Hometown Heroes--Durham 911, Durham PD, Durham FD, Parkwood EMS, Duke ED

July 16, 2009

60 units of blood.

One bullet, not even as big as the tip of my little finger, caused the damage.

Officer Damon Youmans was struck in the lower abdomen by the .25 caliber slug. The doctors at Duke used more than 60 units of blood during the emergency surgery.

District 3 officers were dispatched to an apartment complex on Shannon Road about 4am on Thursday morning, July 2nd. Without warning, shots were fired from inside the apartment. One shot hit Officer Youmans in the lower abdomen, just below his protective vest.

The 911 center was still on the phone with the original caller when the shots rang out. Before any radio traffic indicated that an officer had been shot, telecommunicators already had Fire and EMS in route to the scene. The quick thinking of the folks at the 911 Center saved Officer Youmans' life.

According to the Durham Herald Sun, Cpl. T.D. Bobbitt and Officers D. Horton and A. Brown took Youmans away from the scene in a patrol car. They met Fire and EMS units at a safe location a few blocks from where the shooting occurred. The quick thinking of those 3 officers saved Officer Youmans' life.

The crew from Durham Engine 11 and Parkwood Medic 62 treated and transported the wounded officer.

Captain Glenn Cooper was in charge of E-11 and he had Cleve Sorrell and Larry Perdue with him. Zane Jones and Chris Taylor were on M-62. The quick response, care and transport by E-11 and M-62 saved Officer Youmans' life that night.

A Herald Sun article on July 7th mentioned that Dr. Gregory Georgiade performed the emergency surgery to stabilize Youmans and Dr. John Scarborough was in charge of the second surgery that took place on that Friday. The quick action and skill of those doctors and nurses at Duke saved Officer Youmans' life.

There are a couple of things that I can tell you for sure right now. First, a lot of people from several agencies all worked together to save Damon Youmans' life. You probably figured that out already.

The second thing that I can tell you for sure is this: Damon Youmans is eternally grateful.
I met Officer Youmans for the first time last Tuesday. He has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from his fellow officers and from the Durham community.

Durham PD asked me if Emergency Chaplains could assist in raising funds for Officer Youmans and we gladly said yes. He is going to be out of work for a while, his family lives in New York City and there are a lot of unexpected expenses that come up during a time like this.

If you would like to help Officer Youmans, we have established a "10-33 Fund" where every penny given will go directly to him. Info on how to give can be found at http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102632288398&s=-1&e=0016Voap1xuyqUKbslwikUt5yCznXfAuRgyEmXLOKFMd9HxZstJ9t8tDUFLIDpDdj_lvMFOb-ecvebSNwaODf7ALt9i2zT5Zxoj
I will keep you posted on his recovery and get you more information on the "10-33 Fund" in later issues. Please pray for Officer Youmans and his continued recovery.

Hometown Heroes

WOUNDED OFFICER ON FAST TRACK TO RECOVERY
By KEITH UPCHURCH :
The Herald-Sun kupchurch@heraldsun.com

Aug 15, 2009
DURHAM -- "Miraculous" is how a chaplain who is handling a fund for a Durham police officer who nearly died after being shot on duty last month describes the officer's recovery.

Ralph Thompson from Emergency Chaplains said on Friday that the fund has raised $1,500 so far to help the officer, Damon Youmans, as he continues to recover at home from his wound.

Youmans, 32, who had just joined the police force in May, was shot in the abdomen July 2 while responding to a call at an apartment on Shannon Road.

Thomas Rashawn Monroe, 23, of 3300 Shannon Road, Apt. 5A, has been charged with the shooting. He was indicted this week on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

"We've had a good response from the community,' Thompson said. "People are sending $20 or $25. All donations, no matter how large or small, are significant, and he appreciates every one of them.'

Thompson said he delivers a check to Youmans at the officer's home every week. He said he got another check in the mail for Youmans on Friday and hopes donations to help the officer with unexpected expenses will continue to come in.

Thompson said Youmans spent about three weeks at Duke University Hospital, then returned home to continue his recovery, which he said has been remarkable.

"The week after he got out of the hospital, he was able to drive himself back for his doctor's appointments,' Thompson said. "He's doing some physical therapy and he hopes to be able to return to work, but he doesn't have a time frame on it,' he said.

"He's in really good spirits right now. From a spiritual side, I can tell you that he is very thankful to Jesus, his Lord and savior, for saving his life and for his miraculous recovery.'

