I came across an article reading a magazine at the dental office today about a retired Marine who launched Semper K9 Assistance Dogs. The article piqued my interest enough to go to their website for more information, as being a nurse I’ve seen Pet Therapy work wonders for calming, as well as bringing cheer, to patients I’ve cared for.  The website states SemperK9’s mission statement is “to enhance the quality of life to wounded, critically ill and injured members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families by providing them assistance dogs. Using rescued and donated dogs we provide service dogs for psychiatric alert and mobility challenges free of charge to wounded service members.” And although this blog post isn’t an endorsement for this organization, I was so impressed, it got me to thinking … and we all know what happens when I get ta thinking’! Long story … but hopefully worth the read … bear with me.

My husband and “eye” were both nerds growing up … book worms to be specific. His mother relates the story that my husband knew from about the age of eight what he wanted to be when he grew up and doggone if he didn’t become exactly what he declared he was gonna be. He began reading The World Book Encyclopedias (known as Google in today’s world). I didn’t know what I wanted to be until after my first year of college, but I was always extremely studious. Well, all that reading and studying ruined our eyes! (Sounds better than saying genetics had something to do with our myopia -near-sidedness).

I had no idea I was even near-sighted until at the age of eight my mama stood across our tiny living room in our small trailer we lived in up at Lake Superior, Wisconsin. Holding up a pack of Benson & Hedges cigarettes, she asked me to read the label. Ugh! I couldn’t see the pack of cigarettes, let alone the label. That was a bad year for me … I got glasses … ugly glasses … and then if that wasn’t bad enough Daddy decided one day I need a haircut. Put a dang bowl on my head and cut my hair! Like fo sho, fo real! My life was over! I was an eight year old, pudgy, four-eyed girl who looked like a boy! Man I hated those darn glasses.

And then one day Daddy went TDY to California and Mama, knowing how bad I hated wearing glasses, took me down to the eye doctor and got me some contact lenses. (She was worried Daddy wouldn’t approve which is why she did it while he was out-of-state). And that, my friends, is the day my life changed! Suddenly the boys started noticing and I started getting dates. I was sixteen years old. I never let my dating life interfere with my studious nature, though, but I kinda think it’s funny looking back on it now how I felt getting contact lenses was such a pivotal moment in my life. I mean the funny side of my personality thought this sounds like great advertising for an optometry school! Billboard reads … “Become an Optometrist today at Mid-South School of Optometry … We Change Lives … You Too Can Get A Date!”

Back to hubby (and my continuation of taking forever to get to the point). All that readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmatic ruined his eyes too. Bookworms unite! And get married! And have bookworn children with poor eyesight! Another billboard! Once again … bear with me. Like all good “writers”, I’m gonna pull all this together at the end … EYE hope!

I’ve always loved animals, more specifically dogs and cats. In my adult life I have never been without a dog or cat, or two, or three by my side. Animals are the best therapy in the world. Even though they don’t speak English, their body language and precious face and eyes, speak the language of love better than most humans. For example, I will never forget the day my husband came home from the hospital telling me he was in love with Sassy. Whoa … hold up there brother! Who exactly is this Sassy?! Did you stop off at Girls! Girls! Girls! on the way home because I am pretty sure Sassy is the name of a stripper at da strip club buddy. Well … I was wrong on so many levels. Come to find out Sassy was a therapy dog, a precious small Beagle dog and everyone, patients and hospital staff alike, was in love with Sassy and everyone always looked forward to her visits. There was hardly a trashy thing about Sassy. What made Sassy so endearing is Sassy could pray. She prayed for many a ill patient over the years. After a therapy visit in a patients room, her owner would ask the patient if they would like to be prayed for. If the patient answered yes, the trainer would kneel down with her forearm extended and Sassy would place her paws up on the therapists forearm and tuck her head down in a praying position. Sassy would remain in the praying position until her owner said “Amen”! And then Sassy would pop her head back up and open her eyes … prayer over and patient cured! Right?!

I hadn’t thought about Sassy in years until recently when my husband had to have a major eye surgery for a hole in his macula, which was causing his retina to tear (probably because of all that studyin’ he did back in the day). The risk for retinal detachment was high and thank the good Lord for great eye doctors. The surgery wasn’t too bad but the recovery was a bit trying. He was given post-op instructions: do not recline or lie on your back and the first 48 hours he was to keep his head down. No problemo, right? So being the good, cheerful nurse I am, we get home and I start rearranging the furniture. “What are you doing?” he asks. I had moved a table directly in front of his seat on the sofa. “Why?” he asks. So I tell him because he has to keep his head down. (He had been chin to chest the entire three hour drive home from Baton Rouge so he doesn’t seem to understand why I needed to have gone to Interior Design School instead of nursing school.) “I think I’ll be okay. Don’t need a table” he says. A bit Moore discussion takes place and finally he asks me to call the nurse (you know .. the real nurse) for further clarification. And indeed, I am correct. So I break the bad news to him that he must lie face down on something firm or supportive, such as a table, until he goes back for his two day post-op check. Ah! Now he understands why I’ve torn up every bed in the house trying to find him the perfect pillow and moving tables around! And although it was all I could do not to laugh when I shared this bad news, I wanted to so badly because as the news began to register in his brain his reply was … “Well, THAT’S inconvenient!” Eye could see the writing on the wall … it was gonna be a looong 48 hours.

The minutes and hours ticked slowly by and bless his heart, he never complained once. Not once. I can promise you had it been me I would have started whining and crying an hour into it. I mean can you even imagine not being able to raise your head for two whole days except to eat and use the restroom?

That evening, now several hours later, I was sitting on the other end of the sofa and our sweet cat, Izzy Boo, jumped up to sit between us, as she always does when we are sitting on the sofa. Suddenly I glance over. Izzy Boo looks at me. The she looks at the hubby, who for all appearances to anyone that might pass his way, appears to be praying with his head down.  And then Izzy Boo does what every therapy animal does (Sassy and Semper K9 alike). She lowers her head, closes her eyes and begins to pray. The visual was really hilarious! Now I know in reality that cat wasn’t really praying … sympathy pains, perhaps, but oh Lord the visual was too funny.

Animals, whether it be Sassy the Beagle, Izzy Boo the cat or the Semper K9 therapy dogs for wounded veterans, its all the same, really. Such comfort we can often receive from our pets. I still say its better than that we often receive from those around us.

And so I say, never mistreat an animal. You just never know when you are gonna be the eye patient, the recuperating patient in a hospital or the military veteran in need of the unconditional love of a pet. And as I often end a writing I post, I think I can once again add a big AMEN to this one!