My Literal Lifesaver

I will always be right there for you, I long to be.. I will always be right there, Look over your shoulder.. you'll see me, 'Cause I've been praying.. I've been hoping.. Sitting here waiting for you.. I will always be right there, for you.. Right there.. Right there.. -Ramzi; Right There (song)

It was the summer of 2019. I had just said goodbye to a dog I thought was going to be in my life for eternity, when my mom found your ad.

3 Month Old German Shepherd Puppy for Rehome

A German Shepherd puppy? That has been the dog breed I've always dreamt of owning since I couldn't even remember. Of course I just had to meet you. I couldn't possibly see myself turning you down. I never even met you yet, and I have already felt myself falling in love with you.

Was I a bit nervous? Yes. I mean, you were entering my life with the hopes to eventually be able to replace the previous service dog in training that, sadly, was unable to gain the mindset that a working service animal would have when it comes to working out in public. He had to wash out and I was so afraid that you'd have to wash out later on as well. Boy, did this boy prove me wrong in so many ways. Not only did his instincts immediately kick in to keep me safe, but our bond was an instant click.

Of course he wasn't a purebred German Shepherd. The previous owners only knew of his mother, who just happened to be a German Shepherd, so they posted him as a German Shepherd puppy. But I didn't care. I was excited. My mom had finally allowed for me to get a German Shepherd and I wasn't about to lose my chance at finally being able to own this fantastic breed.

It wasn't until a little later when he started growing that I started to give the predictions that he may have had a teensy bit of border collie in him. To this day, I still call him my little German Collie.

I still remember how tiny you once were. It's unbelievable to think about just how small you used to be when I look at you now but you were once small enough to be carried around the house in my arms.

I named my boy something that meant the absolute world to me; Mercury Rainn.

The name Mercury was named after one of my all-time favorite rockstars of all time; Freddie Mercury. Ever since Mercury was a pup, I always saw him as my little rockstar because of what he's learned to overcome.. and it pretty much stuck.

His second name, or as I call it- his "middle name" (Yes, I gave my dog a middle name. Don't you?), I named him Rainn after the actor who played my favorite character on The Office; Rainn Wilson. The Office has become a huge part of my life in the last few years, with Dwight Schrute being one of my biggest comfort characters in all the fictional universes I found myself to be fond of, I just felt it suited Mercury to have this name.

Fun fact: I didn't give the (middle) name "Rainn" to Mercury till he was in my life for about a couple months.

Of course, I also have my nicknames for him as well. Never trust a person who never came up with some random name that they call their dogs. For Mercury, it started off as Merky-Berky.. which just sounded weird flowing off my tongue. Eventually, I graduated to just a simple Merks and it just stuck. Although I am the only one who calls him by his nickname, I do feel it explains our bond just a little bit more.

Just look at this two year difference of this boy..

oh how the times have flown by.

As it had been stated above, Mercury is a service dog in training. He's currently working his way up to helping me mitigate my disability, and boy have we had quite a few scares in the last year.

Mercury is not perfect.

No service dog is, really. Most people automatically will see a vested dog making a mistake in public and automatically make the assumption that some person just brought their own personal pet in with them because clearly "service dogs cannot make mistakes". No. Untrue. They're still dogs. Dogs are dogs. If a human can be allowed to make a mistake, so can a service animal. Just because Mercury has a label put on him doesn't make him any less of a dog. He has plenty of ups and downs when it comes to his working dog behavior.

Although I have spent many nights wishing it wasn't true, Mercury does make plenty of mistakes. It's a small reason as of why he's been in training for two years and still hasn't made the official step up to having a "Service Dog" title; I still prefer for him to have that "in training" title simply for his lowpoints.

This boy was a rescue dog. While I do regret not looking at an official breeder with puppy records for my future service dog, I do not regret finding Mercury the way I did. He was in desperate need for a new home and I had one to give to him. For those of you reading this wondering if you wanted to look into a service dog for yourself, I do have to say.. my way of getting one is definitely not recommended. Definitely stick with the reputable breeders- they usually have the expertise in knowing how their puppies are or who the puppies came from. I may have a soft spot for rescuing pups, but boy do they occasionally come with a whole list of faults.

Merks' Faults:

• He never overcame his fear stage; I know, I know. I feel like this turnout was basically my fault/mistake when it came to the beginning of his training.. but somehow, he never let it come between him and his work. I'm a little impressed by it.
• He prefers me over everyone else; No. This does not mean he's not friendly to everyone else. He simply just prefers me over anyone else he's met. I never truly understood this but I did just take a guess that it could've been his breed or just the way he was brought up. Ever since he was a young pup, he was always physically attached to me and I never really did much about it because I thought it was "just too damn cute". Although, this did have some pros when it came to bonding with only me and working only for me. (P.S. Don't ever do what I did. Trust me. If you have a puppy like this, go ahead and socialize them more. Don't make the same mistake I did.)
• He needs a few non-work days to avoid burnouts; Yes. My dog takes breaks. Sometimes, he even takes full days off. If we as humans are allowed to take breaks and days off at our jobs/careers, why can't a service dog?
• He has his off days; This mainly just goes for him being a dog. It's part of the reason why I started to give him days off in the first place (see above). Yes. My dog does sometimes have days when he would much rather do nothing, rather than work. Does this stop him from wanting to work? No. Just sometimes he'd much rather just be a dog rather than a form of medical equipment.

Does this mean I love him any less? No way. In fact.. his faults have made me fall in love with him even more because it just means he has even more trust in me than I thought. This boy understands that I'd do anything for him and he shouldn't have to ever be worried or afraid that I'll get tired of him one day.

Without Mercury, I have no idea where I'll be today. He keeps me grounded. He keeps me sane. He keeps me safe.

Thank you Mercury. Without you, I'd be lost.