"He's really been blessed by the outpouring of support from the community,' Thompson said. "And he's very thankful for all the people who played a part in saving his life -- from the 911 operator on down the line -- his fellow police officers, fire department, EMS, hospital emergency department and the surgeons. He is so grateful.'

Emergency Chaplains: 'Green Berets' of the Pastoral Army

The Work of the Chaplain
By: Ralph Thompson

You may be familiar with the Green Berets of the US Army. They are highly skilled and trained for special operations. They spend much of their time practicing and a lot of time doing ‘routine’ duties….then the call comes in and they spring into action. Green Berets take care of the jobs that no one else can.

Emergency Chaplains are the ‘Green Berets’ of the pastoral army. We may not be in the physical shape as our military counterparts, but we are highly skilled and trained for special operation. We spend time practicing our skills and taking care of routine tasks…and then the call comes in. Emergency Chaplains spring into action and take care of the jobs that no one else can.

Calls can come in anytime…day or night. Sometimes they come in 2 or 3 at the same time. Some days there are no calls at all. No matter how often or when the calls come, we seek to go and help those who are in crisis.

Our estimated cost for providing chaplaincy is about $25 per hour and we are able to offer counseling, comfort and crisis response because of your generous gifts. Let me share a few examples of what your donations have allowed us to do recently:

A monthly gift of $25, (One hour) provided a counseling session for an individual.

A monthly gift of $50, (Two hours) provided care for family members waiting in the Emergency Room while a loved one was being treated for critical injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

A monthly gift of $75, (Three hours) provided ministry care for the family of a 33 year old man who died in his sleep.

A monthly gift of $100, (Four hours) provided two pre-martial counseling sessions for a young, newly engaged couple.

The call for assistance where the young man was found dead came in the early morning. Although I have attended countless families during similar circumstances, the time that I spent on that scene stretched every area of training that I had under my belt.

That call placed me face-to-face with a young widow and a fatherless child who went to bed just a few hours earlier with no thought of waking up a widow or not having a daddy.

Our paramedics had discontinued CPR just prior to my arrival and were waiting for me. They gave me a briefing and took me into the next room and we delivered the death notification to the man’s wife.

For the next three hours I rode the emotional roller coaster with this family. Denial…anger…bargaining…acceptance…back to denial and through the cycle again…and again…and again. If you have ever been through anything like this, you understand. If not, you don’t.

I made phone calls. I greeted neighbors. I took phone messages. I gave family members directions over the phone while they drove. I held her while she cried. I listened to her when she asked how God could let this happen. I stood there while she pounded on my chest and demanded that I call the paramedics back to help her husband.

God gave me a special privilege to minister to this Christian family in Jesus’ Name during the greatest crisis they have ever experienced.

In my follow up with the young widow, she remembered the raw moments of that morning but she wanted to thank me for being there with her. She believes that God sent me there that morning to take care of her. I believe that God sent me there, too.

Thank you for being a part of this important work that the Lord has given us to do.

Counseling Center

Grey Stone Baptist Church has graciously agreed to allow Emergency Chaplains to use space on their campus for counseling individuals, couples and families. This offer comes after much prayer for a confidential place to meet with folks that was centrally located. Carter and Ralph will be available for counseling by appointment and we can be reached at 919-280-8908 or by e-mail at ralph@echap.org

Ralph is certified by ICISF (International Critical Incident Stress Foundation) and has a Master's Degree in Biblical Counseling from Master's Divinity School.

Carter has a BA in Psychology/Christian Counseling from Louisiana Baptist University and is currently working on her MA there. Counseling is provided free of charge to First Responders and their family members. More information about our counseling ministry will be included in our next newsletter that will go in the mail next week.

If you do not receive our regular, semi-monthly newsletter in the mail, we want you to.

Just send us an e-mail to ralph@echap.org with your mailing address (that's right...SNAIL MAIL...) and we will add you to our mailing list.

Hometown Heroes/Durham EMS B Shift

Six Durham EMS Medics were honored by the Durham County Commissioners at their May 26th meeting. The story below, by Keith Upchurch, was published on May 13th in the Durham Herald Sun.

Pictured below are the medics after they were recognized at the meeting. Front Row (L-R) Karin Knight and Valerie Norton. Back Row (L-R) Warren Swanson, Chris Ragan and Donald Fonville. (Rodney Medlin was not able to attend the meeting due to the death of his Grandmother.)

