The joy of a bestfriend

Welcome Jovia

Kaycee woke up to the sound of footsteps outside her bedroom door and her parents hushed whispers. She looked up towards her calendar and yup. June 15th her 18th birthday, they'll burst into her room singing an off-key version of Happy Birthday any second now. And they did. Only, for the first year since she was born it isn't just the two of them. They were accompanied by a golden lab.

At the end of the song her mom says: "Kaycee, this is Jovia, she's a service dog, we thought she would make life a little easier. Her name means joy in Latin, so hopefully she'll bring a little bit of that too."

"I don't need a service dog. I'm fine," Kaycee blurted out.

"Just give her a chance, you'll love her we're sure of it" And with that they back out of her room, shutting the door behind them and trapping Kaycee with Jovia who lightly curls into a ball beside her bed.

"I guess you're kind of cute," she thinks out loud.

Just as her parents thought, Kaycee eventually comes around and loves Jovia more than anything. The rest of the month is spent going to special training classes. Not only was Jovia getting Kaycee out of the house for training classes, but she's more motivated than ever to get out of the house. It's no longer only about her and her needs, she knows that dogs need exercise and for all the help Jovia was offering, a walk once a day was the least she can do.

One day, while she was out on her daily walk with Jovia she runs into Makayla.

"Hey! It's so great to see you! The gang misses you! I'm headed over to the ball park to see them now actually, did you want to come with?" Makayla says.

Kaycee has become nervous, unsure whether she will still fit in with her old group of friends. Jovia, sensing her discomfort, licks her hand in reassurance.

"Okay," she said, "Let's go"

And off they go, just like old times. When they get there, everyone is overjoyed to see Kaycee and have instantly fallen in love with Jovia. At first, Kaycee and Jovia just sat on the sidelines watching. But a little while later one of her friends, James, has the idea to have Kaycee on a base, so she could participate and not have to sit there by herself. No one anticipated that while Kaycee was trying to reach the ball, Jovia would help her by picking it up and handing it to her. She truly is there to make her life easier and just better in general. With Jovia's help their team won the friendly game of ball.

After the game, they all sat around on the bleachers talking.

"Hey Kaycee, isn't it Sunday? Shouldn't you be out fishing with your dad?" James asks.

"No, we don't go anymore, we only ever caught fish at our lucky spot and I can't go there anymore. So, what's the point?"

"What do you mean 'what's the point'?" Makayla intervenes "The point is that you used to look forward to Sunday's because it was time for you and your dad to spend together. You didn't look forward to all the fish you were going to catch."

She was right, and Kaycee knows it. She excuses herself from her friends and makes her way home, Jovia right by her side. When she enters the house her parents are sitting, watching T.V.

"What are you doing dad?" she asks with a grin "It's Sunday."

The joy on Kaycee's father's face is indescribable and being the reason for it made her heart swell. How could she have been so selfish for so long?

Once they arrive to where her father assumes would be their new lucky spot Jaycee finds a sturdy spot in the sand for her chair and admires the view. In front of her is a beautiful lake disappearing far on either side of her. On her right, she can see a family of ducks swimming around. To Kaycee's left her dad is unloading their supplies from out of the back of their pickup truck and onto a wooden table. And directly underneath her, laying peacefully by her feet is, as always, Jovia. Her dad hands her a rod and she cast it out. Not caring if she catches something or not.

In the peacefulness, she thinks back to the accident and how it has affected her life. She'd realised that she needs to accept that her life will never quite be the same as it once was. And eventually she would, because every day since Jovia had entered her life, things seemed to become easier. Instead of focusing on what she can no longer do, she needs to focus on what she can.

And with that thought, she feels a tug on her line.