Who rescues who?

Today would have been Fiona’s 18th birthday. She’s been gone three years now, and I still miss her. She is the dog that made me ask “Who rescued who?”.

When the Schneider Family Book Award Winners were announced at the Youth Media Awards on Monday, I got a little teary-eyed when they announced that the picture book winner was Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship  written by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes and illustrated by Scott Magoon.

Publisher’s Summary: Based on a real-life partnership, the heartening story of the love and teamwork between a girl and her service dog will illuminate and inspire.

Rescue thought he’d grow up to be a Seeing Eye dog — it’s the family business, after all. When he gets the news that he’s better suited to being a service dog, he’s worried that he’s not up to the task. Then he meets Jessica, a girl whose life is turning out differently than the way she’d imagined it, too. Now Jessica needs Rescue by her side to help her accomplish everyday tasks. And it turns out that Rescue can help Jessica see after all: a way forward, together, one step at a time. An endnote from the authors tells more about the training and extraordinary abilities of service dogs, particularly their real-life best friend and black lab, Rescue.