Tom can be a silly dog at times for a well-trained service dog. I suppose that’s the Labrador in him. Half Lab and Half Golden Retriever. He still shows signs of puppyhood even though he’s five. Full of life, he needs his morning walk to shed the excess energy that drives his owner crazy at times. We do a five-kilometer circuit around beautiful Bribie Island every morning, stopping at some parkland for some ball play. This we’ve done this since I was presented with him as a 16-month-old ex-seeing eye dog.
The Sunday in question was no different to any other morning as we headed off on our sojourn around the Island. We walked towards the new Hospital where a large, grassed section of land is at our disposal for a romp and play with the tennis balls. Being greedy, Tom insists on two tennis balls which he can hold in his mouth all at once. Indeed, he can fully absorb a rugby league ball and a tennis ball at the same time into that gaping hole of his. I eventually got smart and dropped the football play after Tom destroyed about 10 of them. So, I let him loose as usual, beckoned on by his usual sense of excitement, his dog cunning knowing that it was ball time. But instead of the expected absolute demanding to play ball mode that he adopts, he merely sniffed the air and did a bolt. He raced 300 metres from me straight across the road that wasn’t busy this Sunday except for one car with an elderly driver coming from church who didn’t stand a chance against this demented golden apparition that raced out of the bushes giving no time to stop. He collected Tom on his hind leg, and by the time I managed to get there, puffing and wheezing as only an ageing war veteran can be.
Tom was looking confused and limping on his right rear leg. Fortunately, there was no blood. The driver was lovely and drove us home and of course to add to our woes, being Sunday, the local vet was closed. This meant a trip to North Lakes where a complete body scan ruled out any internal injury and Tom was given the all clear for broken bones. This seemed too good to be true and that’s how it worked out.
Since my wife died, Tom has become my soul mate and sleeps on my bed every night. He’d wake me up crying like a baby. This led me to SASH Sunshine Coast who screwed in a metal plate on Tom’s fractured pelvis. A successful operation in that Tom now leads a normal life.
– Sunshine Coast QLD
