Terry and Kirby Take Living Positively to a New Level

In 2007, Terry took a downward tumble, literally. While at work as a welder, he says, “I fell backwards inside of a stainless steel tank. It was about a 12-foot drop. I woke up four days later at HCMC, and they told me I wasn't able to walk again. I severed my spinal cord.”

Despite the devastating injury, Terry opted to keep channeling a positive attitude. “ You only have a few choices in life, you know, and something like that happens. So then, I decided to go upward instead of downward.”

Just one year later, Terry stepped up to become part of the Can Do Canines family, receiving Mobility Assist Dog Stanley. Stanley, a black Lab, performed various skills to help Terry manage his daily life and even accompanied him to his new job working in the parts and accessories department at a Ford dealership. 

They had an incredible partnership until Stanley passed away in 2018. “ I didn't know which direction I was going after losing Stanley. Boy, I didn't know what I was gonna do,” says Terry. During that period without a dog, Terry went down again, literally. While he waited for a new brake part to arrive for his wheelchair, the chair would often shift when he was transferring out of it. When it did, he sometimes ended up on the floor with the chair out of reach, and he had to call 9-1-1 for assistance. 

He was also experiencing some transitions in his personal life, but he realized that getting another assistance dog was just a matter of time. Once he was in a good place, emotionally and logistically, he applied for a second Can Do Canine, and was matched with another black Lab, Kirby. 

Suggesting that reincarnation might be possible, Terry mentions a “wow factor” in the similarities between Stanley and Kirby. “It’s amazing how much they are alike.” Kirby’s cool, calm, and collected demeanor and affectionate personality are replicas of Stanley’s. His skills parallel his predecessor’s, too. Kirby is always ready to open and close doors—including for the refrigerator, tug the laundry basket, and bring Terry’s wheelchair to him. Terry adds, “I know how many times without a dog when I was carrying things on my lap, I was always dropping stuff, and I’d try reaching down and grabbing it, and I'd almost fall out of my wheelchair. That was always a challenge. So having a dog do that makes a world of difference.”

Terry loves having Kirby at his side and says, “Every place I go, he’s right there with me.” That includes church, where Kirby tried being an honorary member of the choir one day. “ He was singing right along with the choir, howling. Everybody in the church started cracking up. I had to break him of that.”

Kirby doesn’t seem to mind the spotlight, and Terry admits that there is hardly any need for a television in his home now. “ I just watch Kirby most of the day. He's entertaining.”

But Kirby is not just a fun sidekick or even a well-loved companion. He is those, but also so much more. He’s giving Terry a chance to still live life to the fullest… a life in which Terry is now retired and with young stepchildren as part of his family. Kirby allows Terry to engage in his lifestyle’s activities and maintain his level of freedom. 

With Kirby, Terry’s life is continuing to look up. 

 

Thank you to all those who made this partnership possible:

Raisers — Sara and Bill Cunningham, Mandy Mach, Mary McConnell, Hetal Patel
Special Thanks — Federal Correctional Institution-Waseca
Name-A-Puppy Donor — Len Washko and Sunbelt Business Advisors