DURHAM -- Paramedics who responded to a fire that killed a man and his elderly mother on Russell Road will be honored by the county for their efforts to save them. The paramedics will be recognized at a future Durham County Commissioners meeting, Assistant County Manager Deborah Craig-Ray said.


"We're so proud of those guys,' she said. "We definitely want to make sure that their heroism is recognized.'

The fire broke out the night of April 30 at a home at 6406 Russell Road in northern Durham County, and claimed the lives of Larry Eddie Laws, 58, and his mother, Catherine Burch Turner, 76. They died at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill after being transported by ambulance.


In an e-mail to Durham County Manager Mike Ruffin, Chief Len Needham of the Bahama Fire Department praised the paramedics' efforts that night.


"All of these teams on Medic 2 and Medic 6 along with the EMS supervisor and new employee riding with him worked tirelessly to treat these patients and give them every chance at life,' he wrote. "I know these patients are not what they see every day, but the skill levels of these medics were like they treated these type of patients daily. We are so lucky here in Durham to have great medics like these to help our citizens when they are in need.'


The paramedics are Donald Fonville, Karin Knight, Warren Swanson, Valerie Norton, EMS supervisor Rodney Medlin and new employee Chris Ragan.


Mike Smith, director of Durham County Emergency Medical Services, said he's proud of all his employees. "They worked hard with the two patients there,' Smith said. "It seems overwhelming sometimes, but that's what they're trained to do. We try to do the best we can. "I'm really proud of them -- all of those who work here, because they're under a lot of pressure, a lot of stress. They're busy, they work hard, and they're trained well for their jobs.'

Rudy Bear at DEMS and BVFD

The generous folks at Bethesda Ruritan Club have donated a supply of 'Rudy Bears' to Bethesda Fire & Rescue and Durham EMS. The bears will be carried on ambulances and will be used to comfort children encountering a traumatic event. Thanks BRC!

Bears delivered to Bethesda Fire and Rescue

Bears delivered to Durham EMS

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Hometown Heroes--Lenoir County, NC

Kent Bennett climbed into his cruiser Tuesday night, April 7th to patrol the rural roads of Lenoir and Jones Counties. Having served as a Trooper for the NC State Highway Patrol since 1995, he has seen a little bit of everything…but tonight he would experience something new. Something no officer wants to be a part of.

It was a routine night on patrol up until about 10 pm. Monitoring the frequency of the local sheriff’s department, Kent heard a call for assistance. There was a man in the woods firing a high powered rifle and Kent responded to the scene to assist.

The shooter was Clarence Douglas Phillips, 49, a man with an extensive criminal history. Public records show that Mr. Phillips went to prison for the first time as a 17 year old for breaking and entering and DUI. To be sent to prison as a 17 year old usually indicates that person has been in trouble with the law before then.

Not much had changed in Clarence Phillips life since then. The court system in Craven County had convicted him of punishable crimes at least seven times from 1983 until 2004 with four of those convictions resulting in prison time.

If you look at the NC Department of Corrections website, the offender search will tell you that Mr. Phillips’ last incarceration was in 2004-2005 when he served 20 months of a 27 month sentence for AWDWWITK. If you don’t know what AWDWWITK means, I will tell you…..Assault With Deadly Weapon With Intent To Kill. I don’t know any of the circumstances leading up to that arrest and conviction but I do know that 20 months served doesn’t seem long enough.

It is suspected that Mr. Phillips murdered his girlfriend, Cynthia Tillet Knighten, 49, shortly before driving her car into the woods and starting the stand off.

Isaac Grady called Lenoir County 911 at 9:56pm because someone was shooting near his house on Tick Bite Road in Grifton. It is not known exactly when it happened but Mr. Grady pointed out a spot in his house to a reporter that was hit by a bullet during the shooting. The bullet passed right through the wall and across a sleeping area where some of his family would have been sleeping that night. He is thankful that they were not in the bed at that time.

The arriving officers formed a perimeter around the area where the shots were coming from and with assistance from the NC State Highway Patrol helicopter they were able to pinpoint Clarence Phillips’ exact position.

Two of the deputies that responded to the scene were Detectives Allen Pearson and Ryan Dawson. They moved in with the Special Response Unit (SRU) to close in around Clarence Phillips and do whatever was needed to disarm him and end the danger posed by this renegade and his high powered rifle.

Using infrared night vision, the Highway Patrol helicopter was able to monitor the movement of the suspect and guide the team in to affect the arrest. Clearly outnumbered and surrounded from every side the suspect should have surrendered…..but he didn’t.

