The miracle dog Julie

I have been meaning for some time to write about Levi's dog Julie and how she happened into our lives. I went back and found an e-mail I'd sent some time ago that I am going to cut and paste here that tells the story..........


There are those I suppose who think things happen coincidentally. I do not. I believe in a Higher being who is very aware of each of us and in this particular story He is very aware of a little boy named Levi Rubow. I believe that He uses others and step by step prepares the way for things to fall into place. As these things or processes are happening a lot of times we are completely unaware. Sometimes we can look back and see the process, other times we can not. Here is our story:

A long time ago a little boy named Levi Rubow was born. He was a beautiful baby. With his birth came the knowledge to his mother and father that all was not well. Something was seriously wrong with their baby. They had no proof. They just knew. Over time, their fears were confirmed. He had a rare neurological disease that is degenerating and life threatening. As his parents have cared and loved him the thought was brought to his mothers mind, a service dog. His mother began researching and looking into them but was discouraged by what she found. She quit researching but the thought never completely left her mind. Over the next few years the thought would repeatedly come to the front of the mothers mind again and she would again research and look into getting her son a dog. It was during this time that she became aware of 4 Paws. She liked what she read and knew that if and when the day came she would get a dog for her son through this organization but at this time felt that the answer was still "not right now". A year ago, the mother was reading to her children during dinner. The story she was reading was about a seeing eye dog. After she finished the book, her son Levi said, "Levi needs a dog". He repeated this over and over. This was astonishing to Levi's parents because Levi had never asked for anything for himself. He did not know how. At that time his speech was limited and he was not able to communicate. Levi continued for days repeating this phrase over and over. His parents thought that he would forget but he never did. His mother went back to the 4 Paws site on the Internet and felt that it was time. She began the process of getting Levi a dog. Levi's family prayed and fasted many times that Levi would be able to get his dog. Levi's mother felt that the dog would be provided and that she would not need to do anything. It would be taken care of for her. She did not know how this was going to happen. $12,000 dollars were needed for this dog! During all of this an interesting thing happened. The siblings of Levi were outside playing one morning. They came running into the house to inform their mother that there was a strange dog in the yard. The children had been taught that when a strange dog comes into the yard they are to come into the house immediately and inform their mother as strange dogs can be dangerous. The mother usually chases the dog away from her yard and doesn't' have the kindest feelings towards stray dogs. Without knowing why, this time was different. The mother told the children to leave the dog alone. She did not see the dog, she continued about her daily duties. That evening the family left for several hours. When they returned, the dog was curled up on their front porch. The mother not knowing why brought the dog in, fed, and cared for the dog. The family tried to find the dogs home but could not find its family. They then tried to find a home for the dog but it did not work out. Meanwhile, the dog became attached to Levi. The dog felt a certain protectiveness towards Levi and would not let Levi out of her site. She slept with Levi. She played with Levi. She rested next to Levi. Levi named this dog "Julie".

Levi's siblings in the past have been home schooled. As this last school year came to a close it was time to decide where Levi would go to Kinder garden. His mother was worried because she knew that when Levi went to school, he would have his service dog with him. She worried that the school would give them problems. When his mother met with the principal of the school he would be going to she was received with excitement at the prospect of having a service dog in the school and what it would teach the other students. The mother felt that that "Higher" hand was very much involved and that things were taken care of for her. She also felt that the rest of her children should go back to public school in the fall. She did not know why. She still wonders but is starting to have an idea that she might know why now. She enrolled her children in public school.

The family continued to try and fund raise money for Levi's service dog from 4 Paws but it seemed everything they tried ended in failure. The mother was feeling despair and wondering why things were not falling into place as she felt they were supposed to. Then, Levi had one of his many attacks. The attack was a difficult one. Levi was in bed for several days. During this time, the dog Julie would not leave his side excepting to eat and to defecate. As Levi's parents watched this they marveled at the bond that was between this dog and their son.

It has been a year since this e-mail was sent. Julie still remains faithfully by Levi's side and has made a big impact on his life. We have noticed that he has had considerably less melt downs and attacks since Julie arrived in Levi's life. We have been taking her to obedience classes which she does amazing in. What can we say? She is an amazing dog! And what about the dog from 4 Paws that we were fundraising for? I've thought about that a lot. I think we'll just continue to slowly add money to Levi's account there at 4 Paws as we can and about the time we'll have that dog paid for Julie will be ready for retirement.