My Buddy (1992)

My Buddy by Audrey Osofsky (1992) is about the relationship between a service dog and a wheelchair-bound child. The child begins with “Buddy is my golden retriever. He looks like the sun is always shining on him…But Buddy is more than my friend. He’s my arms and legs.” This child has muscular dystrophy. There’s a brief description of how difficult it was to train Buddy. The rest of the book is about the many ways Buddy helps out. This dog turns on lights, opens doors, pushes elevator buttons, and fetches items from store shelves. When accompanying this child to school, Buddy wears a sign that says “Don’t Touch.” After school, he runs around in the child’s yard; Buddy gets time to play. Ted Rand’s watercolors capture the warmth of this child-canine companionship. He dedicates the book to Canine Companions for Independence in Santa Rosa, California.