Sawyer and Service Dogs

I know a family that has a four year old boy that can not walk named Sawyer. Sawyer has a disability called CP Cerebral Palsy that holds him back physically. He has the ability to speak, but at four years old and seeing his older sister run a round for his whole life, he has a yearning to be as physically capable as the children around his age. He has recently been offered an amazing gift that would change the course of his life forever. A 40 grand gift to be exact, called a service dog.

With the dog comes a best friend, a family member, and an inspiration that would turn him into “the kid that has a cool dog” instead of “the kid that has a wheelchair.” Dogs have a way of understanding the human mind better than we ourselves do. They decode every emotion we let off, every movement we take, every signal our brains let off and react accordingly. Dogs know when we are sad before we even shed a tear. Dogs can pick up signals of stress and anger. They can even detect a health problem in a human before the human them self.

I own a 8 year old, purebred but unpapered, golden retriever. She is my best friend above all. Until about two years ago she was just the typical dog that knows basic commands such as sit and stay. I then developed an interest in horse jumping and not owning a horse or knowing where to take lessons, I trained my dog to jump instead. Over the course of two years-worth of training, she’ll jump three foot with only a flick of my hand as a cue. No treats to bribe her. No leash to force her. Only trust and an amazing relationship between dog and human. The most amazing concept about it in my eyes, is that I know she would do just about anything I asked her to do. I know for fact, that she would jump on three legs if I asked her to.

There was a time that I wasn’t doing too well. I found myself feeling that almost everyone that I loved and cared for was leaving. I was separated from seven people both permanently and temporarily. I began to develop what I like to call a condition of separation anxiety that affected me in extreme ways. I had a migraine from every other week to once a week for about two months. I would have near-sleepless nights where I would just sit there, rocking myself back and forth crying unstoppably. I truly believe that what made me hold on the most, was the relationship I had with my dog. The reality of how much my existence meant to her, made me feel all that much more loved. She may only be a small part of my life, one being out of the thousands that I’ll meet, but to her, my dad and I are her entire life.

When I was only seven or eight years old, I jumped in the way of a trailer that was about to run over my dog. This was before I had even had her for a very long time, before a relationship as strong as the one we has now was formed. And I risked my life without thinking twice to save that of my dog’s. Even though neither of us were hurt, it wasn’t the most “fun” experience for me. It traumatized me, but I would do it again.

The family that I was talking about earlier is still considering whether or not they should take the responsibility of a service dog. It is a lot of work to own a dog and just in general they are a large responsibility but a service dog is much more. Wherever you go with your special needs child, the dog goes too. There’s no leaving the dog home or taking him to doggy-daycare. He or she has to be with you 24/7. I understand why they would see this as a problem, but they have already made the decision to take on a special needs child (they did not panic and put him into the adoption system like some people would) they made the life long commitment to keeping him happy and to provide all he will ever need. So in my opinion, why not excel in that commitment, make their son’s life change in ways that nothing else besides a dog would be able to do. When Sawyer goes through a rough patch, which like any kid, he most definitely will, he may not know how to communicate it to his parents. But this dog would be able to register what was happening without Sawyer even trying to tell him or her. I know very well how it feels, to have somebody care more about me than themselves, and I can only hope that my dog knows how much I love her. I love her like I love my mom and dad. I love her more than my life itself. I love her in a way I will never love anyone else. And this love is life saving. This love keeps me breathing. This love drives me safely through the hell that our world can cause. This love keeps my feet on the ground. This love is invincible, it would keep any kid, in any condition, a happy one, guaranteed. This love is better than any human love will ever be. This love is a love I will always chose before any other. This love, is a dog’s love.

This photo was taken by me in Moab, September of 2015.