In the aftermath of a life-changing vehicular accident in which he lost about half of his left arm, Plato resident Michael Richards felt led to get a “buddy” to help him through.
His family already had seven dogs living on their Ozarks acreage, but Richards still wanted a small, special companion that would remain at his side during his transition period.
Having connections to The Animal Shelter of Texas County, Richards chose the facility as the place where he would seek his new canine friend. Eager to help him find a match, shelter representatives paraded one dog after another out of their kennels and to where he was seated. But after a while, the effort became discouraging.
“They were all just uninterested, or easily distracted,” Richards said. “I wanted one that would focus on me.”
Running out of options, TASTC manager Marsha Martin took what amounted to one last try, and brought out a seven-month-old female Jack Russell mix named Pepper. It was a long shot at best, because the young mutt was typically skittish around humans, and not prone to cherishing affection.
What happened next was the apparent fulfillment of a destiny shared by a man and a dog. Pepper went right up to Richards, sniffed his stub, and climbed in his lap.
“She ran to me, and hasn’t moved away since,” Richards said.
“She basically chose him,” Martin said.
Now the pup hangs out with her master pretty much 24-7, remaining in his lap whenever he sits, and letting him carry her with a special harness when he moves from place to place. She even growls softly when she feels someone is too close to his wounded limb.
“She’s very protective,” Richards said. “But it’s never overly aggressive, it’s just a little warning. She really looks out for me.”
Little of what Pepper does after meeting Richards matches up with the reputation she had earned beforehand.
“She’s a sweet dog, but she always acted very scared,” Martin said. “It’s a complete transformation.”
When the pickup truck he was driving rolled onto its side on Highway KK late in the afternoon of Oct. 10, Richards might have died if not for the actions of an 11-year-old daughter in the passenger’s seat and a local farmer who happened to be driving by and stopped to help. Keeping an amazingly clear head, the daughter made crucial calls to 911 and family members, while the passer-by followed Richards’ instructions to put a makeshift tourniquet on the fast-bleeding remnant of his arm.
A native of New Mexico, Richards had years of experience as an emergency medical technician to draw from, but the helper had no idea what he was doing. According to medical personnel who arrived on the scene, the flow of blood from Richards’ arm was halted with little or no time to spare.
“I never lost consciousness,” Richards said. “That’s part of the miracle of this whole thing, along with the way my daughter and the farmer conducted themselves. It’s a miracle of God’s power, and if there’s a message I could send, it’s that of God’s grace, love, kindness and awesomeness, and that he has a purpose for me.
“It wasn’t my time.”
When he determined his usefulness at the scene had run its course, the good Samaritan simply left.
“When he saw the helicopter, he just drove away,” Richards said.
Since that fateful day, Richards has gone through a gamut of emotions, along with his wife Jasmine, two daughters, and young son.
“I can’t even describe it,” he said. “It’s just everything – from anger, to ‘why me?,’ to intense sadness.”
Richards said he’s looking at a shorter timetable for a return to work than the six-months-to-a-year schedule doctors told him to expect. He credits Jasmine with being more than just supportive through the hardship, and the calming effect of Pepper’s presence has in a big way answered a need he felt. During moments when the damaged nerves and muscles in his arm produce pain and discomfort, she’ll lay her head on it and the problems subside.
Richards considers Pepper a gift from the Lord, and a continuation of a miraculous scenario.
“This is the hand of God being with me all the time,” he said, “reminding me that he loves me, cares for me and I can make it through this.
“She was born my dog, and from the moment we met, she knew exactly what she was supposed to do. God has a sense of humor, but he also has a very watchful eye, a very knowing eye, and a very thoughtful eye.”
“She was born my dog, and from the moment we met, she knew exactly what she was supposed to do.”