Canine Hero Hall Of Fame

Laky

Laky, a German Shepherd and SGT Tara H. were in Iraq at the same time, but they didn’t meet until a year later on a cold bleak February day at the front door of HealthSouth Rehabilitation Institute of San Antonio. Their parallel journey illustrates that the fight doesn’t end when you come home. For Laky and Tara, home is where their story began.

Laky returned with a post traumatic stress disorder. Tara was facing severe depression on the first anniversary of the Valentine’s Day attack in Baghdad that ‘took her leg, a portion of her brain, and large part of her spirit.’ She sat bent and battered in her wheelchair when Laky first entered her world. “Little did I know that day was going to turn my life around.”

As her husband was pushing her wheelchair down the hall at the hospital, Tara gradually lifted her head. “Here was this beautiful creature, in such contrast to me. He was full of life and energy. I extended my hand to pet this magnificent animal, and I felt the first tear fall down my cheeks.” As Laky’s handler explained to Tara and her husband that Laky, an explosive detector dog, had been only a few miles away from where Tara was injured, tears welled in his eyes. Later he revealed that he would have done anything, if Laky could have found the bomb that targeted Tara.

A year later, Tara has found true meaning and depth of purpose in her life and attributes it to that moment that turned her life around. “I found it in something that found me at just the right time in my life; Laky. The power of dogs is in the creatures we love for pets because of their loyalty, fierceness of character and unconditional love for us. They love us when we’re rich or poor, furious or composed, and especially when we are depressed, or incredibly happy.” And as for Laky, he now has kids to play with and a pond to swim in.

All is good. Courage is sometimes holding on just one more minute.

Copyright 2008, Patsy Swendson