Will Guide Dog Timber Win the Hero Dog Awards?

I thought I'd never get out of the well. The pale circle of light far above was becoming dimmer with each passing minute. Then, I heard footsteps, no, it was pawsteps, and I knew I was saved.

Okay, I'm not Timmy, and it isn't Lassie rescuing me from the well. I'm Leslie, and it's Timber rescuing me each and every day. Timber's heroics aren't the sort that appear in newspapers and movies. Rather, his heroics are the sort that happen during the course of our daily lives.

Transforming instantly from pet to guide when his harness snaps on, Timber is hyper-alert and focused on his task of negotiating our environment as we travel from one place to another. Whether the route is mundane, having only straight and level sidewalks with street crossings in my favor or the route is hazardous, having obstacles and complicated intersection crossings with loud gusting winds, Timber deftly leads us to our destination. Nothing in the environment, not crowds, not noise, not even dogs, distracts Timber from his purposeful and flawless guiding.

Maybe I am more like Timmy and Timber is more like Lassie than we had thought. Every day, everywhere we go, Timber rescues me from my figurative well; he saves me from the confines of immobility and sets me free. He truly is a hero dog. -- Leslie Brueckner of Santa Barbara, California

Will Guide Dog Timber win the Hero Dog Awards? Only if you vote! You can vote every day, and be sure to share!