INDIANAPOLIS — Renee Jent was up early on that chilly, crisp, dark January morning. It was barely 4:30 a.m. and she was worried about Michael, her 16-year-old son, who was already up, too, getting ready for his 5:30 a.m. swim practice.
He seemed tired and groggy, which didn’t really surprise Renee. Michael had just been promoted to a higher-level Carmel team and with that came more intense, early morning practices. Plus, this was only his second day back to school after the holiday break during which Michael had kept a pretty carefree sleep schedule.
Renee thinks about that Friday morning all the time, how she almost drove him to practice. She even suggested it to Michael, but he was a stubborn kid who was very independent about taking care of himself and insisted he would be OK. She reluctantly said yes.
As he walked out the door, Renee told Michael to be careful and that she loved him then grabbed her phone to track him as he pulled away in his Jeep.
Minutes later, she saw it happen. She saw Michael’s Jeep no longer on the road, at a standstill, crashed into an apartment building.
Renee called Michael but he didn’t answer. She loaded the dogs into the car, Sterling and Bear, and headed to where he was. She didn’t wake her husband or Michael’s twin brother, Logan, or his younger brother, Aiden.
She had no idea how serious this was.
The crash had happened less than a mile and a half from the Jents’ house. But when Renee arrived, the ambulance and fire trucks were already there. They wouldn’t let Renee through to see her son. Instead, they had her sit in her car and calm down before they would let her drive. When they did, she rushed home to get Brian, her husband and Michael’s dad.
“And then when we got to the hospital, they told us how bad it was,” said Renee. “It was a very hard day.”
Michael suffered serious injuries in the crash — broken ribs, a broken femur, skull fracture and a broken arm. Both his lungs collapsed, and doctors told the family they believed his heart was bruised.
“When we saw him, he was in bad shape. We knew when we saw him on the ventilator how bad it was because we could tell his breathing was horrible,” said Renee, who along with Brian were once respiratory therapists. “But the neurologist who came in and talked to us the second morning was pretty grim and so we kind of knew then.”
They knew their kind, dog-loving, water sport fanatic son was not going to make it. Michael died Jan. 8, 2023, at the age of 16. Renee said she wasn’t sure she would ever recover from the grief. She didn’t want to leave the house. She wasn’t sure she could ever truly feel joy again.
More: Carmel swimmer, 16, dies after his Jeep crashes into building on way to practice
Yet, this week at the U.S. Olympic swim trials, she is smiling and laughing and feeling joy as Michael lives on through the family’s toffee-colored, kind-eyed Australian Labradoodle named Sterling, who is one of 60 therapy dogs provided for the athletes at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Before Michael died, he insisted the family get a dog. Then they got another dog named Bear. It was almost as if Michael knew the family would need them after he was gone.
“Those dogs,” says Renee, “saved all of us.”
‘A way to find joy despite my overwhelming grief’
The Jent family had a rescue dog years ago, but after he died, Aiden discovered he had an allergy to dogs. Michael was disappointed. Out of everyone in the family, he desperately wanted another dog.
Renee, Brian and Aiden were all in on the surprise for Michael and Logan. After hearing from friends that the Australian Labradoodle was a hypoallergenic dog, they tested Aiden’s tolerance to Sterling. No allergic reactions.
On Christmas morning 2021, Sterling was waiting by the tree as Michael and Logan came down the stairs. Renee was videoing their reactions, but didn’t get much. Michael thought Sterling was a stuffed animal. Logan assumed Renee was pet sitting for someone.
When Michael realized Sterling was in fact a real puppy and the family’s new puppy, he was thrilled. The Jents soon brought home another dog of the same breed named Bear. Michael was always hanging out with them, watching TV with them and having them by his side as he studied.
After he died, those dogs were everything to the family. They were a reminder of the happy times when Michael was with them. They were readymade therapy dogs, even though neither had the training. They really didn’t need it.
But then Renee had an idea. It was August 2023 and Logan was heading back to school for his senior year and Aiden was a sophomore. Renee was sitting in the house, as she had been doing since Michael died.
“For a long time, I stayed home unless I absolutely had to go somewhere. And I just couldn’t stay home anymore,” she said. “I knew I needed to get out and do some other things.”
She found the organization, Paws & Think, a 23-year-old nonprofit which offers pet therapy services and programs to more than 50 partners, including schools, libraries and hospitals.
“Michael is a huge reason I decided to volunteer with Sterling. He and his brother Bear were my therapy dogs during the hardest time in my life,” said Renee. “They didn’t leave my side when I was struggling at home during the initial shock and depression that followed after losing Michael.”
Once at Paws & Think, Renee found a purpose and she began to heal.
“It was refreshing to be in a new place watching others work with their dogs and it was fun to teach Sterling new commands,” she said. “It made me learn how to laugh again. I was able to find a way to feel joy despite my overwhelming grief.”
‘Onto the Olympic trials’
Shortly after Sterling passed his training test in the winter, Paws & Think announced they were looking for therapy dog teams to provide comfort and stress relief to the athletes competing in the Olympic Swim Trials at Lucas Oil.
“Swimming and dogs were two of Michael’s favorite things so I immediately knew I wanted to be a part of this event and give back to all the athletes,” said Renee, “but especially to all the local swimmers who rallied around our family when we needed the support.”
Therapy teams, which include a dog and a handler, are at the trials every morning and evening throughout the nine-day event, helping athletes destress and unwind before each session, whether its prelims or finals. By the end of the week, Paws & Think will have provided nearly 140 therapy visits for the athletes.
The first day, Sterling was a little nervous. But on the second day, as soon Renee parked the car, he knew where he was and what he was going to do. Renee said she is sure Michael is smiling somewhere as he watches his dog interacting with all the elite swimmers, some of whom he knew from Carmel.
“Michael would be so happy that his dogs are providing comfort to others,” said Renee.
What exactly happened that early morning in January 2023, the family still is not sure. Renee calls it “just a very freak accident.” The Jents don’t know if Michael fell asleep or looked at his phone, causing the crash. Police said there was no evidence the crash was intentional.
“Whatever it was, we can’t change it,” Renee said, “so we just kind of had to move past that.” Moving forward, while always keeping Michael in their hearts, has been the family’s mission.
When Logan graduated in the spring, it was a bittersweet moment for the family knowing that would have been Michael’s graduation, too. Logan is going to Auburn in the fall to become a pilot with plants to do international flights. Michael wanted to travel the world, too, and do photography. Renee believes Logan is carrying on his twin brother’s love.
Aiden is carrying on Michael’s other love. He just moved up to the higher-level group in swimming that Michael had been promoted to just before his death. Renee is in awe of her family’s strength, and she is proud of the strength she has found, too.
“I honestly have no idea how we’re all doing the things we’re doing because we were so sad for such a long time,” said Renee. “I know Michael would be proud of how far we’ve all come since that terrible day in January of 2023.”
Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: A dog saved a family from grief provides therapy at U.S. Swim Trials
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