The Votes Are In!
2023 Readers' Choice is back, bigger and better than ever!
View Winners → 
Monrovia Navy Vet Adopts Abandoned Wheaten Terrier from PHS
Arcadia Weekly Feb 08, 2018
Matt McSweeny said the decision to sell the business was not easy as the restaurant has become a huge extension of his family. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
by
share with
Kian is one very happy rescue dog who is now saving his companion. As a working service dog he is welcome everywhere. His smiling face seems to indicate that he knows it. By the way, those little blue booties on his front paws they protect the door of his companion’s car. The Wheaten Terrier likes to hang his head out the window. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
‘Kian’ is now truly this man’s best friend
By Susan Motander
Five years ago a puppy was almost literally kicked to the curb in Pasadena. The humane society rescued the dog. A Navy veteran who suffered from severe seizures adopted that dog and named him Kian. The Irish name is appropriate as the puppy is a Wheaten Terrier (at least mainly).
The veteran seizures were so severe he had often loss consciousness, fallen and broken bones and suffered multiple cuts and bruises. As Kian grew he was trained to be sensitive to the onset of those seizures and when “working” to ignore everyone but his companion. His owner/companion was also trained to understand the meaning of those alerts and to immediately take steps to avoid them or move to a secure location where he cannot injure himself.
Since Kian and the veteran got together, the latter has been able to avoid most of his seizures. Because of the dog’s alerts those he has been able to move to safety and find a place to sit. He has not been injured since they began working together.
“Father calls Kian his ‘granddog’ and says he rescued me,” said that veteran, who prefers to remain anonymous. He is like a child to us, he said looking to his wife, who happily nodded her agreement. “These days I am not sure who rescued who,” he added. “I may have rescued him, but he is continually rescuing me.”
“You don’t have to go to a breed to get a smart and good dog,” the Vet said .