In what seems to have been his own death wish, Clarence Phillips sprung up and began firing at the officers as they approached him. The officers fired back and mortally wounded the suspect, bringing the standoff to an end.

Trooper Kent Bennett was on the outside perimeter, probably 100 yards away, when the shooting broke out. He immediately grabbed his medic bag and started toward the area where the shots had been fired.

Arriving at Allen Pearson’s side, Kent began to access his injuries and knew that Allen had been seriously wounded. He transferred Allen’s care to the paramedics who arrived quickly after him and turned his attention to checking for others who were hurt. At first, Detective Ryan Dawson did not realize that he had been wounded. He was too busy caring for Allen Pearson to notice that he had suffered a gunshot wound to his own neck.

Trooper Bennett applied direct pressure to Detective Dawson’s neck wound and kept that pressure applied as an SRU officer drove the ambulance to a landing zone at Dupont to meet the East Care Helicopter. Kent maintained pressure on the wound all the way from the woods on Tick Bite Road until Ryan was loaded into the helicopter and flown to Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville.

Detective Ryan Dawson

Quick thinking and good training put Trooper Kent Bennett into a position to be a hero that fateful night of April 7th, 2009. Kent went above and beyond the call of duty and his actions were instrumental in saving Detective Ryan Dawson’s life.

Detective Allen Pearson was pronounced dead after midnight at Lenoir Memorial Hospital. He had been wearing his body armor but the bullet hit in his shoulder area that is not protected by the vest. Allen was an eight year veteran of the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Department and was serving as a Detective at the time of his death.

Detective Allen Pearson

EOW: April 8, 2009

On May 15, 2010 Allen Pearson’s name will be added to the wall of fallen heroes at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC.

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Twenty-Eighth Annual Peace Officers' Memorial Service

On Friday, May 15, 2009, Carter and I attended the 28th Annual Peace Officers' Memorial Service on the west front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

In 2008, four Law Enforcement Officers from North Carolina died in the line of duty. Those officers were honored during the service and their names added to the wall at the National Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial.

The names added to the wall included two Troopers from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, David Shawn Blanton, Jr. and Andrew James Stocks.

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DAVID SHAWN BLANTON, JR

NCSHP G-540

EOW JUNE 17, 2008

Trooper Shawn Blanton (G-540) died on June 17, 2008 when he was shot by a suspect during a traffic stop on I-40 in Haywood County. (Click here to see entry on Officer Down Memorial Page)

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ANDREW JAMES STOCKS

NCSHP C-352

EOW SEPTEMBER 9, 2008

Trooper A.J. Stocks (C-352) died in a vehicle crash on September 9, 2008 while he was responding to a call in Wake County. (Click here to see entry on Officer Down Memorial Page)

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Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)

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The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 23 (NKJV)

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May God bless the families, fellow officers and loved ones of Shawn, A.J. and all the other officers who have died while serving us.

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Hometown Hero--Kevin Keith, Durham EMS

At 3am this past Saturday, I did something that I had never done before in my life. I called 9-1-1…..for me. I’ve called for others in the past, but never for me.

This would turn out to be a day of “firsts” for me, some that I prefer to forget. I desperately want to forget that I screamed at the top of my lungs several times because of the pain that I was in. I want to forget being strapped to a backboard and carried down a corkscrew staircase…while I was screaming.

I also want to forget my first ride ever on a bedpan at the hospital. Bedpans have a way of humiliating you. I was in pain during my bedpan ride….but for some reason I didn’t scream.

Paramedic Kevin Keith from Durham County EMS and Mike Collier from Bethesda Fire and Rescue were on Medic 41 on Saturday. Upon their arrival they found their patient (me) in excruciating pain and unable to move.

Although I was dehydrated, Kevin was able to establish an IV access to re-hydrate me and get some pain medicine on board. He gave me all the morphine that he could, but it still did not touch the pain emitting from my lower back.

I wanted to be able to walk downstairs and get on the stretcher but my back was in spasms that I can’t begin to describe to you. The decision was made to call Durham FD Engine 13-B for assistance in getting me down the steps.

Kevin, I want to say thank you for taking such good care of me on Saturday. Your IV placement lasted for my entire hospital stay. You did everything that you could to alleviate my pain and make my trip to Durham Regional as smooth as possible. You are the Emergency Chaplains “Hometown Hero” for this week.

