Wisconsin Academy for Graduate Service Dogs (WAGS)

I am sure that the question often arises, “Once these dogs are trained, who receives them?” That is what this story is about.

My family grew up near Janesville, Wisconsin, roughly 40 minutes south of Madison. My parents had eight kids and pets ranging from guinea pigs to guppies. We always had two dogs that were a huge part of our family, sleeping on a different child’s bed each night and close at hand during the day. Although we all loved our dogs, they were always “mom’s dogs”. They somehow knew that she would always take care of them, and would love them the most.

After my father passed away and the last child had left the nest, mom still had her dogs. However, roughly 12 years ago my mother suffered a massive stroke that left her with much paralysis on her left side. Due to the severity of her stroke, my mother no longer could take care of her dogs, and they were placed with some of my siblings.

My mother has made tremendous strides in her rehabilitation and has remained very active with her hobby of painting as well as keeping up with the lives of her 16 grandchildren. We would often see a glimmer of hope in mom’s eyes that maybe there would be a way that she could have a companion dog again. That wish seemed futile until a good friend told me about this wonderful program called WAGS, who gave my mother the hope that someday she would again have a companion. And for that, words cannot express my feelings.

Today my mother and Sebastian are together. My mother calls or visits with her eight kids sharing funny anecdotes of things that she and Sebastian have done throughout the day or week. Her voice is filled with excitement and her days are filled with a true companion.

Return to Changing Lives