Anne & Bailey
Anne's story in her own words:
"Bailey came into my life just as it began to badly unravel. He literally saved my physical life over half a dozen times. He saved my soul and sanity daily. He was the inspiration for and the founding 'canine' of Gateway To Canine Partnerships." This is the story of Bailey... fondly known by many as Boo.
"I first saw Bailey at the Golden Retriever Rescue Organization just outside Salt Lake City. He had been abandoned in Ogden and a vet had called the organization to come and get him. He was in the backyard of the rescue organization the day I took my family out to see this wonderful place. Bailey was running around with a Frisbee trying to get the other dogs to play. He was young, strong and a beautiful white yellow chunk of energy. He came home with us that day. I held him in my arms in the back of the car not even realizing at the time, that actually Bailey was rescuing me. Upon taking him home it was clear he was terrified of being left again. He seemed to have a broken heart. I kept him close to me. Let him sleep on the floor next to my bed, often touching him in the night. I did not leave his side for a couple of weeks. Boo's response was to say as only a dog can to one who listens, "You saved me... I am yours." He never voluntarily left my side again, until the day he died.
"I have a degenerative back disease and in 1996 had rods put in my back after it became more and more difficult to walk and deal with the pain. When my arthritis would flare or if I would twist funny I would have a spasm which would knock me to the ground. It looked like a seizure but my brain was not involved. Boo became my full time on call rescuer, on many levels. Boo was taught to brace my left side, especially when hiking, in case I slipped and fell and triggered a spasm.
"It really was not until about 2000 that I "came out of the closet" with Bailey. See, I do not look disabled. I knew that if I went out in public with my dog, with a vest, the public would either assume I was training him (and everyone asks) or would know I have a problem. I was not ready to say on a daily basis "No, I am not training him, he is mine." Then came the curious and well meant questions... "Oh really! Why?" Since Bailey was a bracing service dog, I was not as afraid about falling in public so I went out more. When Bailey was with me the public did not get as scared and would believe me when I told them my spasms were not a medical emergency. I think my spasms settled sooner or I settled sooner when I could twist dear old Boo's head around with each electrical strike. When I had a spasm in public I felt less embarrassed when I had Boo with me, certainly less vulnerable.
"Because of Boo, my family and I financially supported the founding of Gateway to Canine Partnerships. Service dogs that are bonded to their person do so much more than medical alerts. They save us in so many more ways then just trained emergency responses. They accept us and our glitches when many around us don't. They love us when we have difficulty loving ourselves. They help us stretch ourselves into taking the everyday risks of being in public.
"Boo taught me many lessons, even in his dying. I wasn't ready for Boo to pass to the other side. I wasn't sure I could "make it" without him. Yet, Boo taught me how to see all the wonders a dog has. So... when Smooch, my young, spooky black lab, "took over" as my service dog, there was room in my heart and the knowledge about what could be an amazing partnership. I still miss Boo... I always will... and... he does have me believing in angels. I'm living with a furry four legged black one right now and I am pretty sure Bailey sends pointers down on a weekly basis."
Anne Curran, MSW, LCSW, is the founder of Gateway To Canine Partnerships and serves on the Board of Directors.