The Dog Who Needed Me
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog
By Lorraine Cannistra

There is nothing truer in this world than the love of a good dog.
~Mira Grant

July 4th is typically a holiday for most people, but last year I felt more like crying than celebrating. The day started out with our typical morning routine. One of my caregivers helped me out of bed and into my wheelchair. We got me dressed for the day. The next stop was the kitchen where I was preparing breakfast, but the meal wasn't for me. Leah, my eleven-year-old service dog, had suffered a stroke two months earlier. Dr. Tom, my vet, told me that it was anybody's guess if she was going to get better or worse. I bowed my head in prayer for my strength and her health several times per day, trying to prepare myself for any outcome.

She hadn't been eating well for a while, so I got some chicken and rice out of the fridge. It was her favorite. Ever since her stroke, I had told myself that I was going to put every ounce of effort I could into getting her better, so I mixed the chicken and rice with some of her kibble. (Keep reading)