DANES OVER DEPRESSION!!!
Here is the fifth edition of our weekly installment of “Danes over Depression”. Brought to you by Great Danes of the Ozarks, greatdanesoftheozarks.com
This weekly publication was founded to honor my brother Tim’s memory and is designed to bring awareness to mental health maintenance. Each story submitted is from one of our clients and is dedicated to anyone who battles depression, anxiety, loneliness, addiction, etc. We sincerely hope these stories bring you joy and warm your heart as much as they do ours! Remember, if you’re feeling hopeless, help is just a phone call away, someone cares, please call the suicide prevention hotline at 800-273-8255 to speak with a mental health professional. It is NEVER shameful to focus on your mental health!!
Emmi’s Story:
After being a Police Officer for 14 years, I got hurt. This was not just an injury where the doctors could fix me up and put me back on the road, but I had surgery after surgery and my doctors insisted I did NOT return to police work.
My entire life I wanted to be a Police Officer, it took me years to get onto a department, and being a woman, I had to work harder to earn the respect I deserved. But I made it and I absolutely loved what I was doing!! I wanted to make a positive impact on the community and help people any way I could. I was also a mom and grew up with dogs my entire life. We had one big Bernese Mountain Dog while I was a police officer. Everything was perfect! A career I dreamed of and I was making a difference, not just patrolling, but educating the public how to stay safe, how parents to keep their kids safe, for teenage girls and women to be safe, besides many other policing, and a husband, 3 beautiful children, a goofy dog, a beautiful house with a nice yard, and nice cars to drive!! Until I got hurt. Everything went downhill.
The physical pain was horrible, the emotional toll of never going back to my dream job, and immediately forced to be a stay at home mom, which should have been my biggest joy, but it was a huge adjustment. I ended up with 8 spinal surgeries, physical therapy, many many procedures, it was a never ending! The pain was never ending. My poor kids. I was failing as a mom, but then my fur baby died, who always gives you unconditional love!
Which brings me to today. I still live in pain daily and need surgeries, I have one coming up in November, my kids are all grown, and 2 of the 3 are out of the house. My house has grown in pups, especially Emmi, who came from Great Danes of the Ozarks! I remember the breeder, Devin telling me, you got the calmer of the sisters. I think he lied to me 😆. She’s my crazy crazy puppy!! I’m so glad that I was the one who got Emmi. She makes me laugh! She keeps me up and moving because she’s still a pup, but she keeps the other two older pups moving. She’s the goofiest, funniest and craziest pup I have ever had, so the pain fades away and she always puts a smile on my face! How interesting that it’s like she intuitively knew what I needed in my life.
This is my first Great Dane Puppy, and how fast she grew and how she “thinks” she is still little. She’s so unique, funny, goofy, and always wants to give you kisses and is happy to see you! She is always happy, which makes me happier, no matter what pain I’m feeling! I love sitting in my backyard, and watching her play with the other dogs, or just run around with her toys!! I love playing with her or taking her for a walk, she makes my life happier and keeps me active.
That goofy Emmi, I’m hoping she never loses her goofiness, because it’s what makes me laugh every single day! If I didn’t laugh every day, I wouldn’t know what I would do! Emmi sleeps with me at night, and she knows when I’m having a bad day, that’s when she cuddles closer and loves harder! So thank you Great Danes of Ozarks for bringing our Emmi into our life to change it for the better!
Karen Oehlerking
