A birthday gift ended his lifelong fear of dogs

Matthias had been bitten twice as a child and spent years afraid of dogs. Then, on a birthday, a friend called and said the gift was waiting at her house. It turned out to be a pit bull puppy, cut up and shaking. The friend's brother had pulled him from a yard where people were throwing him at older dogs. Matthias named him Sampson and took him home. One frightened person, one frightened dog, learning the same lesson at the same time. A month later a tiny Rottweiler mix turned up lethargic at the end of the driveway. The veterinarian found plastic, foil, and other trash in her stomach, and she later developed Frog Leg Syndrome. She stayed anyway. For eight years the two dogs cured the fear entirely and pushed Matthias toward a new goal, becoming a veterinarian. "Some dreams simply take longer than others," Matthias wrote. The dogs are older now, living with another family.