Tucker giving Toby Cole the tool he uses to turn pages

Two days after Toby Cole graduated from high school, he was playing in his family’s swimming pool. When he dove in over his uncle, who was standing in the shallow end, he struck the bottom of the pool and broke his neck.

Mr. Cole explains, "My injury was unique in that I had a complete sever of the spinal cord. When that happens, you don’t get any return." As a result of his injury, he has no feeling in his body below the middle of his chest and is unable to use his arms, legs and hands.

After his accident, Toby spent three months at The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research. "They taught me how to use a wheelchair and how to instruct other people to take care of me," he recalls. "I was in the same situation that I was in when I got hurt, but I was educated."

Soon after he returned home from the hospital, one of Mr. Cole’s aunts sent him an article about service dogs. Although he was interested, the only organization he found that trained dogs to help people in wheelchairs was located in California. In addition to the difficulty of commuting back and forth for training sessions, there was also a two-year waiting list for the kind of dog he needed.

Instead, Mr. Cole contacted local dog trainers. One of them suggested he call Texas Hearing Dogs. Mr. Cole approached the group with his request. "For years they’d been training dogs for people who are deaf. This was the first time someone came to them and said, ‘Let’s see what you can do for people in wheelchairs.’ I was kind of the guinea pig. It took four or five months to find a dog, but once they did I started training with him. In a little more than a year I was certified with Beaux. We were the first service dog team trained in Texas by a Texas organization. Texas Hearing and Service Dogs, Inc. was founded after that."

Beaux passed away after helping Toby for seven years. "He was just an amazing friend," Mr. Cole remembers. "The emotional attachment became stronger than the physical dependence. The physical things he did for me just made me love him that much more."
After Mr. Cole recovered from Beaux’s death, he got another dog. "As soon as I saw Tucker, I knew he was the dog for me, and we began to train together. Unfortunately I can’t reach down and pet Tucker or grab a leash to control him. It all happens by rewarding him for positive behavior.

"I put hot dogs in my mouth, and when Tucker does something I want him to do I say, ‘Yes’ and then I spit him a hot dog treat. As I continue to reward him, he does the behavior more consistently." Mr. Cole continues, "Texas Hearing and Service Dogs has taught me how to train Tucker to do more as my needs grow. He’s about to learn how to push a button to open the door for me."

Since his accident, Mr. Cole’s life has changed dramatically. He married, graduated from college and earned both a master’s degree in finance and a law degree. Today he specializes in personal injury and medical malpractice cases. Mr. Cole summarizes, "From the beginning, I never thought ‘Poor me. Why did this happen to me?’ I just put one wheel in front of the other, so to speak, and kept on going."

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