Special mention also goes to Mike Collier, EMT from Bethesda Fire and Rescue and to the crew on Engine 13-B. I hated calling you guys out at 3am, but every one of you are professionals at your job and courteous in every way. Thanks for helping me out.

My hospital stay was only 36 hours and it turns out that I was having an allergic reaction to a new medicine that I am taking. We don’t know if the back pain was part of the allergic reaction or maybe the pain was compounded by the reaction. I also had a virus at the same time.

While all of my doctors are still standing around scratching their heads as they try to figure out what was wrong with me, I’ll just sit at home for few days and try to recover. I will also remember what it is like to be a patient. I am always taking care of patients and it is awkward when I have to be taken care of. This past Saturday gave me a whole new perspective on patient care.

Thanks again to Kevin, Mike and Engine 13-B for taking care of me. You guys are the greatest!

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Note to Kevin: Sorry about the picture, but it was the only one that I could find of you.


Note to Readers: Kevin was posing for the camera doing an :Incredible Hulk" impersonation when this picture was taken.

ret

Hometown Hero--Justin Garner, Carthage PD

Cop Who Shot Active Shooter was Only Cop on Duty

On Sunday mornings in Mayberry, Andy and Barney would close down the courthouse and head to church with Aunt Bea, Opie, Gomer and even an occasional prisoner.

Carthage is a lot like Mayberry. Sure, times have changed...but Carthage is still a quiet little place. So quiet in fact that only one police officer is on duty on any given Sunday morning. Justin Garner was that officer on March 29th.

Sunday mornings are usually slow in Carthage. Folks that aren't in church are either asleep or quietly working around the house. No one would have ever suspected that an armed gunman had gone into Pinelake Rehab looking for his estranged wife and shooting anyone that he came in contact with.

Justin Garner answered the call. Some may call him foolish for entering the nursing home without backup. There is no doubt that he put his own life at risk--he has three wounds to prove that.

Robert Stewart had already shot and killed seven elderly patients and one employee when he was confronted by Corporal Garner. Although he was drawing fire from the gunman, Garner held his ground and returned fire, critically wounding Stewart and bringing the carnage to an end.

I believe that Robert Stewart was prepared to kill every person inside the nursing facility that day. Eight dead is too many...but the heroic actions of Justin Garner saved everyone else there.
Corporal Justin Garner of the Carthage Police Department is a hero in every right.

Thank you, Justin, for giving your life in service for the people of Carthage.

Chaplain Ralph
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March 31, 2009
CARTHAGE, N.C. (AP) — Justin Garner turned down a chance to join the state highway patrol so he could stay on his small hometown’s police force. In just five years, he’d already been named Officer of the Year. And when a call came in that a gunman was shooting up a nursing home, Garner was the only one on duty when seemingly everyone else in this town of 1,800 was at church.

The clean-cut outdoorsman with a passion for hunting and fishing raced to the Pinelake Health and Rehab Center. Armed with a .40-caliber Glock pistol, he entered the building to confront Robert Stewart, 45, in the hallway. Garner fired his weapon once, hitting Stewart in the chest, even though Garner had already been shot three times in his foot and leg.

A day later, Garner was being praised as a hero in this small town in North Carolina’s Sandhills region, about 60 miles southwest of Raleigh, for forging into the nursing home without waiting for backup to stop a man authorities say shot and killed eight people — many of them elderly and frail — inside.

“If that’s not heroism, I don’t know what is,” said Police Chief Chris McKenzie, who later added: “You can train all you want to, but it comes down to whether you have what it takes.”

Experts also took note. Nick Minzghor, whose business trains police and military personnel in Seattle, said a quick response to mass shootings is crucial, but that it’s not common for an officer by himself to be successful.

“This is one of the few instances nationwide where the lone officer took care of the bad guy,” said Minzghor, who’s also a police officer.

Garner, 25, grew up in the Carthage area like most of the town’s 18-officer police force, said McKenzie, who’s also a native. Garner, who is married, has been on the force for less than five years but already has been honored as the town’s Officer of the Year.

At one point, though, Garner nearly joined the North Carolina Highway Patrol before ultimately deciding to stay in Carthage, said the Rev. Tom Herndon, the chaplain for the police and fire departments. Herndon, who also is pastor of First Baptist Church of Carthage, described Garner as “a real clean-cut, handsome young fellow” who is fair to the people he serves.

