Amber

April 2016 - Present

Rescue Mutt to helper pup - service dog and best friend

Amber came into my life when I needed her the most, a rescue from a local shelter. She had a difficult start in life, born into a puppy mill and used for irresponsible breeding and money making, facing much abuse at the hands of humans. When she was brought to the shelter, she only grew more anxious and upset, swiftly developing dangerous reactivity to dogs. Yet despite her rough early life and abuse, she never displayed any animosity toward humans. When I found her in the kennel at a pet store adoption event, snarling and snapping at dogs in neighboring kennels, but jumping up for pets and love from her human visitors, I knew she was for me. I wanted to give her a new life. She was already 4 years old, having been passed around between various fosters, shelters, and even animal control; due to her aggressive reactivity to dogs. She was my very first dog, but I was prepared for the challenge.

So I brought her home, and we were fast friends. She learned quickly that this was her home, not just a temporary placement. She was eager to learn and please, always well-mannered and incredibly loving to any and all humans. She enjoys nothing more than rolling over for belly rubs as soon as you started petting her, and she loves to nuzzle you before settling down for a nap with her head in your lap. I made sure to take care of her as best I could, with healthy food and regular vet visits and exercise. It wasn't long before this sweet girl saved me from serious injury, possibly death.

I have various mental and emotional disabilities due to my own past, which I won't get into here. Amber was my ESA for about a year. These issues however, led me to start having Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures (PNES). My memories are fuzzy on the incident, but my friends with me at the time were witness to the occurrence. It was during a walk in the city, we were about to cross a very busy road on the pedestrian walk signal. I had been feeling rather unwell for a while, and Amber had been acting very strange: constantly nudging at me and whining, refusing to leave my side. When we tried to cross, she refused to move from the side of the road, staring at me. When I went to see if she had possibly injured a paw or something, I collapsed from my first seizure, which ultimately led to my diagnosis later on. Had we crossed the road as intended, I'd have collapsed in the middle of the intersection. Amber caught my head with her body, making sure I didn't hit the ground. My friends stayed with us and called an ambulance when the seizure continued for a dangerously long time. She wasn't technically a Service Dog at the time, but the paramedics assumed she was, and allowed her to accompany me to the hospital; particularly since my friends explained that she had tried to alert me to a seizure in advance.

Once I was diagnosed and released, my family and I decided that Amber was just what I needed for my condition. Some dogs have the ability to sense seizures up to an hour in advance, though it's not fully understood how. It's believed they can smell a change in our body chemicals. So we began to train her to become a service dog. (FYI - Not certified service dog, there is no such thing as a 'certification' for service dogs in the USA, and it's illegal for any business or organization to request documentation of any kind.) Service dogs are expected to have top tier training and behavior though, so we tackled Amber's dog reactivity first, then worked on her public access manners. She soon became a fully trained service dog, and that explosive dog reactivity when I first adopted her? It's history, no longer exists. She is very friendly and tolerant of other dogs now, and served as an incredible service dog for a couple years.

Sadly though, being a rescue and not a well-bred shepherd, she has recently developed several health conditions of her own. She has arthritis starting to show up, hip dysplasia, has had several cancer scares, and her digestive system is sensitive and easily disrupted (very messy potty breaks). I have been forced to retire her from service work, and gotten a well-bred GSD to train in her place as my medical alert service dog. Amber now is living out her golden years, at 9 years old, with frequent vet visits. She is still doing fairly well, and we hope she remains with us for a while yet. But we have no way of knowing when her time will come. It could be tomorrow, or it could be another 5 years from now.

Regardless, I've customized this wolf to resemble her as best I can, and immortalized her.