INSPIRING STORY OF THE WEEK – MY SPECIAL BOY, OBI by Ashley Howland
INSPIRING STORY OF THE WEEK
MY SPECIAL BOY, OBI
by Ashley Howland
This is the inspiring story of a very special dog.
It was so hard for the Howland family to say goodbye to Obi, their ten and a half year old Lab. He was a dog who loved to please, but always in his own style. He was the quickest to complete everything at dog school, but he did it his own way. Obi was a clown; he just seemed to know when to behave and when to be silly. He would do everything perfectly, and then one time he would do completely the opposite thing you asked him to do. At shows he refused to sit in the stalls. He had to be out sitting on the Howland’s deck chairs so he could get the most pats.
One of the first students Obi worked with had come from a really dark place. He was anti-social, distant and a behavior problem. Obi broke all barriers to his heart. Through working together every week, this student grew in confidence. He began to communicate with staff and peers. He even came back the next year as a mentor and helped other students. Later on, he applied for school captain and spoke in front of the whole school. He even mentioned Obi in his speech. While he didn’t win that position he did win a showing trophy with Labs ‘n Life and it is very probable that through Obi he found himself.
When Ashley took him with her to school, he would say hello to every person he met in the hall, yet sit next to the one person who was scared of dogs. He would climb up on a kid’s lap and it would be the kid who had come from the worst background, or who was just having a really bad day. He had some sort of sixth sense about these things.
Yes, it was hard to say goodbye to Obi, but he left great memories for those whose lives he touched.
This story is now published in
Tales2Inspire ~ The Sapphire Collection
Stories of Timeless Memories that Echo In the Mind
