Kate suffers from a chronic illness that makes it difficult to get out and about. Combine that with a tendency to want to “stay in and let her aching bones rest,” Kate was destined to be a recluse.

Until she met Cinnamon at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter. She had gone to the shelter to find a dog that would fit well in her apartment complex of people 55 and older. She came back with Cinnamon. “Basically, I was looking for a dog who would fit in with my nice, clean orderly apartment,” Kate recalls. “I came out with this ragamuffin.”

Like Kate, Cinnamon had been through some rough times. A transfer from an overcrowded Southern California shelter, Cinnamon came in injured and had to have her back leg amputated. The initial adopter didn’t work out. The dog was often picked up on the streets as a stray and the guardian at the time said she “just didn’t want her.”

Kate and Cinnamon are now inseparable and not just because they love each other. Cinnamon recently became Kate’s certified emotional support dog.

“It’s hard for me because sometimes I get up in the morning and I just feel tired, and I want to stay in. But if you have a dog, you’ve got to get up. She gets me going in the morning. She’s helped me so much; she’s my angel.”

And not just for Kate. Her fellow residents look forward to frequent visits, hugs and tail wags. Cinnamon will often jump up on the couch for kiss or roll on the floor waiting for a belly rub.

“She brings a lot of joy to everyone. At first, I was Cinnamon’s mom, before I became Kate. Thanks to her, I know at least 90 percent of the people in the complex. It’s her personality. If I had a dog that just walks past people, it would have been different. But that’s not Cinnamon. She’s got to go right up to people and wag her tail. She expects everyone to pay attention to her, and they do.”

Cinnamon also does everything with a special touch and humor. Teaching her basic commands, Kate noticed Cinnamon would get how to sit or lie down, but would only do it with a shrug and a flip to the head that made her ears flop. It’s her way.

“She always goes for the laugh; she has a real personality.”

Do you have an inspiring story that you’d like to share about your companion animal? Please email Ben at bswan@sfhumanesociety.org.