Murphy
Susan and Murphy
When homeschooling my 2 girls, I wanted them to do a community service project. They chose to raise a guide dog puppy from Guide Dogs for the Blind. We ended up loving it and raised 7 puppies. After the girls graduated from high school, I began to have problems with my balance. As it turns out, I had had a stroke and all that it did to me was take away my balance. My girls told me that it seemed like I wasn't having problems when I had a leash in my hand. I went thru the balance clinic at the U of Wash. I researched quite a few service dog schools to find one that not only met my needs, but had the same type of training philosophy as GDB. I applied for a service dog from Summit Assistance Dogs in Anacortes, WA. It was almost a 4 year wait, but well worth it! I now have Murphy who helps me walk straight. I no longer have to keep my eyes on the ground to stay stable! Murphy is a born leaner, when I am standing still, I get to use his balance to compensate for mine. He also picks thing up off the floor like my keys or a credit card. He knows when I am going to have a bad day and sticks to me like glue! Murphy has been trained to get the phone I have placed on a low table in case of an emergency. I had to move it to the floor at one point and realized several hours later that it was gone from it's normal place for Murphy. I asked Murphy to get the phone for me and he proceeded to get the phone from the kitchen counter since we were in that room. I have never shown him that there is a phone for him to reach in the kitchen. He is one smart dog! He figured out, why go clear into the bedroom to get the phone, when there is one right here in the same room that we were in! I am much more confident walking on strange surfaces when he is at my side!