I'm disabled. I have a progressive condition called Late Onset Friedreich's Ataxia. Six years ago some people suggested I might want a service dog. At first I dismissed it and then the idea grew on me. My opportunity came from the strangest source.

I met a guy at Geek Speed Dating at GenCon, and he was from Toledo. Well, also being on the autistic spectrum, my mind went from cool guy to marriage, so I looked up what disability services were in the Toledo area, going to the website of their Center for Independent Living, which advertised that they were now partners with ADAI, a service dog organization. So, I inquired online.

A couple of days later they called me, and then after the phone interview they sent me an application. I filled it out, got the prerequisite doctor's recommendation and personal reference letters from friends and associates, and mailed it in in October. In December I went up to Toledo, stayed with the guy from GenCon, and did my in person interview. In January, they came for the in home visit and assessment, and by February I was accepted into the program.

The acceptance letter cautioned that there was about a 24 month waiting list. However, in the middle of May of the same year I got a call from the director of ADAI, asking me to come to a meeting in Toledo.

"Does this mean that there's a dog for me?" I asked excitedly.

Indeed, that was the case. A client for the Spring training backed out of the program, so they had a dog who needed a person to work for. So In June I again traveled by bus from Indianapolis to Toledo and got to meet my future service dog, Duke, and in August I went back again to train for 2 weeks.

Duke is now 7 and my best buddy. I honestly cannot imagine life without him. He goes with me everywhere. He picks up things I drop, which I do quite often. He senses when I'm overwhelmed and is quick to put his head in my lap, he tosses my legs into bed, and opens and closes cabinets for me. And at night, he's my snuggle buddy. I'd be completely lost without him.

I've had several adventures in my life.The last one was 6 years ago after I retired at age 62. I got on a plane and traveled to the Philippines knowing only one person that I had never met. It started as an adventure. I ended up staying 3 years.

Learning to Whitewater raft in Costa Rica. I still can't figure out why when you get thrown out of the boat in rapids, and you come up for air you're always under the raft. 2 times they had to just park the raft and wait for me to come down river.

Picture it...19 tickytwo....south east Asian jungle....no moon...zero dark thirty... LT I'm comm we don't put comm on point... so there I am with my radio running point no light... que 70 foot cliff and my happy ass falling down it.... fuzzy memory of a helicopter ride then waking up tied to a hospital bed with a helmet on my head. Moral of the story....don't walk around the jungle at night