SSD Xylia "Lia"

Jesse and SSD Xylia “Lia”

Lia has done so much more for me than just her job as a hearing dog. From the day we first met at SSD's Kennel - she was the first one I met, and we just clicked. I never met another dog that day. Everybody knew we were a perfect match, both of us calm at times, and pretty crazy other times! It was hard leaving her that day, knowing it'd be a few months before I would meet her again. We went through training really quick, and she loves her job so much when I left her with my parents one weekend, she alerted them to the microwave and picked up a beer cap that dad dropped. She knows she's a service dog - her behavior is different when around somebody in a wheelchair or a walking stick. Whenever I meet a person with a physical disability, sometimes she'll gravitate over to their side, but always keeping an eye on me. She's broken the ice with strangers who have never spoken to a deaf person, which has actually fostered a busier social life for me. She's protected me against a would-be mugger in Philadelphia in an alley late at night - mostly because the guy was afraid of dogs, I guess, and I did shout out "attack" while doing the hand signal for "stand up on all 4's" She "told" me to bite a cab driver who was trying to forcibly remove her from his car, and from that experience I learnt that as her partner, I can defend her and that would be considered self-defense. I've had a lot of experiences, good and bad, that have ended in my teaching others about service dogs; whether they liked it or not, I refused to be denied access and fight for my rights. At Drexel University and Penn State University, I was approached by more people that wanted to know more about us. I gave talks and lectures on my experiences as a deaf man, as well as on service dogs to law classes and deaf studies classes and Lia was more than happy to do some demo work. She made me more aware of my surroundings, and we have been in cities, in mountains, rivers, and even gone coast to coast on a road trip. She has changed me in so many ways, and there are just so many stories I've been told to write a book. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it before she retires, but she'll always be with me - her paw-print is tattooed above my heart. Today, February 16th, 2010 is her 9th birthday, and she's graced my life for a wonderful six and half years, with more craziness and love coming.