Until Tuesday - Luis Montalvan (2011) Book

What do a hardened prisoner, a deprived teenager and a war veteran have in common?

A golden retriever called Tuesday. 

But Tuesday is no ordinary dog.  He is born to be raised as an assistance dog.  His training starts with the East Coast Assistance Dogs (ECAD) from a few days old, however when he joins the ‘Puppies Behind Bars’ scheme,  his innate sense of loyalty nearly destroys his chances of making the grade.

Perhaps it was fate that forced Tuesday’s training to be extended so that he could be matched to his perfect partner, a man whose own loyalty to his fellow men and country has led him to be so physically and mentally damaged  as to require an assistance dog.  This man is Luis Montalvan who is also the author.

Montalvan uses the knowledge he has gained from Lu Piccard, the founder of ECAD and his own understanding of Tuesday’s nature to describe those early years of his dog’s life before they were paired together. He clearly takes pleasure in writing about his beloved Tuesday but the dog is only part of his story.  Montalvan is forced to recount the horrors his time in Iraq and to once again confront his demons. 

When stationed in Al-Waleed (a port of entry between Syria and Iraq), an unprecedented attack causes our hero to suffer cracked vertebrae, traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress (PTSD). The injuries went undiagnosed at the time due to Montalvan’s refusal to be sent to Baghdad for X-rays.  He was not going to risk being sent home when he had unfinished business in Al-Waleed, so he insisted that there is no permanent damage and returned to the war zone. 

Despite his injuries, Montalvan went on to sign up for a second tour of duty.  Surviving on a cocktail of pain killers and alcohol, his sheer determination drives him to carry out his duties efficiently.  It is no wonder that when his tour of duty finally ends, he is a broken man. 

One Tuesday in July 2008, Montalvan receives a missive from the veteran service organisation advising him of a project  called ‘Puppies Behind Bars’ that has 30 dogs a year to place, free of charge, with veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who are suffering PTSD,  traumatic brain injury or physical injuries.  By this time he is suffering from debilitating social anxiety, dizziness and frequent falls and, due to his back injury, can barely tie his own shoe laces; besides which, he is desperately lonely.  As a dog lover, Montalvan is convinced that this scheme will provide the solution to his problems.

Owing to the nature of PTSD, there are only a limited number of characters that feature in this book, but when they do, Montalvan is masterful in his portrayal.  At the training school he meets the other assistance dog recipients, African American Ricky Boone, a five foot four ‘beefed up bowling ball’ who specialises in Mr T impressions, Andrew Hanson a quiet soldier from Minnesota who had lost his legs to an IED (improvised explosive device) and plucky Army Sgt Mary Dague, a 20 year old who had lost both her arms above the elbow to an IED.  Each individual is matched carefully to the most suitable dog and the affect it has on their confidence is profound.  In the case of Montalvan and Tuesday, the bonding is not instant, but a sign of mutual respect ensures that the relationship quickly develops. 

PTSD is not obvious to the average onlooker but it is as disabling to the sufferer as losing a limb.  It is not something that a person will ‘get over given time’, it is there for life.  A large part of the book focuses so expertly on the isolation, fear and anxiety caused by PTSD that even the reader is comforted by Tuesday’s presence. 

Life should have improved for Montalvan once Tuesday entered his life, and in many ways it did, but then he is faced with new hostilities in the form of discrimination and accusations of fraud. 

Like every good story, there is a happy ending and Tuesday is the hero of the day, but it is only by reading this book that one can gain a true insight into the remarkable relationship of the war hero and his assistance dog and understand the depth of feeling and devotion that exists between them.

Note to UK readers:

In one chapter Montalvan describes the benefits of grooming his dog.  It is generally agreed that this is not only an essential part of well dog healthcare but has other benefits too.  Grooming assists bonding, acts as a de-stressor for both parties, and gives the groomer an opportunity to recognise any health problems that may be present.  Montalvan describes finding a cyst and lancing it with a sharp blade fortunately without ill-effects however London Dog Forum would like to remind UK readers that any invasive surgery is against the law in this country unless carried out by a fully qualified veterinary surgeon (The Veterinary Surgeon’s Act 1966).