Me for You

Terri & Brody

There’s a big, beloved black Lab in Minneapolis who goes by the name of Brody (or “B” if you know him well). A lucky dog, he accompanies his person absolutely everywhere—to restaurants, to parties, and to doctor appointments. Amtrak is even gracious enough to pull the train over to give Brody a potty break, and no, I’m not kidding.

In return, as family does for each other, Brody steps in to give his dearest human, Terri, whatever is in his power to give. Sloppy kisses, a warm body on a cold night, or a warning that she’s about to have a seizure. Terri has lots and lots of seizures. And before Brody entered her life, they'd always caught her by surprise, which meant she would fall down. A lot. Even if she was on the stairs. Her life was filled with ambulance rides and bad news. But then Brody found his soul mate and started warning her when it was time to sit down RIGHT NOW! Her trips to the hospital stopped.

One other thing that B does for Terri? When her seizure starts, he snuggles up against her, using the magnet in his collar to trigger the implant in her chest, instantly stopping the seizure. While Terri lies there recovering, Brody can run to get help, bring seizure medicine, or push the emergency button for medical assistance before lying across her body to keep her safe.

There’s at least one more “you’re kidding!” to this story: Brody learned most of his skills from the kind folks at Can Do Canines—but his sloppy kisses and ability to predict seizures are skills he developed all on his own. In fact, humans can’t say for sure how he does that (the prediction part—they understand the kissing part).

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about Brody this morning… which makes me want to ask myself what I can do for my family today.