Mobility Assist Dog Yuma is Lighting up Gavin’s Life

If you find yourself driving in a particular rural area of Wisconsin at night, you might see some odd-looking headlights coming at you. They could be coming from those on Gavin’s wheelchair—the ones that his Mobility Assist Dog, Yuma, turned on for him by pressing a button on the chair. 

The need for Gavin’s wheelchair stems from a Christmas Day 2021 skiing accident when Gavin was a freshman in high school. The result of a crash rammed his head into a wooden post, breaking his neck and paralyzing him from the neck down. He says, “I can  move my left arm just a little bit at the bicep, but nothing in my right arm.”

Gavin illuminates the fear that his new situation brought, explaining that if he were alone in the house without his family, he wouldn’t even be able to get outside for emergencies if something were in the way that he couldn’t move.

So when he saw a television news story about Can Do Canines, he had a lightbulb moment and applied for an assistance dog. 

Now this 18-year-old has a black Lab to recover dropped items, position his foot on his chair’s footrest, and assist with getting through doorways. There’s no need for Gavin to “light a fire” under Yuma. “ He's ready to do something all the time, he wants to do something, and he just loves his job,” he says. 

Actually, Yuma just loves life! Gavin shares, “He has endless energy. And he's never mad really. He's always happy.  He wags his tail like his tail is like a wrecking ball.” As for Yuma’s toys, Gavin says that they are like a baby’s pacifier to Yuma. “ He carries them around pretty much all day with him.”

Yuma’s energetic spirit is a great fit for Gavin’s active lifestyle. Gavin says, “He loves to go outside…We live in the country somewhat, so he likes being in the woods, and I love the woods too. So it's a perfect match for me.” Gavin is reassured that he no longer needs to worry about fallen branches on the trail. Previously, “If I would have ran over it, I could have flipped myself.” Now, Yuma is there to drag it out of the way.

Gavin appreciates this sense of security. “I can leave the house now if I want to. It’s just more freedom to do things that I want to do by myself.”

Currently, Yuma attends school with Gavin half days, and they are building up to a full-day schedule. Then, in the fall, it will be off to the technical college in La Crosse, where the two will live in an apartment across the street from campus while Gavin studies architectural technology. 

Whatever this dynamic duo has planned, they will do it with a ray of light surrounding them. And for that, Gavin thanks those who cared for Yuma previously, saying, “Whatever they did, they did right.”

 

Thank you to all those who made this partnership possible:

Whelping Home — The Lindemann Family
Raisers — Karen and Scott Frater, Carol Middleton
Special Thanks — Jackson Correctional Institution, Stanley Correctional Institution