He’s three years old, he weighs 130 pounds, and he has changed the life of an Edmonton woman.
Kuno the Rottweiler is an Alberta qualified service dog, and thanks to his large size and gentle nature, he is able to help bilateral amputee Marla Smith with her day-to-day life.
“As far as I know he’s only the second Rottweiler that’s been through a government qualification process for service work,” Smith told CTV News Edmonton.
Smith has an illness called complex regional pain syndrome. Her illness caused mobility issues, which is how she first started working with Kuno, but it wasn’t long before her four-legged friend started to play a bigger role in her life.
“Just prior to getting Kuno prepared to take his government qualification, I came down with a catastrophic infection and they had to amputate both legs.”
Losing not just one, but two limbs was a big adjustment for Smith and her new partner.
“We’ve learned all about wheelchair life together. He wasn’t trained specifically for wheelchair, and you know, we kind of have learned everything as we go.”
“It was extremely painful and difficult to balance, and very difficult to treat and manage.”
But it soon became clear that Kuno’s size was going to be a big asset. Because he’s so large, Smith is able to use him for balance when she’s maneuvering outside her chair.
“A 40-pound dog, I can’t use to balance and transfer out of a wheelchair with whereas this guy, he’s got the size, he can brace, I can use him where there isn’t a grab bar.”
The pair draws eyes everywhere they go.
“There’s no way a person with no legs and a wheelchair’s going to blend into the background any where they go, especially when you have a 130-pound dog attached to you.”
And Smith is using the attention for good, to help educate people about Kuno’s breed.
“They’ve seen them on TV chasing the bad guy across the parking lot and just assume that, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s a protection dog.’”
“Once people start to get an idea of what he’s capable of doing, for me, it makes a lot of sense.”
The duo also has some fun. Kuno does a daily dog weather report.
“So he can let his fellow canines in the Edmonton area know how to appropriately take their humans out.”
“He likes to give shout outs and thank you to people who are doing good things in the community to make life better, easier. And he’s all about promoting kindness.”
Smith says without Kuno, it would have been easy to just give up.
“Because I have this dog I have to go out there, and he gives me courage to go places I otherwise wouldn’t.”
“The outside world is less terrifying to me in a lot of ways now.”
WIth files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson.
