Those of you who are not pet lovers may not relate to this story, but I am sure you will all agree that occasionally we need some inspiration to overcome the occasional downsides of the challenges we face in every day life. Inspiration and motivation can come from a variety of places, but I would venture to say it is kind of a stretch to think it could come from your pet dog.

My sport consulting business was at an all time low with the economy crisis making an impact. I decided to start another home business in addition to my existing business. Knowing it would take time to realize the profits it would take to generate the type of income that could sustain us and give us a comfortable lifestyle without any other resources, I decided to go ahead with the project. I made this decision at the time because my wife Shirley had a very good job and her income was such that we would at least manage to keep our bills paid and maintain a decent lifestyle while building my additional home business. At 67 years old I wanted to build a residual business that would sustain us when the time came for us to consider retiring. I had only been working my new business for less than 2 months when one afternoon in the first week of April 2007, I received a phone call from my wife informing me that she had an altercation at work and she lost her job. That night she was rushed to the hospital where she spent 2 days in the cardiac observation unit, recuperating from what was diagnosed as a “mild” heart attack. Fortunately it was not life threatening and the doctors were very positive it was more of a stressed induced anxiety attack and that there was nothing to worry about.

The day she got out of the hospital, I was taking my dog “Peko”, a 6 year old Dachsund, for a walk when she suddenly fell down on her back leg. When I picked her up the leg was just hanging limp. By the time I got her back home, both back legs were just hanging limp. After 2 days of MRI’s, Cat Scans and Neurological examinations, it was determined she had ruptured a disc in her vertebrae which in turn punctured her spinal cord, thus paralyzing her entire back side.

Peko is the center of our lives. She is there to give unselfish love and has provided us with years of caring, enjoyment and responsibility. With our own “real” family all grown up and gone, she became our “family”. This may be hard for those who do not have pets to understand, but believe me, a devoted loving pet becomes your family. With no income and facing a $1000.00 + Vet bill, the reality started to sink in that we were in deep trouble. I knew given time, my new business would more than support us and provide a very comfortable lifestyle, but this is off in the future. It wasn’t going to happen this week, this month or maybe even this year.

When the doctor brought Peko out to the examining room where we were waiting, she was obviously in a lot of pain despite her being fed heavy doses of Morphine. Tears flowed from both of us as the Doctor explained the diagnosis and that the only chance she had of being rid of the pain and ever walking again was to have surgery to remove the ruptured disc. The surgery would run over $4000.00!. When we told him we couldn’t possibly handle that right now, he insinuated that our other choice was to put her down. She is only 6 years old, it just can’t end this way! This was like making a decision on the life of your own daughter or son…it was devastating. We asked for one day to think about it, and would he keep her there and keep her on the pain drugs until the next day. He agreed. About this time I was about to pack it all in, deep depression, helplessness and self pity and of course selfishly feeling sorry for myself. Living without Peko was not something I could relate to.

It was most definitely a low time of our life. Depression wasn’t even a strong enough word. Here I was, with no money, no income, my wife out of job and on medication, and about to lose the one thing my wife and I lived for. While we were talking about this decision with the doctor, Peko raised her head and made a very deliberate move towards us nearly pulling herself off the examination table, her limp hind legs dragging behind her. She looked straight at us as if she was trying desperately to tell us something. She tried to bark at us, but because her abdomen was affected with the paralyzation, nothing came out, but in her eyes you could see she was trying to fight this and wasn’t about to give up. Suddenly my deep depression turned to motivation, I told the doctor we would have the operation done, although I didn’t have a clue how I was going to raise that kind of money. But I just knew she didn’t want me to give up on her, she was fighting and she was counting on us to save her. I knew she would have to bear the pain, go through a painful operation and commit to weeks of rehab and therapy, but something told me she was willing. We had to make every effort to help her through this.

Inspired by Peko as to what I knew was her strong desire to fight, we became very creative and motivated and we were able within 24 hrs to raise the money for the operation. Nearly everything we owned went into the pawn shop and what little we had left on our credit cards were maximized.

The operation was a success. She is now completely pain free, very alert and otherwise perfectly healthy. She may never walk again with her back legs, but with the use of a walking sling and a set of wheels, she will lead a very normal and healthy life. It has been very tedious on us as she cannot relieve herself without out assistance. She cannot be left alone and has to be carried up and down the steps. But we never even thought about another option and we are most willing to make the little sacrifices necessary for her to go on living. This is now over three years after the operation and to this day, with our help, she is going about her daily routine as if nothing had ever happened. She is once again happy, loving, playful and entertaining, and being the spoiled little brat that she on occasion has always been.

From a heightened state of depression and feeling sorry myself and nearly giving up on my business dream, I have gone on with building my business, my wife is close to being hired at a new position and with the exception of being in a bunch of debt.….all is well again.

Yes, I was most definitely inspired and motivated by the courage of my pet dog “Peko” and what appeared to be her will not to give up. You may not relate to this story if your not  a pet lover, but there is a lesson for all of us. If you want something bad enough, you will be amazed at how creative, persevering and enduring you can become when you have the inspiration and motivation. You can accomplish whatever you set your sights on. You never know where the inspiration may come from. ….Tony Diamond

“I’m Still Your Dog & Friend”

Because I’m “just a dog”, you see.

I don’t sigh and say “Why me”

I just face it – go on living

And play the hand that I’ve been given.

I need you more now, that is true

For there are things I just can’t do.

The ball you throw I cannot catch

I can’t even lift my leg to scratch.

It’s embarrassing a little,

that I may need your help to piddle

But if our roles were in reverse,

I’d be proud to be your nurse.

But hey, I love you more than ever.

Me give up? Well yeah, like never!

I don’t regret what cannot be,

With you, my friend, I’ll just be me!

I’m still me within my soul

Where it counts, I still am whole.

My back is bent, and I’m quite lame

but in my heart I’m still the same.

Poem Written originally as Gracies Anthem by Julia Wrigley Smith