."
At the beginning of August, Hattie wasn't feeling too good, and momma was getting pretty worried. They went to the vet and a couple of specialists, eventually got a few things ruled out, but no diagnosis. Poor Hattie was in pain, and momma was getting frantic. Fortunately, they had wonderful vet care, and the really scary diseases were ruled out (including cancer) and the beautiful sweet Hattie was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. She had to have surgery (7-10 biopsies taken of intestines and lymph nodes) before they were able to make the diagnosis. During all of this, Hattie's momma made a trip to Harrisburg, PA when the Governor of Pennsylvania signed into law a bill that Hattie's momma had been working to have passed that makes it illegal in PA to harm a service dog! Hattie wasn't able to make the trip, so daddy stayed home with her.
The last couple of weeks were hard on Hattie and her family. I know they had to be a bazillion times worse for them than for me, and I cried reading the updates. Hattie and her momma aren't loved by Hattie's Helpers because Hattie's a beautiful dog (although she is absolutely gorgeous); they are loved because they both think of others, no matter what they are going through. From posting updates on Hattie so we wouldn't worry, to checking in and passing on updates from previous posts for special assistance, momma worked hard to keep things as normal for everyone else as possible. And Hattie? Momma very regretfully had to leave the vet's office much earlier than she would have liked after the surgery because Hattie insisted on trying to alert momma even while still groggy from the anesthesia.
Hattie also has a very loving daddy who watches over both of his girls. He encouraged momma to go on the trip to Harrisburg because of all of her hard work, and then enjoyed a daddy/doggie day with Hattie. He also made arrangements to be home when momma had to leave Hattie at the vet's overnight; he knew it would be hard for her not to have Hattie's companionship, but also to be without her "ears."
I've become very attached to Hattie and her family. It's kind of funny that when I saw Bandit asleep and took the picture above, the first thing I thought of was him saying a prayer for Hattie. Tonight, I edited the picture, adding the prayer and copyright info, then posted it on Hattie's Helpers facebook page. I know they like it, but even more, I hope it gives them an idea of how much people care about all of them, and want to encourage them.
(Updated post 08-29-2012 because Pinkerton wanted to have his 15 minutes of fame with Hattie!)
(Updated post 08-29-2012 because Pinkerton wanted to have his 15 minutes of fame with Hattie!)
I have been humbled by the dedication the family has to Hattie's Helpers, and am learning to look for ways to "Paw it Forward" every day as a result. It might be making an effort to be nice to an overwhelmed cashier, or telling the cart collector herding the carts "Thank you for doing this job", or sending pop top tabs to Service Paws of Central Pennsylvania. Whatever it is, it's an honest and sincere message that the other person, organization, or animal is valued. We all long to hear those simple but touching words from The Help, "You is kind. You is smart. You is important."
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