Danger Needs Surgery

I met Danger my first day in America after deployment. He was sitting on the walk way up to my apartment (seen in the main photo). He was making a very strange face, showing all his teeth while almost sneezing and shaking back and forth. All I could think was "what a strange creature".

Danger was living on the other side of the duplex apartment and belonged to my neighbor. My neighbor was a single woman in her late 20s and a Captain in the U.S Army. She worked crazy long hours and would regularly ask me to help walk, feed and hang out with Danger. One day, I could hear her crying and went over to see if she was okay, she was hugging Danger tightly and told me she had orders to deploy for a year and had no one to watch him during that time. She had several people say they could and opt-out last minute.

I still had a year left on my contract and was going to be tied to Manhattan, Kansas until she returned so I told her I would watch Danger for the year. That's the decision that saved my life.

It took about two weeks before I realized I was completely obsessed with Danger. He is just so cool. I love the weird faces he makes. I love how he acts around other dogs and how he loves to be with people. He always wants to do what the people are doing.

Danger's real superpower is how you can feel his love. They say all dog's love is unconditional, which Dangers certainly is, but his love felt deeper than anything I had ever known.

Danger has been the most constant thing in my life, ever. He was there for me through leaving the military and transitioning to civilian life. He was with me through the move from Kansas to Massachusetts. Danger was there when my mom died. I remember crying into his chest for hours and him not moving an inch, he knew that I needed him. Danger was there when I moved to San Diego after hurting my knee and ending my athletic dreams. Danger was with me through my divorce and was couch/hotel surfing with me. Danger watched me graduate from college and get a job.

There were some very lonely times woven through the moments above, and Danger helped me through them in a way that I can not express through words.

Danger has had a bad week and after taking him to the vet it was revealed that he has a mass in his spleen that needs to be removed as soon as possible. The surgery could get Danger anywhere from 4 months to a couple of years depending on if it is cancer or not.

Any donation would be appreciated and help offset the cost of an expensive procedure.

Peace, Love, Danger.