Wonder Dogs by Maureen Maurer with Jenna Benton

Author:Maureen Maurer with Jenna Benton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Story/Inspiration;Service dogs | Dogs—­Therapeutic use | Human-­animal relationships;PET004000;REL012040
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2021-06-08T00:00:00+00:00

Mikey and Service Dog Penny

A few months later, Penny nudged Angie’s arm in the middle of the night and woke her up.

“It’s not morning yet; go back to sleep,” Angie mumbled. Penny persisted and started whining. “What is it, girl, do you need to go outside?” Angie asked as she reluctantly got out of bed. Rather than going to the sliding door, Penny ran down the hallway back to Mikey. Angie followed her and when she got to Mikey, she found he was not breathing and his skin had turned blue. She quickly activated the suction machine next to his bed and cleared his airway. He started coughing, and his breathing and coloring soon returned to normal.

Angie breathed a sigh of relief as she lay down beside Mikey, while Penny collected all the stuffed animals she could find and placed them on top of him. The next morning, sunlight slanting through the window woke Angie up. Penny was curled up next to Mikey, and they were both sound asleep. Angie thanked God for Penny and for giving her more time with her precious son. Later that year, Penny received the Maui County Hero Award for saving Mikey’s life that night.

Mikey’s parents noticed that he had fewer seizures since Penny joined their family. Another unexpected benefit of having Penny was that Mikey went outside more often and met many neighbors on their daily walks. Angie enjoyed seeing people’s faces light up when they saw Mikey and Penny together. Each day they walked around the edge of Dole Park in the center of town. All the community events took place here, including the annual Easter egg hunt for the island’s keiki (children).

That spring, Angie and Mike decided to take Mikey and Penny to watch the festivities. The children participated by age groups, with the youngest going first. The girls wore their Easter dresses and the boys had on their Sunday best. Penny sat by Mikey and watched intently as the children raced around the park, hunting for the plastic eggs. One of the organizers came over and asked if Mikey would like to join them, as his age group was coming up next.

It was the first time Mikey had ever been invited to participate in an activity with other children. Angie and Mike thanked him but explained that because of Mikey’s vision, he couldn’t look for eggs.

“Well, Penny’s a retriever; maybe she could help him,” the man suggested with a smile.

“That’s a great idea. We’d be happy for them to participate!” Angie agreed.

“The next age group is the eight-to-ten-year-olds,” the announcer said over the loudspeaker. The children all assembled at the starting line clutching their Easter baskets. Mikey sat in his wheelchair right in the middle, with Penny standing at his side.

“On your mark . . . get set . . . GO!”

Angie unclipped Penny’s leash and directed her to “go find.” Penny took off with the children, racing around the field looking for the hidden plastic eggs. Mike bumped Mikey’s wheelchair across the lawn as Angie ran after Penny as fast as she could.

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