Lulu Helps This Veteran Live Life in Color

By Mike Branch - 

War veteran. Army Medic. Paratrooper. Field soldier. Thirty-two years of intense military service, including four wars, have left Will Cruz with injuries “from head to toe,” including a traumatic brain injury and PTSD.

When Will finally retired from the U.S. Army in 2012, he wanted only three things: a wood shop, a home near school, and a dog.

Will heard about Can Do Canines through a web search. “I looked for ADI organizations near me and Can Do Canines popped up.” Living in New Hope at the time, he considered Can Do Canines an obvious choice, but Will worried that he wouldn’t qualify as a candidate to have an assistance dog.

A year to the day after putting down his previous dog, Will was matched with Mobility Assist Dog Lulu. Upon meeting Lulu, or “Lu” as Will calls her, Will says that she treated him not as a person with PTSD and other challenges but as just another person. That immediate connection was almost as if they both knew right away that they needed each other. 

As a result of his brain injury, Will experiences vertigo and drops things. Lulu picks them up for him. She is also happy to help open and close doors, clean up items into a basket, and more.

Will, who lives alone, reports that his PTSD can prevent him from sleeping at night. In his words, “I used to sleep with one eye open, but with Lu, I feel safer and I can fall asleep. Anytime something happens, she barks and lets me know.”

He can also get upset at times. “When I get animated or raise my voice, she plops on my lap and distracts me. It’s that distraction that brings me back to the moment. How can you get angry with those big, black Lab eyes looking up at you?”

Will wishes to thank Can Do Canines for everything they’ve done to make Lulu possible. “I am just so grateful for her. If I didn’t have her, I would probably just have another pet. With Lu, I get the benefit of a companion animal and a service dog!”

He adds, “It all starts with an idea and the organization. Everyone has their role to play and it ends up with an animal who is specially trained. Lu is the result of someone having an idea and everyone doing their part to make it happen.”

Will recently bought an RV and is looking for land to purchase to build a home. “I don’t know what the future will be, [but] with Lu, I get to enjoy life because I am with her,” he says.

“Before Lu, my life was in shades of black and white. Now I live in color.”

 

Thank you to all those who made this partnership possible:

Whelping Home — Sheryll Fonseth-Lais
Raisers — Marilyn Lindgard, Kristen Nicklawske, The Whitfield Family
Special Thanks — Jackson Correctional Institution, Stanley Correctional Institution, University of Minnesota FETCH Program (Brooke Schultz, Het Shah)
Name-A-Puppy Donor — Cargill