Rounding out the family

Mike Sciacca

David Gruca has waited for this moment for nearly five years.

A quadriplegic as a result of a motorcycle accident 25 years ago,

the Huntington Beach resident received his first assistance dog:

Loma, a 2-year-old golden retriever-labrador mix, on Aug. 16.

Loma has at last graduated from Canine Companions for Independence

in Oceanside and has made her way into the Huntington Beach home

Gruca shares with his life companion, Rhonda Holden.

“She’s brought so much happiness into our home in such a short

period of time,” said Gruca, 47. “She’s living here like she’s always

lived here. We’ve really, really bonded and she’s definitely part of

our family. We can’t ever part with her.”

For the past 25 years, Gruca has needed assistance in a variety of

manners, from opening a door to getting the telephone. Holden has

always been there for him but five years ago, Gruca applied for an

assistance dog through Canine Companions for Independence.

Several interviews led to Gruca getting placed on a waiting list

which, he said, was a three-year wait.

The entire process, from when he first applied to when he received

Loma, took five years.

“The average wait for an assistance dog is two-to-five years and,

on average, just one out of four dogs make it to graduation,” said

Christina Carreno of Canine Companions for Independence, a national

nonprofit organization that provides assistance dogs and ongoing

support to people with physical or developmental disabilities.

During the wait, Gruca didn’t know anything about Loma, nor, did

he have any idea whom the “puppy raisers” of Loma were.

That is where Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton and his wife,

Lori, entered Gruca’s life.

“I didn’t know anything about who had raised Loma,” Gruca said.

“When it came down to selecting a dog, we were put in a room with

about seven dogs to see how things matched up. I narrowed it down to

two dogs and went back and forth between the two -- it was a tough

decision. I finally chose Loma because I thought she’d fit better

into our environment.

“The people at [Canine Companions for Independence] thought it was

a perfect match, too. It was about then that I found out that Bill

and Lori Walton had raised Loma.”

For 14 months, the Waltons raised, trained and socialized Loma in

their San Diego home. It was the first time they had raised a dog

through the Canine Companions for Independence puppy raiser program.

They took Loma to stores and restaurants and bi-monthly training

programs.

But the Waltons knew they would have to give Loma back to Canine

Companions for Independence.

“Bill cried during the entire Matriculation ceremony,” Lori Walton

said. “It was very hard for both of us.”

For the next nine months, Loma underwent advanced training and

during that time, the Waltons were not allowed contact with her.

As her training neared its end and graduation ceremonies

approached, Gruca received a long-awaited phone call.

“It was Aug. 4 and we got a phone call telling us someone had

canceled, so Rhonda and I packed quickly and headed for San Diego,”

Gruca said. “We were very excited but suddenly, it was happening so

fast.”

Gruca and Holden underwent a thorough two-week training program

designed to teach participants how to work with their new canine

companion.

“They were training us, the owners,” Gruca said. “We stayed in the

[Canine Companions for Independence] dorms the entire two weeks. It

was pretty intense.”

Prior to the graduation ceremony, the Waltons, who are currently

are raising their second assistance dog -- another Golden

Retriever-Labrador mix named, Shasta -- were reunited with Loma.

They then presented her to Gruca and Holden.

“This isn’t about us,” Bill Walton said from Pendleton, Ore. where

he and Lori were helping to raise funds for the needy at the Umitilla

Indian Reservation. “Our job was to help David. Loma is a very

special dog. Besides her skills, she brings an incredible joy to the

world. When I saw her interact with David, it was an amazing sight.

“My wife and I are the luckiest people in the world. We’ve had our

dreams come true and now it’s our job, our responsibility, our

obligation, to help make the dreams of others come true.”

While Loma continues to get used to her surroundings in the

Gruca/Holden household -- she has even taken over Rhonda’s half of

the bed while the family watches television -- Gruca and Holden said

that Loma will accompany them to school at Cal State Long Beach at

the start of the fall quarter on Sept. 2.

Both are entering their senior year as human development majors.

“She will carry things around for me on campus,” he said. “She’s a

very bright dog. She knows right from left and the difference when to

go in front of or behind me. Now, with Loma in our life, I will start

to look into the PhD programs.”

Gruca, Holden and Loma also were to visit the Waltons earlier this

week in San Diego.

“We are ecstatic about having David and Rhonda as new friends,”

Bill Walton said. “And, of course, it will be wonderful to see Loma.

The three of them make a great family.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.