Lab-retriever mix provides big dose of help

Jay Huston could have his dog get him a beer from the fridge, but he prefers to have Timo fetch shoes and keys.

Timo is a service dog for Huston, a disabled veteran with limited mobility and muscle spasms. He drops things a lot and can't bend.

Timo has made it possible for the 42-year-old married father of three to have a normal life. "I was in so much pain I didn't want to get out of bed," he said.

The 70-pound Labrador/ golden retriever mix pulls the 6-foot, 210-pound man to his feet and helps him dress. He goes to work with Huston at U.S. Northern Command and on frequent business trips.

At the airport, Timo puts Huston's shoes in the TSA conveyor bin, a line-saving grace at security that otherwise would require a worker's assistance. Timo sits by Huston's feet on the plane or, if available, gets his seat.

Huston has undergone 10 surgeries for spinal injuries after he hit the ground hard from a parachute malfunction eight years ago at Fort Benning, Ga. He retired from Fort Carson after 17 years of Army Reserve and active duty.

He was matched with Timo six months ago by Canine Companions for Independence, a national nonprofit that trains dogs for people with disabilities.

About a fourth of the 33 dogs placed in Colorado were with military veterans, said Paul O'Brien, director of the state office based in Colorado Springs.

"We're able to place dogs that would never go into service and to serve veterans," O'Brien said. "Military vets with disabilities can handle dogs that we wouldn't typically be able to place. They have good upper-body strength and are cognitively able to handle and give commands to a dog."

There is no fee to receive a dog, which gets about $40,000 worth of training. The Retired Enlisted Association donated $20,000 to help sponsor Timo and a dog for Divide resident Jim Young, an Army veteran injured in combat.

"We have a big push right now to place dogs with Iraqi and Afghanistan veterans," O'Brien said. "They want as much independence as they can."

It takes some prodding, though.

"They typically say they aren't disabled enough," O'Brien said. "They don't want to take away a dog from someone with more significant disabilities."

That's why Huston put off getting a dog.

"It's a pride thing," Huston said. It's difficult for veterans to accept a disability and adjust to civilian life.

He credits Timo with saving his life. On a work trip in Washington, D.C., Huston, who has hearing loss, didn't hear a car coming.

"I was getting ready to step out in the crosswalk, and he curled his head around my leg and wouldn't let me step forward," he said, "and that's when a car went speeding into the crosswalk."

Timo wasn't trained to do that, he said.

At NorthCom, Timo opens doors, picks up dropped pens, closes file drawers and charms Huston's colleagues.

"They say hello to him," Huston said. "I say, ‘What about me?'"

At home, Timo gets playtime with Huston's children, who are glad to have their dad back.

"He never wanted to leave the house," said his oldest daughter Kim, 17. "Now it's easier for him to go out with us."

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CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0253 or andrea.brown@gazette.com