Michelle Leifer, Vetstreet.com Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Experts
Said it Wouldn’t Work, But Rescue Dog and Dying 4-yr-old Proved Them Wrong
As nearly
anyone who has adopted a pet from a shelter can attest, there’s something
special about a rescued animal; it’s as if they can sense they’ve been given a
second chance at life. That’s certainly the case with Juno, a Belgian Malinois
who was adopted just days before she was to be euthanized. But since coming to
live with her family in Alcoa, Tenn., she now has taken on the role of rescuer
to a dying boy whom experts believed was not suited for any service dog.
Four-year-old
Lucas Hembree suffers from Sanfilippo syndrome, an inherited, metabolic disease
that causes children to lose the ability to speak, walk and eat. The disease
also causes severe neurological damage that leads to aggressive behavior,
hyperactivity and seizures.
With no
cure or treatment currently available, Lucas isn’t expected to live past the
age of 15 and may be in a vegetative state by the time he is eight. Realizing
that every moment is extra precious, Chester and his wife, Jennifer, wanted
their son to experience as much as he could while still having the capacity to
enjoy life.
A
Faith-filled Shelter Visit
When the
disease started to take a toll on Lucas’ joints, Chester looked into getting a
service dog to keep Lucas steady when he walked.
“I was told
that a service dog would cost at least $15,000, and that Lucas wasn’t a good
candidate because of his deteriorating abilities and his behavior,” Chester
says. “I refused to accept this answer.”
A
combination of prayer and persistence led Chester to Juno. “I came across a
posting about her on a rescue group’s website,” he says. “I had the feeling in
my gut that I had to go see this dog.”
The whole
family made the two-hour trip to meet Juno, who was being held at an east
Tennessee shelter. “She was emaciated, and was days away from being
euthanized,” Chester says. “She had been surrendered to the shelter because her
previous owners didn’t understand the breed.”
Fortunately,
Chester did. He’d gotten to know and love the Belgian Malinois while working as
a law enforcement officer years earlier.
“I used to
help with the training of police K-9s, and our dogs were Belgian Malinoises,”
he says. “I loved their desire to work and their ‘never quit’ attitude.” In addition to being a popular choice for
police dogs, the breed is often used in combat. In fact, it’s believed that the
dog which helped Navy SEALs take down Osama bin Laden was a Belgian Malinois.
Juno Proved
a Winner
But while
the breed has proven its prowess on patrol and in combat, Chester needed to be
sure Juno would be a suitable service dog for his little boy. “I put her on a
loose leash and she walked with me and never pulled,” Chester says. “Next came
the Lucas test. They took to each other immediately, like kindred spirits.”
The
Hembrees brought Juno home and showered her with love and affection.
“I wanted
to make sure she had plenty of time to adjust to the family before I started
the formal training,” Chester says. Yet, from the beginning there seemed to be
something instinctive about their relationship. One day, Chester noticed Juno
circling Lucas while he was in his wheelchair. “She was whining and nudging him
with her nose,” Chester says. “I checked his oxygen levels and they were very
low.” After giving him oxygen, Lucas returned to normal and Juno greeted him
with licks and affection.
“That’s
when I knew she had the ability to pick up on his neurological changes,”
Chester says. “Now she alerts us when Lucas is about to have a seizure or if
his oxygen levels drop really low. She has saved him several times.”
Juno has
become a literal shoulder for Lucas to lean on when walking, and a calming influence
when he became agitated. And while Chester makes sure that Juno gets time off,
he says that it’s hard to get Juno to leave Lucas’ side. “You don’t see one
without the other close by,” he says. “It really feels like it was meant to
be.”
To learn
more about Lucas you can go to the Facebook page his dad writes about Lucas.
Vetstreet.com
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possible, so you can keep your dogs and cats healthy. The key is a
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