09/02/2026
Sometimes, the right dog finds you at exactly the right time. 🐾❤️
After a traumatic brain injury left Carmen struggling with depression, anxiety, and isolation, her doctor encouraged her to get a dog. That’s when she met Coconut — a rescue pup who chose her and helped change her life.
Stories like Carmen and Coconut’s are exactly why we host Pups on the Patio — to celebrate the impact pets can have on our lives while helping pets still waiting to find loving homes of their own. ❤️
Join us September 26th from 12–3 PM! Carmen will be there to share her story, and you’ll have the chance to meet some amazing adoptable pets. You never know — you might meet the one who’s meant to find you. 🐶🐾
" I was never getting a dog as long as I lived. They're too much trouble. They're expensive. They suck the life out of you. My doctor back in Hawaii kept saying, ‘Get a dog. It will help you.’ I did not see how a dog would repair the hole in my brain. I did not see how this would happen.
In June 2015, I was in a five-car accident. I walked away without a scratch, but I had a traumatic brain injury. I had migraines. Noise resonated through my whole body. My hypothalamic gland, which regulates things like whether I'm hot or cold, was damaged. I had trouble accessing information that I knew. I was struggling just to stay alive. My doctor explained that I would have to learn to manage the resulting depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts while my brain healed.
My doctor kept telling me to get a dog because I was too much inside of myself. When you go through something that takes over your entire life, that's all there is. I couldn't get outside of me. But I still didn't get a dog. Then we moved from Oahu to Oshkosh in March 2017. Never move from Hawaii to Oshkosh in March. Everything that's wrong with your life will be multiplied.
I knew my son and his wife, and that was it. They had a life. I didn't know one other human being here. Eventually, I thought, ‘Okay, I will listen to my doctor. I will get a dog.’ We went to NEW PAWSibilities. My husband had already picked out dogs he liked on the computer. Every dog they brought in went straight to him. They ignored me. I said, ‘If he's supposed to be my emotional support dog, shouldn't he even like me?'
Then they brought in this skinny little dog. You could see every rib. He came over and sat at my feet. He just stayed there looking at me, laser focused. He would not look at anybody else. This dog knew. He chose me.
And here's the thing about dogs: They like to p**p. If you don't take them outside, they're going to p**p on your rugs and your floor. I don't like this. So I was forced to go outside. I had been huddled inside, but now I had to walk Coconut. And when you go outside, you see people. People may not care anything about you, but they will care about your dog. Suddenly my neighbors were saying, ‘Oh, what a cute dog! What's his name?’ You start learning about them. They learn about you. You see the same people every day. You're getting vitamin D. You're getting outside of your head because you don't have a choice.
Coconut never gave up on me. I wasn't the best owner. But he was the right dog for me at exactly the right time. That's how Coconut saved my life the first time.” (Part 2 of 4)
(Grace’s Note: “That’s how Coconut saved my life the first time.”
Yes, you read that correctly. The first time. Look for Part 3 of Carmen Leal and Coconut’s story. Photo was provided by Coconut's human. It's their author pic for the book When Love Wags a Tail. )
