By Leonard Rizzo

Around five months ago the brothers were born and the delivery went smoothly. Their sire was Vemo, a Frontline German Shepherd, who ranked in the top 100 of 1,500 dogs ranked annually.

Vemo’s sons Dax and Forest, along with their other siblings were part of the Von Piccone Kennels and were highly desirable in their realm.

After a while it was noticed that Forest was dragging his left hind leg and though it could be gently popped into place, it would quickly slip out of the socket.

Joe Piccone had an idea and he called to two friends to try to pull it off. The first was a policeman in Asheville who has four children, one of whom is Jason, an autistic you teenager.

 

“Would they like Forest as a therapy dog for Jason after we fixed his leg?” The answer was an enthusiastic, “Yes.”
Next, Joe called me to see if we could get Forest to see Dr. Allen at Upstate to do what was needed for his leg. When I learned the story my answer was also an enthusiastic “Yes.”
Forest was brought to the Upstate specialists where Dr. Keith Allen examined him. At that time we learned that Forest’s problem was degenerative and could not be fixed with an operation; amputation was best after he grew a bit more.
When the family learned Forest would be a tripod they rejected the initial offer, afraid Jason may not understand and the situation may cause more harm than good. A promise is a promise and Dax was offered to take Forest’s place and to this day Dax and Jason are training together and all is working wonderfully both for the dog and his boy.
Forest’s life now had to go in a different direction than initially planned. The promise was also made to Forest and we would see that his life would be made as comfortable as possible. A home was found for Forest and they have a sweet 12-year-old daughter named Hope. Hope has become Forest’s reason for living and she reciprocates with all the love she can muster.
On Thursday, Dr. Allen took Forest’s leg and after a few weeks of recuperation he’ll be able to run like he’s never run before. If I know anything about life, sweet Hope won’t even see him as missing a leg. She’ll see him as she’s always seen him, a sweet loving soul who was meant to be a loving companion to her.
I often wonder, perhaps God knew where each brother should be from the beginning and He set things in motion accordingly. If that’s the case, then I have once again been His tool and I am grateful that He trusts me to do His bidding.
Thanks for listening.