Today is a special day for Mr. Digby, the Australian Silky Terrier who, along with Miss Lexie the Maltese, runs the show here at Chez Rockwell. He’s 14 years old, people! Yup! FOURTEEN! Like me, he’s a May baby.
It was a chilly November day, 10 years ago, that Mr. Digby came to live with me, not long after I had to bid farewell to Mr. Jake, a 16 year old Cairn terrier. Terriers are terrific!
With a girlfriend, I went to see Digby, a rescue in foster care, (the Mr. was added at adoption) who was waiting for me at Main Street Vet Clinic. Worthy of note was that, while crated, he was very quiet which totally surprised the lady who was caring for him, who said he didn’t like the other people he ‘interviewed’. Perhaps he sensed that I, with my various limitations, was no threat to him and he didn’t need to defend himself. He could see and hear my crutches.
At my urging, the ‘rescue lady’ let him out of the crate though she insisted he’d not come out. She got a surprise when, once the crate door opened, not only did he eagerly come out, he draped himself across my feet as I stood there balanced on my crutches. It was a done deal! He was officially adopted! In ‘dog speak’, lying across my feet was his way of marking me and encouraging me to invite him to join my pack. I did!
Adopting a dog, particularly if your walking is not fluid or you function from a wheelchair, is something that must be well thought out. Certainly, a working dog is well-prepared to meet the needs of those of us who move about on canes, crutches, or in wheelchairs, but the regular canines — pound puppies, lumbering labradors, or even tenacious terriers, don’t seem to know much about wheelchairs, except perhaps where to pee!
Those living with any sort of mobility challenge are well advised to check with a breeder, a veterinarian, or even the local pound, and ask lots of questions. Become educated about the choice of dog for yourself and your family. Some shelters will let you “try out” a dog for a weekend to see if things work out. Although frustrating for the animal, it does allow potential human companions to find out what they’re letting themselves in for.
Living with the quirks of cerebral palsy can be all at once funny and sort of frustrating, especially if one is educating dogs and cats about how to behave around those funny chairs on wheels, and those equally odd looking trees, we all know as crutches. Unlike his predecessors, Mr. Digby did not learn to walk while attached to a crutch. With him, my modes of mobility were a bit more high-tech!
That first day, Mr. Digby wasted no time tearing around the house, barely stopping to take a breath. He leaped up on all the upholstered furniture, one piece at a time, stopping to look at me, hesitating. I learned that he had been abused in his other home, tethered to a kitchen cabinet doorknob for several hours a day, then punished well after the fact for bladder indiscretions. I said nothing, just watching him enjoying his explorations. Realizing nothing bad was going to happen to him, he carried on with his inspection. I passed! Our first evening together was spent with him on my lap. We were off to a fine start.
The next day I introduced Mr. Digby to my wheelchair, as I had done with the Cairns that came before him. I tied him out on a terrier-proof tie-out line, letting him inspect the chair before I sat in it, with leash already in place to attach his collar. A few turns around the yard, then part way down the driveway and back. Success. He seemed to like it. I would repeat this process for a few days in a row before introductions to the mobility scooter were made. His scooter training went very well and though we don’t get out and about as often as I’d like, he does behave well.
Mr. Digby, though not certified, unless a little bit crazy counts, could be viewd as both a service dog, and a therapy dog. He packs a lot of attitude in that small body. He’s a service dog as he loves to be served, and he’s a therapy dog because he provides companionship. I’m his therapy person given he came from abuse and need to heal emotionally from trauma — our connection is mutually beneficial.
We’ve been together almost 10 years, and so on this day, acknowledging his 14 canine years, I raise a glass. He’ll get a cheeseburger sans bun, portioned out over 4 days. Happy Birthday, Mr. D!
Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton with her aging Australian silky terrier and a rambunctious Maltese. She can be reached at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca via email.
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