My Girl

This is a story about my first Wheelchair Service Dog, JoJo. She was very special, not only because she was my first, but because she wasn't originally predestined to be a Service Dog. Then again, I never thought I was predestined to be a crip, so I guess it all worked out.

We got JoJo in 1992. I had just started having unexplainable symptoms in my legs and for some reason I thought "I want a dog". I had always said I didn't want a dog because they tie you down... well, it's a great thing that I changed my mind.

But I had to then convince Rick that he wanted a dog too. I almost tricked him into going to the place where I knew there were puppies thinking he couldn't say no to those little faces. But I thought better of it and so we discussed... and discussed... and discussed! Rick was not an easy sell. That is until a friend from work brought in her new schnauzer puppy for him to see... and she wasn't even a co-conspirator. As I thought, seeing a puppy face did make him change his mind...

We went to the house where all the 4 week old pups were... eleven total! Hard to choose. I had this big mongo male in my lap that I was lovin' up. I was performing all the new behavioral tests I had learned to see if he'd be a good doggie for us when I look over at Rick. There he is falling in love with this tiny black girlie of a pup... and that was that... Jo Jo it was.

We went over frequently to bond with her... we were a regular fixture at her breeder's house. They were first time (accidental) puppy breeders so we helped by bringing puppy formula and canned food for the mommy.

When it came time to bring JoJo home, she came running over to Rick when he called her name. All that bonding paid off!

We brought this 7 week old pup home and proceeded to stay up in shifts with her... almost like bringing a new-born home. I remember waking up and finding tiny JoJo laying on the top of my head.

Since she was our first dog, we did some things right and some things wrong with her. We certainly were the ones who created her well-known cling-on syndrome. I wanted to keep her in sight for housebreaking... I think I went overboard.

JoJo was there when I started getting really sick. I was home from work a lot so we were together during the day. I remember I wanted to teach her the alphabet... 'k, yes, I'm weird! I held her up in front of my face, holding her under her armpits. I didn't get past the letter "F"... once that ffffffffffff-air hit her face, she went into a face-licking frenzy. From that point on, we played the game of "wanna do the alphabet?".... moist!

My symptoms continually worsened when we moved to Vermont. Since I had left my job, I was home all the time and JoJo became very attached. When both Rick and I would go out, she had major separation anxiety. So we got Barney as a companion for her. Didn't work... but hey, we got our little man Barney out of it.

As I started using a wheelchair more and more, my veterinarian mentioned that people have Wheelchair Assistance Dogs. I had never heard of this. My vet put me in touch with a local private trainer that trained people's pets to work for them. Jamie came over and evaluated both Barney and JoJo. Barney's pretty much a neurotic dog so he didn't cut the mustard. But when Jamie saw how attached JoJo was to me, she felt JoJo would be perfect to train for this... and she was right.

We trained hard for about a year... and she did great. She had to learn how to behave in a professional manner out in public. She'd had beginner and intermediate obedience training before this, so the basics were solid with her. Because she had been a pet dog before becoming a working dog, she still wanted everyone she saw to pet her. We never really broke this habit but JoJo was still a very dedicated service dog. She also had to learn how to pull my chair, how to turn left and right, and how to stop. She pulled VERY FAST! I went thru many pairs of wheelchair-gloves trying to be the brakes.

When she turned 6, she started to exhibit some anxiety when working, especially in the car. That's when we decided to retire her. Normally Wheelchair Service Dogs retire around 8, but she told me then that it was time to let her retire.

Then we got Willie from breeders Tom and Lori Dodd (another story for another post). I kept JoJo working part-time while we trained Willie. In fact, JoJo was my "assistance trainer"! We would take both dogs out and Willie would get a chance to see how a professional Service Dog acted in public. He would see that she wasn't afraid of those doors that magically open when he stepped on the pad or of shopping carts or of seeing lots of people milling about.

JoJo helped us with the early training of Willie for a few months, but it took 18 months to train Willie completely. During that time JoJo worked for me on a very limited capacity. Ask me sometime what it's like to be in a wheelchair with a Service Dog and then to be without a Service Dog... people treat you completely different. That's how I came to realize that I will ALWAYS have a Service Dog... not only do they assist me physically, but they provide a wonderful conduit between me and complete strangers!

Once Willie was working full-time, JoJo went into retirement full-time. At first she would sit by Willie when I was putting his harness on, sometimes sniffing it and whining, but that didn't last long. JoJo got to love her retirement. She would still assist me at home with some retrieval work and bracing... but once she reached 8 years old, I didn't use her for bracing unless it was with her and Willie together. Before she retired, she would always put her "arms" around me to hug me after I removed her harness. She kept up that tradition... when I removed Willie's harness, he'd kiss me and she'd still hug me.

So JoJo led a quiet life as a pet from that point on. Looking back, I think that it was pretty neat that I could take a dog as gregarious as JoJo and with diligence and lots of patience, train her to be a professional working dog that could go with me anywhere I needed her to go.



JoJo had always had difficulty fighting off even the most routine infections. It started with chronic ear infections, then urinary tract and anal gland infections. She had a urinary tract infection that was so antibiotic-resistant that it took almost 2 years to get rid of it. That chronic infection and her obvious immune deficits are probably what led to her getting bladder cancer.

We had no idea JoJo was sick until a week before she died. The disease of bladder cancer is like that... it's a very fast spreading, insidious cancer. It can show little or no symptoms until it's too late. I think this was a blessing. JoJo did not suffer except the day before we put her to sleep. She had always appeared to be a happy, healthy doggie and never even seemed sick up until that point.

It's weird... our vet kept telling us how "stoic" JoJo was when she was staying those last days at the clinic. But the 2 times we had her home, she told us exactly how she felt... crappy. I think that by being stoic at the vet's, JoJo got the opportunity to come home with us, even if it was just for one night. If she had appeared as sick as she really was at the vet's, they might have not let us take her home.

JoJo did have some good moments her last night with us. We all laid down together on the floor and cuddled when she finally would fall asleep. She had a great moment that morning where she rolled in the grass on her back quite a few times. She wore herself out doing that but it was great fun for her to do and for us to watch.

At the time, I had been able to walk a little every night for very short distances, basically down my short driveway and back. That night, JoJo didn't start showing us she was in pain until about 1am. Prior to that, I wanted to go for my walk around 11pm. Well, that night JoJo INSISTED on going on that walk! When I went to the door, both her and Willie followed... but it was "JoJo for the block". She pushed Willie aside and insisted on coming with me.

That last walk was short but very sweet. I hadn't walked her like that for years. She heeled very nicely, just like she was taught to do.


The next morning we took her to our vet. She went so peacefully to the Rainbow Bridge... she just put her head down and fell asleep. She had been in such distress all night that is was a blessing to see her at peace. She deserved to be at peace.

I will always have a hole in my heart where JoJo was... she was my first pet dog and my first Service Dog.


She was my little girl.

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Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal who has been especially close to someone dies, that pet goes to the Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food and water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

Animals who were ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them from days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one thing: they miss someone very special to them; the person they left behind.

All of the animals run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; his eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to break away from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. Happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.


Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together...