Gone but Never Forgotten

AW2 Veteran and Advocate Clay Rankin with Archie, his service dog and friend. Archie will be missed by the entire AW2 Family.

By Stephanie Rankin, AW2 Spouse

As many of you now know, Archie, Clay Rankin’s service dog passed away last Thursday night. It was a sudden, heart wrenching reality that life is precious and fragile. Archie died of heart failure, according to our veterinarian’s best diagnosis. He was eight-years-old and in good health — no one saw this coming — but the impact will be felt for years to come. Archie was more than a service dog. He was Clay’s companion, his freedom from a wheelchair, his courage to get up every day and live. Archie was there when the pain got to be overwhelming, when the nightmares visited and when scenes from the past came unexpectedly crowding in. Archie was Clay’s anchor.

As we remember him, I have to admit he seemed larger than life. He was a celebrity after all. In October of this year he received the ASPCA’s “Dog of the Year” award and like all things he just wagged his tail and took care of Clay. Archie was a light of joy to so many Soldiers and their Families. He helped Clay do his job as an AW2 Advocate, and brought hope to wounded Soldiers at Walter Reed and other VA hospitals. Clay and I heard a story one time about how dogs live such short lives because they already understood unconditional love, unlike us hard headed humans who have live much longer ones to learn it. One look at Archie sweet, gentle face and you could see he lit up the room with it. He certainly loved Clay unconditionally and he wore out his heart with it. He was our hero.

Archie has helped pave the way for other Veterans to obtain service dogs and through his partnership with Clay, as many more have been educated to what exactly a service dog is. Clay would tell people that Archie was a highly sophisticated piece of medical equipment. They say knowledge can transform worlds. Archie was an excellent teacher. There is no way for us to replace him, and as we struggle to go on without him our path is unclear. We knew this day would eventually come, but we certainly weren’t prepared for it to be today. We honor Archie’s memory and try to see our way past the grief of losing such a dear member of our family.

I would like to thank all of you that have kept us in your prayers, sent your support in the form of e-mails, phone calls and flowers. It is appreciated. Clay received Archie through Patriot Paws, a wonderful organization that provides service dogs to wounded warriors, and I encourage you to learn more by visiting http://www.patriotpaws.org. Archie may be gone but he will never be forgotten.

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