Oh, where to begin? How about at the beginning? What a lovely place!

In November of 1995, Paul (my fiancé at the time) and I were walking through the Carousel Mall in Syracuse, New York. (Just to give you a little background, Paul became deaf at the age of two when he contracted Spinal Meningitis.) We ventured into the pet shop, but both of us refused to buy from the shops, knowing their reputations with puppy mills. So, we walked inside, wondering what kind of dog we should get in the future. I saw this little tiny fluff of black fur and tugged at Paul's shirtsleeve. "Oh, my God, look at that one!" I whispered to him. "She must be a little German Shepherd."

Paul turned around to the clerk. "We'll take that one," he said to her.

The woman was a little flabbergasted. "Well.don't you want to see her first?" she asked.

"Okay," Paul agreed with a nod of his head. "But, we'll take her, too." So, with a $25 deposit (all the cash we had on us at the time) we ran down to the payphones to call our bank.

That afternoon, we proudly walked through the door to my sister's apartment, carrying the little black bundle of fur. She instantly became the love of everyone around her. We proudly named her "Scully" for the red hair that she sported.

Both Paul and I had had dogs all our lives, but we were in for a totally new and different experience that only other Shiba owners would appreciate. Scully was a very mischievous puppy. She got into anything and everything. We had to raise her as if she were an actual child. We corrected her by setting her in a corner and making her stare at the wall. And she did it!! One good thing, she did potty trained herself. We never had to worry about that.

After living for two years in Rochester, New York, Paul and I returned to my hometown in Northern New York to finalize our wedding plans. Paul had been talking with the NEADS (National Education of Assistance Dogs Service) advocates in West Boylston, Massachusetts. They had provided two prior Hearing Ear Dogs for Paul and seriously wanted to help him out again. They were very skeptical about taking Scully in to be trained, though. They were unsure of how she would respond to the training. Paul did as he was told, and brought her to the facility for testing. Her testing was rigorous, as they were still unsure if they should accept her. Scully did great! She was accepted into "college" and started in June.

I was heartbroken, however, to learn that the training takes anywhere from six months to two years. And, we were not allowed to see her at all during that time, for it may confuse her. How could I possibly agree to this training when the little dog that I had raised as a child would be gone for six months to two years? Would she forget us? But, Paul desperately needed a helper. So, swallowing my fear and sadness, I agreed to let her go. She missed our wedding on August 2, 1997. continued...