and yes, indeed, he meant what he said. Cillah
and I “performed” 11 or 12 takes, barefooted. It
was a little difficult to walk breezily through the
scene without shoes. But we managed to pull
it off. We think.
Of course, one of the highlights was meeting
Marshall himself, who walked onto the set without an arrogant bone in his body. You would
never know he was a celebrity – the movie’s
namesake – as he greeted guests of all ages,
genders, shapes and sizes with the same kindness and acceptance as any regular dog on the
street might have.
But then again, just that sort of gentle, tolerant behavior is what Marshall and his owner,
Cyndi Willenbrock, a producer for Marshall the
Miracle Dog and author of the book of the same
name, have been striving to spread through
talks and visits to countless schools since they
joined forces three years ago.
It takes a kind and compassionate person to
“take on” an adult special needs dog. But Cyndi
knew when she began searching for a companion for her black Labrador retriever, Mooshy,
that she wanted a rescue dog. Little did she
know how much they would change each
other’s lives.
“He had healed physically, but not emotionally,” Cyndi said. “He had nightmares, he
howled and ‘ran’ in his sleep.
“I soothed him, and in my own mind, I knew
I had to forgive the hoarder for what she had
done,” she said. “His distress also tapped into
my own insecurities, making me wonder if I had
what it takes to care for a special needs dog. It
took a lot of prayer.”
One night, it occurred to her that Marshall
was not that different than she was. Growing
up, she had times when she felt lonely and was
even bullied by other children, and journaling
had always helped her. Maybe it would work
for him, too.
“I said, ‘Buddy, what if I write down your
story, and tell others about what happened?’”
Cyndi said. “I kept thinking that Dr. Schwartz
had said this dog had a purpose, so I wrote his
story, and I knew it was meant to teach others
about empathy and forgiveness.”
Marshall has been trained as a therapy dog
and has helped countless people of all ages,
from small children to senior citizens. Something about his gentleness even in the face of
his obvious injuries, is inspiring and heart
warming.
She printed the story in book form, at first
thinking she would print only a few copies, but
then a screenwriter contacted her who had gotten ahold of one of
them.
“It took him a year to become certified. Because of his expe ɥ