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Pushing for Love
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: Find Your Inner Strength
By Lorraine Cannistra I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.
~Gilda Radner Here is a secret that everyone knows: I don't like to ask for help. Of course, my cerebral palsy means that I need assistance getting dressed and have to be driven everywhere, but that is precisely my point. Since I require so much physical help in my life, I don't like to ask for anything beyond that. I am fiercely independent about the things that I feel I should take care of on my own. One night a few years ago, after my caregiver helped me to bed, I was enjoying my favorite part of my routine, snuggling with my yellow Lab service dog, Marshall. When I first got him, I knew that he could be trained to pick up things off the floor when I dropped them and to pull me in my wheelchair. What I didn't know was that he would grab hold of my heart and not let go. When the rest of the world made me feel "less than," Marshall made me feel like "enough." As he drenched my face in doggie slobber that night, the sadness of the day melted away. As usual, he jumped off the bed after a few minutes, but his surprised yelp and the pain in his eyes told me something was dreadfully wrong. (Keep reading) | 