Rescue dogs return favor by coming to aid of humans

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Most of us know about rescuing dogs from a shelter, but far fewer of us can appreciate how castoff canines can sometimes rescue people.

When Diana Theobold lost a foot in a rock-climbing accident, she withdrew from society. After he left the Marines, Kalani Cruetzburg fell into a paralyzing depression.

Both were saved by shelter dogs. Their stories, and others like them, form the essence of Animal Planet’s “Rescue Dog to Super Dog,” a six-episode show in its first season.

The trick to matching the human with his new best friend is temperament, say the show’s dog trainers, Laura London and Nate Schoemer.

“You can find so many amazing dogs in shelters; however, if you need one to perform a specific task, there are certain characteristics they need to have,” said Schoemer, who became an instructor at the dog-training school where he studied for two years.

“If the dog is really fearful and is hiding in the back of the kennel, we can take that dog and work with it. But it’s going to take months and months just to rebuild that dog’s confidence. Since we didn’t have that time, we had to look at the dogs that were coming to the front, that would interact with us, that were interested in people, that were willing to work for food, that were good around other dogs.”

After individual training, each dog is introduced to his new charge.

Theobold, who tumbled 40 feet in her fall, must navigate throughout the day on one leg. Her little rescue dog, Morrison, has proved invaluable, she said.

“A lot of my struggles are just mental, just having the energy to get through the day and to get through my daily tasks,” she said. “I still live in the same apartment I lived in before I lost my leg, so I have an absurdly long hallway. And I live on the top floor.

“I tend to burn a lot of my energy before I even get to my car. So one of the big things that Morrison helps with is he’s able to just jet down the hallway and go and hit that elevator button. So, by the time I’m done limping over there, the elevator is there and he’s ready to go.”

Morrison can also switch off the lights and fetch Theobold’s shoes — a task even the trainers thought too complex for him.

Cruetzburg said Bas, his golden retrieverRottweiler mix, helps him seize the day.

“My disabilities are up here,” he said, tapping his head.

“And who am I to go out there and say that I deserve a service dog or need a service dog? I can walk, and I can do all these things. Once I got past that, and Bas was brought into my life, it was clearly evident that there are a lot of things about me that he helps address.”

His struggles centered on the void in his heart that resulted from his transition out of the Marine Corps. Bas, he said, “gets me out of the house” and “gives me a mission.”

Dog recipients, London said, must work through what she calls “the journey.”

“The most motivating thing about my job is teaching people, giving them information and letting them be better than they were yesterday (with their dogs) because they know more.”