The Christmas Prayer
Once upon a time in a place far away there lived a little boy named Opie and his mother and father. They also had a beautiful greyhound named Jo-Jo. Jo-Jo was a 5-year-old 85-pound male, black retired racing greyhound. He had raced for a couple of years in Florida before he broke his left front leg. Opie thought he could have still raced if he had wanted to, because he sure ran fast in their back yard! Opie and Jo-Jo were best friends. Jo-Jo never treated Opie different or laughed at him the way some people did, especially some kids did. You see, Opie is in a wheel chair. The two playmates would go into the big back yard - Opie in his wheel chair that he pretended was a racing car, and Jo-Jo with his Mrs. Bones collar with racing greyhounds on it. They would have races, chase each other in their own special way, and just sit and "talk." Opie's Mom and Dad admitted that these two had a special communication between them - something almost magic, Opie's Mom said.
Opie was 8 years old, and he had muscular dystrophy. Beth and Steven Harrison, Opie's Mom and Dad, had gotten Jo-Jo for him when he was six. The two had bonded immediately. Jo-Jo seemed to understand from the beginning that Opie was special, and he named himself as Opie's protector and constant companion.
One week in early May, Steven had to take a business trip to New York. The Harrison's lived in Oakville, Connecticut. Steven and Beth decided that this would be a good chance for Opie to visit the Big Apple. Besides, there was a doctor there that specialized in children's muscular dystrophy. Opie seemed to be getting weaker, and his parents wanted to meet and talk with Dr. James Roper. All plans were made for the trip - Beth visited with Opie's teacher and made arrangements for Opie to keep up with his schoolwork. They had done this often the past year, because Opie was missing more and more school. He was a smart little boy, but 2nd grade could be tough even for smart kids.
Opie was excited about the trip because his Dad told him they were going to fly in a big airplane. Like all little boys, Opie couldn't wait to experience his first plane ride! The only thing that was holding him back was leaving Jo-Jo. He and Jo-Jo had never been apart, and Opie knew the big guy wouldn't understand. It just so happened that Beth's best friend, Becky worked at the veterinarian's office that cared of Jo-Jo. Beth was crazy about Jo-Jo, and offered to keep him at her house. She told Opie that he could go to work with her during the day, so he would never be alone. Opie thought about this and decided that Jo-Jo would probably enjoy seeing all the other animals at the vet's office, so he agreed that this was a good plan.
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