Mike Lingenfelter - The Angel by My Side: The True Story of a Dog Who Saved a Man... and a Man Who Saved a Dog

Praise for The Angel by My Side

The partnership between Mike and Dakota was astonishing, humbling,
beyond descriptionand absolutely true. This remarkable story about a man
and a dog has volumes to teach us about healing, devotion, and the mysterious
and numinous bond of one soul to another. Must-reading for anyone who
has ever lovedor been lovedby a dog. For skeptics of the human-animal
bond, this book will make you a convert!

Susan Chernak McElroy, author of Animals as Teachers and Healers

The Angel by My Sidemagnificently showcases how, over the millennia,
weve come to find our relationship with pets inextricably woven into not just
our health and happiness, but our very survival. Nobody who reads this book
will ever look at their own pets the same way againtheyre not pets, theyre
life-support systems cleverly disguised as four-legged family members!
Do your pet and yourself a favor: Buy this book, and when youre
done reading it, keep it in the medicine cabinet for the next time
you need salve for your soul.

Marty Becker, D.V.M., veterinary contributor for
Good Morning America, chief veterinary correspondent for Amazon.com,
and author of The Healing Power of Pets

Get yourself a comfortable chair and a box of tissues, and curl up with this
book. As you read this remarkable story, you will come to believe in the
human-animal bond, if you didnt already.

Sophie Engelhard Craighead, Chairperson of the Board, Delta Society

Other Hay House Titles of Related Interest

Books

Doctors Cry, Too:Essays from the Heart of a Physician,
by Frank H. Boehm, M.D.

A Dozen Ways to Sunday:Stories of Hope and Courage,
by Montel Williams, with Daniel Paisner

Healing with the Angels:How the Angels Can Assist You in
Every Area of Your Life, by Doreen Virtue, Ph.D.

Its Not about the Horse:Its about Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt,
by Wyatt Webb, with Cindy Pearlman

A Journal of Love and Healing:Transcending Grief,
by Sylvia Browne and Nancy Dufresne

Natural Healing for Dogs and Cats AZ, by Cheryl Schwartz, D.V.M.

Audio Programs

Angels and Spirit Guides, by Sylvia Browne

Death and Grieving, by Marianne Williamson

How to Overcome Lifes Problems, by Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.

There Is a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem, by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Card Decks

Comfort Cards, by Max Lucado

Inner Peace Cards, by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Miracle Cards, by Marianne Williamson

All of the above are available at your local bookstore,
or may be ordered through Hay House, Inc.:

(800) 654-5126 or (760) 431-7695
(800) 650-5115 (fax) or (760) 431-6948 (fax)
www.hayhouse.com

Copyright 2002 by Michael Lingenfelter and David Frei

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc., P.O. Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018-5100 (800) 654-5126 (800) 650-5115 (fax) www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty Ltd, P.O. Box 515, Brighton-Le-Sands, NSW 2216 phone: 1800 023 516 e-mail: info@hayhouse.com.au Distributed in the United Kingdom by: Airlift, 8 The Arena, Mollison Ave., Enfield, Middlesex, United Kingdom EN3 7NL Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast, 9050 Shaughnessy St., Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6P 6E5

Editorial supervision: Jill Kramer Design: Jenny Richards
Interior photos: Courtesy of Mike Lingenfelter, except where noted

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews without prior written permission of the publisher.

The authors of this book do not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the authors is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the authors and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lingenfelter, Michael
The angel by my side : the true story of a dog who saved a man and a man who saved a dog / Michael Lingenfelter and David Frei.

p. cm.

ISBN 1-40190-021-6 (hardcover)

1. Golden retrieverTexasAnecdotes. 2. Service dogsTexasAnecdotes.

3. Lingenfelter, Michael

4. Human-animal relationshipsTexasAnecdotes. I. Frei, David. II. Title.

SF429.G63 L55 2002

636.762709764dc21

2002005926

ISBN 1-4019-0021-6

05 04 03 02 4 3 2 1
1st printing, September 2002

Printed in the United States of America

I dedicate this book to my wife, Nancy, for her unending
support during my recovery and the writing of this book;
and to my children, for their unquestioning belief in
Dakota and his power to heal me.
M.L.

This is for my late father, Jerry Frei, who continues to be,
as he always was, my spiritual counselor and inspiration.
D.F.

CONTENTS

What lies behind us and what lies before us are
tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am truly blessed to have known Dakota and to watch him live. I saw him work his magic, and he worked it on me.

For more than 30 years, Ive had a wonderful life in the world of dogs. My own dogs have enjoyed competitive success and have worked in animal-assisted therapy; and, since 1990, I have personally had the honor of being the television co-host for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on the USA Network.

But nothing I have ever experienced in the world of dogs has impacted my life like the story of Dakota and Mike. It may or may not change your life, but I hope that it touches you and shows you just how great our lives can be when we share them in a meaningful way with our wonderful dogs.

I first met Mike and Dakota in 1999, when I was hired as a public relations consultant for Delta Society to produce a video and handle the publicity for their annual awards show for Therapy Animals and Service Dogs of the Year. Mike and Dakota were one of the winning service-dog teams, so I flew to Dallas to shoot and produce the story. At the time, the story had just begunDakota was saving Mikes life, virtually every dayand it was a beautiful story to tell.