December 26, 2019
An Opportunity To Recover
by Enriquez
What an amazing year this has been. First I have grown both as a person and matured. I have gotten my life together and have remained sober. I joined a wonderful program where I can work with animals, something I love doing. In return I have learned many different skills thanks to New Life K9s. I want to personally thank both Nicole and Kate for giving my this awesome opportunity. Because of that, I have learned many things, not just about dogs, but also about myself.
I have grown to love Rose and to always give it my all. I have also grown to like this “small” family that I have, also my team and peers. Every day that I spend with Rose, I enjoy myself even more than before and my time in prison seems to fly by. Thanks to this program, I no longer look at prison as a punishment, but more as an opportunity to recover from my life as a homeless person who was not getting anywhere in life, but because of Rose, I have since then seen myself with more value and have also grown in worth. I know now that I exist to serve a purpose, not only for people that suffer from PTSD, but also seeing how Rose looks up to me for “leadership” and parenting her in the right direction makes me think about what I’m really doing and how I see myself in the big picture.
So, I just want to say, thank you both again for this cool experience and giving me the opportunity to not only prove myself, but allow me to grow as a person in society.
Rose has been good, still bleeding and having her little mood swings. Sometimes she wants to be alone, other times playful with me or Stevie, but not so much with other dogs. Today marks her 9th day since she started. This is a complicated, new experience for me and I feel bad for Rose. Sometimes she looks so sad, without energy and I wonder if there’s anything I can do to help.
I have done some mental exercises with her, but kept it to a minimum since she only shows interest for a bit, then gets distracted by sniffing herself.
Other than that, it’s been good. I can’t wait for the New Years. I know exciting things are to come. I know we are struggling right now, but I have lots of faith in us, and believe we will ride out whatever the storm throws at us.