“He’s one of the individuals who will give you a break if you happen to be speeding one mile an hour over the speed limit,” Herndon said, adding that his wife once received a warning from Garner though he didn’t know who she was.

McKenzie said Garner hunts and fishes whenever he gets the chance, and that he’s not surprised the officer stayed close to home.

“You don’t find too many country boys heading to the city (to become police),” McKenzie said. “They stay here to take care of their own.”

Seven nursing home residents and one of their caretakers were killed and three others, including Garner, were wounded. Stewart was charged with eight counts of first-degree murder.
McKenzie said Garner isn’t yet ready to speak publicly about the shootings. He was released from the hospital, but will need outpatient surgery, McKenzie said.

“He wants to sit at home with his family and rest. He almost died yesterday,” McKenzie said.

Life Lessons from the Family Dog

3-31-09
New York Times editor Dana Jennings writes every Tuesday about coping with an advanced form of prostate cancer.

Bijou, the family dog of Times editor Dana Jennings.

Our family dog started failing a couple of months ago. Her serious health problems began at about the same time I was coping with my own — finishing my radiation and hormone therapy for prostate cancer.

Since last summer, I’ve learned that my cancer is shockingly aggressive, and the surgery, radiation and hormone treatments have left me exhausted, incontinent and with an AWOL libido. These days I’m waiting for the first tests that will tell me the status of my health.
Even so, as I face my own profound health issues, it is my dog’s poor health that is piercing me to the heart. I’m dreading that morning when I walk downstairs and … well, those of us who love dogs understand that all dog stories end the same way.

Her full name is Bijou de Minuit (Jewel of Midnight) — my wife teaches French. She is a 12-year-old black miniature poodle, and she is, literally, on her last legs. Her hind quarters fly out from beneath her, her back creaks and cracks as she walks, she limps, she’s speckled with bright red warts the size of nickels, her snore is loud and labored (like a freight train chugging up some steep grade) and she spends most of the day drowsing on her pillow-bed next to the kitchen radiator.

Bijou’s medicine chest is impressive for a 23-pound dog: A baby dose of amoxicillin for chronic urinary tract infections; prednisone and Tramadol for pain; phenobarbital for seizures; Proin for incontinence – all of it wrapped in mini-slices of pepperoni.

She is, I realize, “just” a dog. But she has, nonetheless, taught me a few lessons about life, living and illness. Despite all her troubles, Bijou is still game. She still groans to her feet to go outside, still barks at and with the neighborhood dogs, is willing to hobble around the kitchen to carouse with a rubber ball — her shrub of a tail quivering in joy.

I know now that Bijou was an important part of my therapy as I recovered from having my prostate removed. I learned that dogs, besides being pets, can also be our teachers.
Human beings constantly struggle to live in the moment. We’re either obsessing over the past (”Gee, life would’ve been different if I’d only joined the Peace Corps.”), or obsessing over the future (”Gee, I hope my 401K holds up”). We forget that life, real life, is lived right now, in this very moment.

But living in the moment is something that dogs (and cancer patients) do by their very nature. Bijou eats when she’s hungry, drinks when she’s thirsty, sleeps when she’s tired and will still gratefully curl up in whatever swatch of sunlight steals through the windows.

She’d jump up onto my sickbed last summer, nuzzle me and ask for her ears and pointy snout to be scratched. It made both of us happy as she sighed in satisfaction. And she was the subject of one of our favorite family jokes as I recuperated: “You take the dog out. I have cancer.”

In spending so much time with Bijou, I began to realize that our dogs, in their carefree dogginess, make us more human, force us to shed our narcissistic skins. Even when you have cancer, you can’t be utterly self-involved when you have a floppy-eared mutt who needs to be fed, walked and belly-scratched. And you can’t help but ponder the mysteries of creation as you gaze into the eyes of your dog, or wonder why and how we chose dogs and they chose us.

Dogs also tell us – especially when we’re sick – of our own finitude. And, partly, that’s why we cry when they die, because we also know that all human-being stories end the same way, too.
Good dogs – and most dogs are good dogs – are canine candles that briefly blaze and shine, illuminating our lives. Bijou has been here with us for the past 12 years, reminding us that simple pleasures are the ones to be treasured: a treat, a game of fetch, a nose-to-the-ground stroll in the park.

Simple pleasures. As I lazed and dozed at home last summer after surgery, there was nothing sweeter to me in this world than to hear Bijou drinking from her water dish outside my door. It was if her gentle lap-lapping ferried me to waters of healing. I’ll miss her.