My Prince of Peace

Hello! I would like to formally introduce you to Sir Princeton Rutherford Elliott III, but he goes by Prince. He was the most unlikely candidate for his job as my emotional support animal, but time and time again, he rose to the challenge and has taken his role to new levels. In my opinion, he should be inducted into the emPAWyee Hall of Fame, if there is one.

This seven-year-old Cane Corso, and I met when he was an 11-month-old puppy at the pound in Orlando, FL. The pound had a lot of incorrect information about him, which probably was not their fault. They told me he was crate-trained, potty trained, walked well on a leash, and was two years old. (When I took him to a separate vet, they checked his teeth and confirmed he was 10 to 11 months old). One thing they had correct is Prince had clearly been through some things. He was skittish, had severe anxiety issues, was constantly sick, and did not play well with others. When I brought him into the play area at the pound, he didn’t care to play with me. He just wanted his ball. He was so big and clumsy that I was a little scared of him. They were so worried about his mental state they actually tried to talk me out of adopting him. What the pound did not know was I would face many of the same challenges. I chose to bring him home that day because I felt the need to know this dog. He seemed curious to know me too and dragged me out of the pound once I adopted him. (No, he did not walk well on a leash. Like I said, they were wrong about a lot.)

Two weeks after I brought home Prince, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. I would battle this disease for 13 months but coming home to Prince’s smiling face and wagging his knub every day encouraged me to keep fighting, even on my hardest days. I underwent three surgical procedures. My dad took the time to train Prince to alert someone if I passed out and to help me up the stairs, since I lived alone at the time. I took him everywhere with me which helped with his severe anxiety issues. We found the perfect food for him, and every morning he and I took our medications together. Prince excelled quickly in his training. With a lot of love, understanding, and patience on both of our parts, he and I grew to trust each other and have become inseparable.

While I have been in remission for five years, in 2019, I was diagnosed with general anxiety and major depressive disorder. A couple of months later, he became a certified emotional support animal, and he still takes his job very seriously, even though he is now a senior citizen. Thankfully, he does because my mental illness only got worse throughout the pandemic. I attempted suicide during the pandemic and woke up to Prince lying next to me, as if he were praying, I would pull through. I have worked from home throughout the entire pandemic, and my job can be quite morbid at times because I see some nasty injuries, due to car accidents. Luckily, Prince always knows how to get me out of bed, when I am depressed, and calm me down, when I am anxious and about to have a panic attack. If he hears me becoming overwhelmed, while on the phone or on a zoom meeting, he gets out of his bed to make an appearance and lighten everyone’s mood.

There was one day, in May of this year, I was dehydrated and about to have a panic attack from being stressed out at work. I could barely breathe. I was trying to make it to my bathroom to get my medication when I passed out and hit my head on the floor. When I woke up, it was to the sound of the paramedics knocking on my door, and Prince trying to open the front door to let them in. When I watched the camera footage later, Prince had come over to smell me and alerted the neighbors that I was in trouble.

Another day, Prince had a stomach bug. I was doing my best to take care of him and was boiling chicken and rice on the stove to help soothe his stomach. Unfortunately, I fell asleep, and the apartment filled with smoke. My little brother was asleep on my couch, at the time. When I went to sleep and set my alarm, Prince was asleep in his bed too. Apparently, I slept through my alarm because I woke up to Prince jumping on top of me, on my bed, and I couldn’t even see him. I had to feel my way through the upstairs hall. I made it downstairs just in time as the fire was starting on the stove. I shut everything off, got Prince outside and woke my brother up. My brother and I could have died from smoke inhalation if it weren’t for Prince.

Even though he demands attention like everyone else’s pets while I am working, he gets every bit of it because he is always able to put his own feelings aside to make sure I am okay. When he is not working, he enjoys sunbathing on the balcony, taking naps, playing with his squeaky toys, and facetiming my dad. Like I said, Prince takes his job very seriously. I never would have thought when I rescued my big guy that he would return the favor.