Your actions become about getting reassurance from him that he’s not leaving. I’m 6’3″ and have a 20 pound, 14-inch tall dog.And then you act not out of happiness, or contentment, but rather out of panic, and fear of loss. He’s 5’6”, skinny with a beard and he can actually ride the dog. “I know a veteran who adopted a Saint Bernard named Petunia. He sees the radical difference and improvement in them after they’ve adopted a dog.” “I am extremely happy that I found Pets For Patriots,” Frank says, “it’s a really good organization that cares about what’s going on both with dogs and veterans.” In a rare twist, Otto was previously photographed for the site, a coincidence not lost on Frank.įrank thanks Pets For Patriots for helping him adopt Gus, which made an exception when he found Gus in a non-participating shelter. One day while attending a concert at Balboa Park, a photographer for the Spreckels Organ Society took Gus’ picture, which now adorns the site. ![]() One of my doctors refers to him as my calling card because he engages me in conversations with folks all the time.” Once “pathetic” dog now a local celebrityįrank’s pet friend is even a little famous. “He likes to be the center of attention and everybody loves him. “Gus is the dog I was supposed to get,” says Frank. As an adult dog, Gus was saved from near certain death at the shelter. The walking also keeps up my muscle tone so I have less of a stability problem and more stamina.”įrank isn’t the only one reaping the benefits of pet adoption. “Since I have a mild problem with depression, that’s a big plus. “My blood pressure and weight have gone down and my mood has improved,” he says. Formerly sedentary, at 64 Frank now walks two miles a day with Gus. Little Gus has done wonders for Frank’s physical and emotional health. He’ll bark to let me know if something’s going on I should know about. “Gus serves as an awareness guide as I’m blind in my right eye and deaf in my right ear. He would rather be petted and told he’s a good boy as a reward. Training Gus has taken a little longer than Frank expected, because he’s motivated more by praise than by food. “The emotional support Otto and Gus have given me is amazing.” They’ve been trained to open doors and drawers and pick up things I drop on the floor so I don’t have to bend over, but it’s more than that. Otto and Gus have brought a lot of joy to my life. “Everyone used to always greet Otto first and then me. “In the three months between Otto and Gus, I really noticed the difference in my life,” Frank says. Health and healing, for pet and person alike The name on his dog tag is Gustav, after Frank’s great-great grandfather, but he should really be called a savior. After about 20 minutes, he slowly came closer and ended up in my lap with his head on my left shoulder for the rest of the trip.” When I took him out to the car, he put his paws on the dashboard and acted like he was escaping from jail. “Being an adult shelter dog in that condition, he was not the kind of dog people would want to take home. “I looked at him and said, ‘okay.’ He had obviously been terribly neglected.”įrank knew Gus wasn’t going to have a lot of takers. “He was a pathetic-looking, underweight dog with all the fur chewed off his bottom,” says Frank. In spite of being only four-and-a-half, Gus was a site for sore eyes. The absence took a heavy toll.Įverything changed one summer day when Frank spotted Gus, another miniature Schnauzer, at a Los Angeles shelter. When Otto eventually died, Frank was without a pet for almost three months. Without a clear sense of purpose, Frank decided to rescue his first miniature Schnauzer, 11 year-old Otto, and train him as a service dog. Little dogs fill a big void in Frank’s life In 2003, he got injured and has since been disabled. I had what people would call a good naval career where I didn’t sail a lot.”Īfter his honorable discharge in 1980, Frank worked at General Dynamics, Delta Airlines and Boeing, building large backup generators for computer systems. “I didn’t have decks and bulkheads I had floors and walls. I was there to keep the Navy people honest,” he says with a laugh. He spent 20 months on an aircraft carrier off the Vietnam coast and the remainder of his enlistment as assistant to an admiral in Miramar, California. ![]() In 1974, Frank joined the Navy reserves as a cryptology and radar specialist. In 1973, he relocated to San Diego, a place where he loves to live and volunteer. In the process, he saved himself.īorn in Chicago, Frank was a toddler when his family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. ![]() When depression took its toll on a disabled Vietnam veteran whose dog had just died, he knew it was time to save another last-chance rescue dog.
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