For one black Labrador Retriever named Pesto, failure truly turned into the opportunity of a lifetime — for himself and the two young boys who love him.
Aurora, Colorado brothers Javary and Javae Howard first met Pesto during one of their regular trips to the local library with their mother.
“This beautiful puppy came into this room. I said I never believed in love at first sight, well, I had love at first sight,” the boys’ mother, Kimistry Howard, tells 11alive.com.
The brothers were immediately taken with this sweet, gentle dog, a turn of events that delighted their mother. Javary and Javae, who are both special needs, usually face a day full of challenges — Javary has a spinal disorder that makes it extremely difficult to walk, and Javae is autistic. But after meeting Pesto, the boys were excited to start each day, especially those days when their mother had planned a trip to the library.
Pesto had given Javary and Javae a new outlook on life. But Kimistry knew one day Pesto would be heading off to his higher calling — as a guide dog for the blind. His owner was only bringing him to the library to make sure he was properly socialized before he started training school.
After a year of friendship, it was time for Pesto to go off to guide dog training. Javary and Javae were sad at the thought they’d never see Pesto again, but their mom says her boys took great pride just knowing Pesto would one day help a person in need.
“We wanted him to be placed with a phenomenal human being that would love him as much as we’ve seen him be able to love an entire library of people,” Kimistry says.
Then, months later, something quite unexpected happened. Pesto, who’d otherwise been passing his training class with flying colors, suddenly failed guide dog school.
“I couldn’t believe he didn’t pass, but they said he didn’t graduate,” Kimistry remembers.
Pesto had been intended to assist a blind person, but perhaps that wasn’t the loyal Lab’s true calling after all, says Kimistry.
“It’s so beautiful they say he failed. What I’m convinced is Pesto made a choice,” she explains, a choice to return to Colorado to be with the two little boys who needed him the most — Javary and Javae.
It’s been two wonderful years since Pesto decided he’d rather be in Colorado, and what a world of difference he’s made ever since. Javae, who was once so quiet he barely spoke to his own family, now reads books aloud at the library.
And Javary doesn’t let his spinal condition stop him from walking to get a drink of water when he’s thirsty.
“He shouldn’t be able to do a lot of things,” Kimistry says of Javary, amazed at all the things he is able to do now. “That walking should not be happening.”
Javary, Javae, and Pesto are inseparable, Kimistry says.
“It’s a love story from beginning to end and it’s not over,” says Kimistry.
Source: 11alive.com, LifeWithDogsTV
