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Remembering Rudy
Abused Children Lose a Friend Story by Sally Treadwell
There are all kinds of heroes in this world.
There are the firefighters who pull people from collapsing buildings; human rights defenders who risk their lives to bring us truth; scientists who work long into the night to cure cancer. And then there are the quiet heroes who lead by gentle example.
That was Rudy, who died on April 6. Rudy was a Great Dane who lived at Grandfather Home for Children. And if you think it’s sheer hyperbole to call a dog a hero, just ask the judges who gave him a Broadway Barks Hero Award. That’s a program that recognizes “an animal or individual who has made a significant contribution to the community and/or to animal welfare,” and even though the nomination papers from Grandfather Home’s children got lost and arrived too late, the judges were so moved by Rudy’s story that they gave him a special award.
Rudy’s story—the part we know—started when he was found howling in an abandoned house. His owner had been a drug user and had simply disappeared. Rudy, covered in sores, had been left shut up in the house for so long that he was almost at the point of starvation. Laura Hickey, director of the Residential Treatment Program at Codman Award-winning Grandfather Home for Children, happened to see his picture on the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League’s website and decided to adopt him.
She had a feeling that he might help to fill a void for the kids at the Home, all of whom have been badly abused, but she really had no idea how much this dog, who had himself been abused, would influence them.“When you look into his eyes, you don’t see abuse, you just see all this love,” said one child. That’s a powerful example for children who are trying to get past all that they have suffered.
And he noticeably helped them to make connections, eventually leading to a larger animal therapy program. “We have a lot of children who have learned that it’s not a smart thing to trust adults. They make a connection with the dogs first, and, frankly, we ride on the dogs’ coattails,” Hickey said in an interview last year.
She hasn’t changed her mind. “Without a doubt, the seeds of trust came from their relationship with him,” she said. “We all feel that he was a really great lesson to us—he left us with new understanding.”
“Rudy was the reason that Grandfather Academy was able to pilot a service dog program,” said Doug Herman, the director of Grandfather Academy, the charter school that serves children from Grandfather Home. “His amazing natural ability to connect with children in an academic setting set the bar for what is now a very successful program,” One of the students had personal experience of Rudy’s value in the classroom. “I always liked schoolwork, but now I like it even better because Rudy helps me focus.”
Rudy would help to calm the children when they were having a rough time, just by instinctively seeking them out. “If you’re having a hard day, Rudy senses it and he just comes and stands by your desk,” another child told me.
Renée Rogers, the Exceptional Children coordinator, wrote that “Rudy was more than ‘king’ of our service dogs. He was an incredible role model regarding patience, unconditional love and genuine ‘wisdom.’ The movie Stepmom has a line that I find befitting regarding out beloved Rudy. The dying mother tells her daughter, ‘You can take me with you…’ This line applies to our situation, as well. Although Rudy may have passed away, he is not gone. We at Grandfather Home and Academy will take him with us.”
“The children are sad that he’s gone, sad that they’ve lost someone who listened to them in a very different way, but they’re not sad that he’s out of pain now,” said Hickey. She has received lots of little sympathy notes from the kids, and most mention that anything that was hurting him no longer hurts. Rudy had been getting arthritic towards the end, and the kids had pooled their allowances to buy him a special bed. They’d helped him up, too, when he slipped a couple of times this last winter.
But he had a great last day, “running around and talking to everyone. Then he just lay down peacefully and boom, had a sudden heart attack.” That was Rudy’s last gift to her, she feels, sparing her that hardest of all decisions that many dog owners have to make.
The children are busy planning Rudy’s memorial service, and past students will come back to say goodbye.
But none of them will ever forget Rudy, or what their gentle hero taught them.
If you’d like to help out with the animal therapy program at Grandfather, consider donating dog treats or other supplies. The office maintains a wish list. Long-term reading volunteers are welcome, or if you’re unsure of how much time you can consistently commit to the program, help in the office is gratefully accepted. Call 828-898-5465.
Rudy’s Room –
Mission Statement
Rudy’s Room is
committed to improving lives of children touched by trauma. The mission of
Rudy’s Room is to support healing by providing the comfort of natural
child-dog connections. Recognizing the prevalence of traumatic events in
the lives of children and youth, the primary objective of Rudy’s Room is
to re-create stability, safety, and hope for these endangered children and
their families through education, service delivery, and program
consultation.
About Rudy’s
Room
Rudy’s Room was
inspired by the gentle persistent comforting acts of Rudy, an abandoned
and rescued Great Dane who received the 2005 Broadway Barks Hero Award in
recognition of his work with abused children. Rudy's Room now extends the
reach of its animal-assisted services, by first taking these programs,
along with members of the Rudy’s Room canine crew, to children and youth
in need and, by then assisting others in developing ongoing child/youth
services utilizing the healing power of animals.
About Rudy’s definition of trauma
Who are the
children of trauma in the United States? Beginning at the roots of its
definition, trauma is an event for which the child is unprepared, an event
that shatters the child’s sense of safety in the world. Within this
definition, children of trauma include:
·
Children who have been
forced to learn the formula for surviving in dangerous neighborhoods and
dangerous schools.
·
Children who have
resorted to gang membership to find the sense of belonging they
desperately need due to the loss of family structure.
·
Children of divorce,
death or other significant emotional loss.
·
Children who go to sleep
hungry and afraid, only to wake up facing the same hopeless circumstances
day after day.
·
Most certainly, victims
of trauma include those children from all walks of life who have witnessed
the death, destruction, and aftermath of natural disaster. |
