When Frank met OTR truck driver Richard Ferguson that momentous day, both were in tough spots. Frank was skin and bones. Open wounds marred his fragile and raw frame. Ferguson, too, had encountered trouble many times, the result of his wild temper.
“Frank found me,” recalls Ferguson of the dog who turned his life around.
“I got up that morning and turned on my wipers to clear off the windshield. A dog sat in the road looking at me. I said, ‘Where did you come from?’”
Ferguson coaxed Frank into his truck. “Want some food?” he asked. Frank jumped into the truck, as if he’d done it countless times before.
That was a year-and-a-half ago. The truck driver and Labrador-pit bull mix have been a team ever since.
Ferguson, an owner operator leased to H&M Trucking, has struggled to manage his anger his whole life. As a boy, he endured nightmares and got into trouble in school. As he grew older, he became more aggressive, often confronting strangers. Through it all, he tried counseling and anger management classes. Nothing helped, until Frank came along.
“We both tame each other,” says Ferguson, 49. “I keep him calm, he keeps me calm. Since Frank’s been with me, I feel better.”
In fact, Frank, short for Hobo Frank, has officially been certified as Ferguson’s service dog.
Since Ferguson began traveling with Frank, he has not had a single confrontation.
“Frank keeps me mellow,” Ferguson says. “If I get loud about something, Frank investigates. He puts his head on my lap and calms me right back down. Because of Frank, I have learned to control my anger, learned to hold my lip. As a result, my arguments don’t progress like they used to.”
Lasting Impact
For those with CDL trucking jobs, life on the road can be dangerous—especially at truck stops, where crime ramps up at night. For Ferguson, Frank serves as more than an anger management tool. He’s also a security system, a confidant, a constant companion.
“What impact has Frank had on my life? A big one,” says Ferguson. “I can do this without Frank, but I don’t want to do it without Frank. I don’t want a replacement. There is no replacement for him.”
When Frank can’t get into the truck anymore, Ferguson says, he’ll probably give up trucking. “Until then, we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing. Up north, down south, we’re going to keep traveling.”
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