Flashback: August 2020 - CCI

- Dogs Are Our Greatest Teachers -

My name is Lance Weir and I have received three service dogs from Canine Companions for Independence®. Sharing my story over the past few years has become a big part of my life. A story of tragedy and triumph and the 26 years that fit in-between. On August 7, 1993 I was 21 years old, a Marine Reservist, and had just months Lance & Elijah earlier joined my college football program in hopes of making the team as a walk on. The outdoors, adventure, adrenaline and physical exertion is what I needed; it’s what I felt I was made for. On August 8, after leaning into a river headfirst to retrieve a ball cap, I struck a rock which resulted in paralysis not only in my legs but most of my arms. Instantaneously I lost everything that mattered at the time. Depression started immediately and ultimately lead to years of addiction and thoughts of suicide. Thankfully I was able to win those battles and ultimately found the life I had always dreamed of. I feel so blessed and so thankful on most days that I truly feel like the luckiest guy on earth. You may be asking how? Because of a dog.

In 2004 I received my first service dog, a black Lab/ Golden cross named Satine. When I arrived on the Canine Companions for Independence campus, I had no idea what to expect. My expectations on anything had grown low and who was to prove to me that this would be any different. What I was hoping for was the chance to regain a small piece of my independence back. Asking for help over the simplest things like picking up a remote, a phone or a piece of paper had demoralized me. Not only did Satine give me back some of that independence, she would ultimately give me a second chance at life. I know I would not be here today if it were not for Satine. The responsibility I felt for her gave me hope on the spot, and before Satine and I had even graduated I knew that I wanted to be a part of what “we” were experiencing and vowed to myself I would come back. In an instant my life had flipped. I began to say yes instead of no. I began to see the glass as half full instead of half empty. In two years, I would finally finish college and move from Arkansas to California to work for Canine Companions. Expectations were met and then some.

Because of that experience 16 years ago, not only am I alive, but I have been lucky enough to do the things I had once thought were lost and even do new things. New experiences like working with my second service dog Auggie, a black Lab that pushed me for eight and a half years to keep up with him. Having Auggie by my side resulted in many awesome personal accomplishments, like riding the coast of California eight years in a row; becoming the first tandem handcycle to enter an Ironman; first challenged athlete to finish the 508 – a 508-mile bicycle race in 48 hours; and back-to-back gold medals for the Marine Corps in the Warrior Games. To this day, anyone who met Auggie from his service years of 2011 to 2019 says he is the gold standard for service dogs. Thank you again to Canine Companions for giving me the gift of Auggie.

Today I am matched with Elijah, a yellow Lab/Golden cross who is the smartest dog I’ve ever been around and one I can’t wait to continue to learn from. I’ve had the opportunity to learn from incredible people along my journey but none more than the three service dogs I’ve had the privilege to spend the past 16 years with. They have been my greatest teachers.

And this is how I feel like the luckiest guy on the earth. What’s incredible about Canine Companions for Independence is that my story is just one of thousands. Every day Canine Companions changes and saves lives and saves families. They have the ability to make profound changes in individuals’ lives and families that get the chance to experience the bond between a human and a dog bred and trained to serve.

Thank you for taking the time to read a little bit of my story. You can learn more about how you can help make more stories like mine happen at www.cci.org.