It was Shauna Darcy’s intention to use Ruby as a service dog to assist her with her anxiety, depression, and agoraphobia when she initially brought her home. From the outset, Ruby was a fantastic service dog and companion who soon demonstrated to Darcy how far she would go to help her.
“While she was training to be a service dog I noticed that she started picking up on changes in my heart rate and would act funny — for example, paw at me, try to get my attention, get on top of me, etc.,” Darcy told The Dodo.
Picking up on Ruby’s cues, Darcy went to the doctor and discovered she had health issues she hadn’t known about, including a rare heart condition called vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Ruby had known something was wrong even before Darcy did, and her main focus as a service dog quickly switched to Darcy’s cardiac issues.
Ruby assists her mother every day with tasks like checking her blood pressure and pulse rate, supporting her through panic episodes, and locating emergency prescriptions. She is skilled in deep pressure treatment and carries groceries, picks up misplaced objects, and retrieves things her mother can’t.
Darcy stated, “When I pass asleep, she jumps on top of me and puts all her weight on me while licking my hands and face till I wake up.
Even when her mother is unaware that she needs her, Ruby is there for her every day.
Ruby began warning her mother that something was wrong last week, but she was unsure of the cause. Although Darcy was feeling well at the time, he trusted Ruby and made the decision to call an ambulance just in case.
It became determined that Darcy’s heart was experiencing atrial fibrillation. “I was in pain and barely awake when the paramedics arrived.”
As the paramedics rushed Darcy to the hospital, she realized that Ruby had saved her life that day.
While Darcy was in the hospital and the doctors worked to get her stable again, Ruby refused to leave her mom’s side. Even while Darcy was unconscious, Ruby lay in her hospital bed, pressed up against her, hoping her mom could sense she was there and that her presence would make her feel safe.
So many people came to see them when they were hospitalized to meet Ruby. She is usually very well-liked and enjoys greeting everyone whenever she and her mother are in the hospital, but she also makes sure that she is never too far from her mother.
She adores her, and her mother reciprocates her affection in spades.
Without Ruby, Darcy’s life would be very different. Ruby helps her mom stay healthy and safe every single day, and her mom is so grateful for everything she’s done for her.
“I wouldn’t be alive without her,” Darcy said.
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