I was surprised to see a fellow passenger pulling a cart with a small dog along the deck. I didn't think you could bring pets with you on a cruise!
I introduced myself and was amazed to find out that this cute little dog, an 8 year old bichon-frise, was a hearing service dog! Her name is Gotita (meaning "a drop of love") and is owned by Steve, an Iraqi war vet who has 90% hearing loss.Although Steve wears hearing aids, I knew he was also reading my lips. He told me that Gotita has had special therapy training; she comes to him when the telephone or doorbell rings and pulls him to the source of the ring or noise. Since Steve suffers from severe PTSD and has flashbacks and tremors, Gotita sleeps on his chest to keep him calm and able to sleep at night.
The crew has provided a special square of real sod grass on the upper deck so that Gotita can feel right at home!
A wonderful heart-warming story!
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