"Lap up," Chris says, and without a moment's hesitation, Morgan, his German shepherd, obeys.

Morgan is a service animal but she's the most unusual service dog you will ever meet. Most service dogs are trained to help the physically disabled to experience greater independence. These selfless dogs help the blind have greater mobility. Men and women with spinal cord injuries rely on service dogs to be their hands and feet. These dogs are trained to assist their owners with all the daily living tasks we take for granted.

But Morgan doesn't do any of these things. A lovable, big-hearted dog, Morgan's job is to help Chris feel safe. Diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (a mild form of autism) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, life for twenty-year old Chris has been a living hell.

His parents, Janet and Phil, knew from the time Chris was two years old that something wasn't right with their son. Any environmental change, like going outside, getting into a car or going into a store, would cause Chris to throw a tantrum.

By the time Chris reached adolescence, his life became unbearable. Taunted by classmates, the object of derision by bullies, Chris not only had to contend with the torment of his peers, but his own inner torment. One of the favorite sports of school bullies was to load French fries with ketchup and then throw them at Chris.

Unable to make eye contact and suffering multiple panic attacks, Chris's world had become a nightmare. In desperation, Janet took Chris out of school and began home schooling him. But the attacks worsened.

The family, Phil, Janet and younger brother, Chase, could not even go out to dinner. Such outings prompted a full blown panic attack for Chris. Janet and Phil wondered how their son would ever develop relationships with others. His whole world had essentially become his bedroom.

Nearly defeated and broken-hearted, Janet and Phil did not want this kind of life for their very bright and talented son. At a meeting for advocates of the disabled, Janet learned something incredible.

Again and again, she heard of autistic children responding to service dogs. It sounded too good to be true. Could she really get a dog for her son and suddenly watch him blossom? Could he really begin to relate to others in a more normal way if she got him a service dog?

But she heard parents tell their stories over and over. Yes, they said, it was true. Desperate, the Bordens sought out a non-profit group that trains service dogs.

Enter Morgan, a feisty 2-year old German Shepherd service dog. Lovable and big-hearted, she and Chris bonded immediately. In fact, the trainer would not allow anyone to interact with Morgan for the first week until Morgan understood that Chris was her person to care for. She was trained to check on Chris every 15 minutes. What could be more rewarding to a dog than to be stroked and loved every 15 minutes!

When Chris does have a panic attack, Morgan will flip her nose on Chris's arm until he focuses on her, not the attack. The attack ends before it has a chance to take hold. Chris literally trusts Morgan with his life. And because of that, Chris's world has opened up. Morgan has become so sensitive to Chris's condition that she can literally sense when he's about to have a panic attack.

Chris is now a twenty-year old college student making straight A's. Morgan goes with him everywhere. His life has been elevated to new heights, showing Chris what he could not discover on his own.

That is, until November. Morgan became suddenly ill. Standing in a fetal position, Morgan's head was tucked as far as it could go between her front legs, her tail curled between her back legs. She lost interest in Chris, in everything. "Morgan is completely focused on Chris. That's her training. For her to come to a complete stop, we knew something was terribly wrong," Janet said.

Janet and Phil were out of town when the incident occurred. But they encouraged Chris to take Morgan to the vet. A friend went with him. Morgan was in such excruciating pain the two had to carefully place her on a stretcher to transport her.

Once they got to the vet's office, the recommendation was for further testing at Oklahoma State University Veterinary School of Medicine. The vet was not hopeful. It could be lesions, cancer or a tumor. But more in-depth testing was needed to pin down the cause.

At OSU, the family learned Morgan had an unstable disc in her neck. Not only was surgery required, special equipment was needed to perform it. OSU had to requisition to get the equipment. That meant it would take time to get it.

Morgan was not adjusting well to her stay in the hospital. She may have been sick but her connection to Chris hadn't lessened. Always highly motivated by food, she now would only eat and drink when her family was around her.
Finally, the vets changed her IV meds to oral meds and sent her home with her family. No one was hopeful. Chris cared for his companion as lovingly as she had cared for him. High-powered pain meds and plenty of rest was the veterinary order while the Bordens waited for the medical equipment to arrive. They also contacted The Mosby Foundation and we extended our help.

The family had to talk about all possibilities with Morgan, including the distinct possibility that she might not make it. They submerged themselves in the fear, and the "What if's?" It was very hard, but they faced the crisis together.

In the meantime, something very strange began to happen. Morgan became alert and playful again. She was still on the medication but she appeared to be fine.

Three weeks before Christmas, the equipment arrived. Chris's professors respected him enough to allow him to proxy his classes for the last three weeks of the semester. He still finished the semester with a 4.0 grade average.

The Bordens took Morgan back to OSU. There the vets performed preliminary tests to confirm the pain. But there wasn't any. Baffled, the vets took Morgan off the meds and let her run around. Still no pain. The pain never returned. Morgan was indeed fine.

The veterinary staff theorized that Morgan's healing time with Chris allowed the damaged disc to form scar tissue alleviating the pain in her spine. Morgan is now home and back on the job she loves so much. She's scarfing down food, checking in on Chris and just being a big lovable "chow hound," as the Bordens call her.

Relieved and grateful that the surgery wasn't necessary, the Bordens know Morgan's medical condition could change at any time. "It's been an amazing journey for us," Janet told us.

Because service dogs don't have a long service life, and because of Morgan's medical condition, a Golden Retriever currently in training is scheduled to come live with the Bordens in one year. The new dog will stay alongside Chris and Morgan until Morgan's eventual retirement.

Of course, Morgan's not going anywhere. She's a family member, loved, respected and just plain adored by the Borden family. After all, she's the one responsible for turning Chris's life around.

Janet laughs and says, "She's a strong willed, high energy busy, smart, fun dog." We'd like to add "truly amazing" to that list. The Mosby Foundation hopes that Morgan's good health continues well past "happily ever after!"