A victim of a serious accident that left her paralyzed, the little girl now enjoys the remarkable skills and affection of a help dog.
The lives of 8-year-old Memphis Rose and her family changed overnight in June 2020. A girl was seriously injured in a traffic accident near Wellington, Florida. She had a lung puncture, a fracture and displacement of the cervix, and her spine was badly damaged.
The impact was so horrendous that Memphis Rose went into cardiac arrest. Luckily, a doctor who arrived on the scene gave him first aid until help arrived. She was then airlifted to the West Palm Beach Hospital emergency room.
According to doctors, the wound in his spine may never heal. This means that Memphis Rose could be paralyzed for life. She was also hospitalized several times after the accident, notably due to pneumonia and surgery to stimulate her diaphragm by implanting electrodes to help her breathe.
Despite everything she’s been through, she’s always smiling. Her mother, Gayrin Meade, 31, tells People that Memphis Rose «amazes her every day with her power.» The strength the little girl also draws from the wonderful relationship she has with Juliet, her service dog.
This 2-year-old female golden retriever has only spent a short time with her, but she and Memphis Rose are very attached to each other and very close.
Juliet recently completed her 18 month training at Fort Myers. Her presence with the girl is valuable in many ways, as she learned to «open doors, bring things to Memphis, come for her mother if necessary in various situations,» educator Summit Earhart describes in detail. That’s not all: The Golden Retriever has also been trained to «apply deep pressure therapy to calm Memphis, who has frequent anxiety attacks,» the pro adds.
If this beautiful friendship could see the light of day, it’s thanks in large part to Lori Griffith, founder of the Chasin’ A Dream Foundation in Jupiter, Florida.
When she found out about Memphis Rose’s accident and found out she loved dogs, she contacted her friends at the Furry Friends Adoption Center, Clinic and Ranch. This organization took Juliet from a breeding farm in Wyoming on the day the little girl had an accident.
