Before I had this blog, we had two other blogs in our family: the 30 Dog Book Blog and Benjamin’s BlogDog. Both referenced, and originally served as fundraisers for, our beloved service dog of twelve years. She came to live with us in the summer of 2012, and yesterday, after a full and vibrant life, we said goodbye.

Words cannot do justice to the miracles she worked. But she changed the course of our lives. These posts are the Tracy Chronicles.

Tracy was my son Ben’s scent detection service dog. Like a bomb-sniffing dog, she was trained to alert to unseen traces of peanut and tree nut residue and allergens present in the environment. This training was a labor of love–Tracy had two puppy raisers and then a long-term trainer before coming into our family. We spent months fundraising to afford this twenty thousand dollar dog, and then traveled to Colorado for two weeks to learn how to work with her. We quickly discovered that the entire ebb and flow of our lives would change as she began to accompany us everywhere.

Tracy invited people into empathy and compassion.

When both my son’s school principal and head of the grounds at our church watched Tracy work in their respective buildings, they were shocked to see her alerting to doorknobs and low surfaces so frequently. Each asked the custodial staff to change their cleaning routines to include doorknobs and surfaces that had not previously been a routine part of their cleaning regimens. Tracy made environments safer for more people than just my son.

Junior high and high school nurses rose to the occasion when Tracy and Ben started school together. They trained staff, welcomed Ben and Tracy, and went out of their way to protect us from the complaints and demands of other people. They watched Tracy work and saw the ways she protected our son and increased his ability to participate in environments that were saturated with his allergens.

Benjamin’s teachers also welcomed Tracy with gracious acceptance and enthusiasm. Not once did we encounter a hostile reception from a teacher about Tracy’s presence in the classroom. They were respectful and led by example, so that Ben’s classmates would also understand that Tracy was not a mascot or a pet. They worked with us to make it easy for Ben and Tracy to work together to check for allergens in the class without disrupting learning. One of my son’s chemistry teachers, unprompted, installed a hitch on the wall for Tracy to use during labs in his class when Ben needed both of his hands free. All of these teachers were kind, magnanimous, and most of all, open to learning about a difficult hidden disability and life with a service dog. 

At our churches, our pastors never questioned Tracy’s inclusion. She was welcomed with hospitality and respect, with staff once again setting the tone to help others understand the importance of her job. They respected and communicated the unique boundaries we needed for Tracy and Ben to work together. Not once did our pastors raise an eyebrow when Tracy walked down the aisle with us to receive communion. Her presence brought special awareness to the severity of food allergies and the need for community support in unexpected places, especially in churches. Now, at our local church, the communion table includes both gluten-free and cross-contact-free bread every Sunday. In the youth groups, our youth pastors started to read labels, eliminate unnecessary food from events, and find common, safe choices when food was served. 

I don’t even know how to begin to express the hospitality that Ben’s Boy Scout troop extended to Tracy and our family. From the beginning, Tracy was a non-issue. The Scouting families helped us reach our fundraising goals. They accepted our food restrictions. They welcomed Tracy to scouting events. They learned about food allergies, even incorporating Epi-Pen training into their first aid response training. They protected Ben and accepted both his ordinary needs and his vulnerabilities. For Ben’s Eagle Scout service project — building a training tool for service dogs like Tracy — the whole troop showed up to help.

Love for Tracy extended beyond our regular circles, too. One year at Many Point Scout Camp — a northern lakeside camp we attended annually and one of both Ben and Tracy’s favorite places on Earth —  a fellow camper worked on a blanket for Tracy all week and presented it to us at the final campfire on Friday night. To our surprise, everyone attending Family Camp stood up and applauded Tracy and her work. 

I could go on and on. A service dog is a member of a family living in a uniquely precious relationship with a person who lives with serious, medical vulnerabilities. But a service dog is also a participant in community. Tracy’s work was uninterrupted and most valuable when the people around us showed up with openness to learning the boundaries that she needed to work and supported her relationship with Ben.