“This special bundle of joy joined our family on March 19th, 2009. She was a tiny little furball, when we first saw her she was sleeping in her food dish. We had been looking for a puppy to join our family for over a year, we knew that the breed we wanted was a Shih Tzu. We searched for a while, and none of the dogs that we saw had the personality that we wanted, they either nipped, or barked non-stop.
We were looking for a gentle and quiet spirit to enter our lives. The reason for this is that I just was released from the hospital from an 8 week stay after double bypass, with extreme complications after surgery, and my nerves were rattled, and my stress levels at my job were very high.
When Mini Mae was introduced to us by an acquaintance who knew a breeder of Shih Tzu’s, we fell in love immediately. She was gentle, and not very vocal. But you could see it in her face that she knew that I had been through something serious. She cuddled up to me and nudged my hand to pet her, so I did. She laid there for hours, not moving an inch, unless I stopped petting her, then she would nudge my hand again to pet her. After she knew I was calm she went over to my significant other, and laid down in her lap, being petted, she fell asleep.
We left her at the breeder, and a few days later, my significant other received the phone call saying Mini Mae was ours, I did not know that we were going to bring her into our family, since I was back at my stressful job, first day back after being off for 24 weeks to recover from my surgery. I got home and laid down, and the next thing I knew my hand was being nudged by Mini Mae.
Mini Mae is special to me for two reasons…
1) Unconditional Love…
2) She has become my therapy dog for stress management…
My doctors at the time had told me that if I did not find a way to manage my stress I wouldn’t see my 40th birthday, I was 39 then. Mini Mae saved my life, I am about to celebrate my 44th birthday. My doctors have told me my stress is better controlled, and my health is improving dramatically all because of Mini Mae and he intuition to be able to sense when I am stressed.
The main thing is that Mini Mae had no formal training as a service dog in any way, she just knows when I am stressed, sick or depressed and she keeps me on an even level all the time.
Recently, I became a type I diabetic, Mini Mae also tells me to check my blood sugars when they are too low or high. She licks my hands and face when they are too low, and my feet when they are too high. Again she has had no formal training in these behaviors, she just knows and wants me to take care of myself.
So with that said, here is to MINI MAE, my baby, my best friend, and my SUPERHERO!!!”
