The 50-year-old said he developed neurotoxicity while working in the automotive industry, his exposure to chemicals and solvents causing damage to his brain. He moved in with his mother at age 27, no longer able to work or navigate high-stimulus situations. “Disability can be extremely isolating,” Kane said. “But Sophie encourages social interaction. She puts a smile on people’s faces, and it’s infectious. That lifts your day.” Kane’s story features in a new book,
Friends Indeed by Sue Allison, which focuses on 41 people and their assistance dogs. The book also features blind Wellington man George Taggart, who was stopped from boarding a bus because the driver did not believe poodle Guss was a guide dog; an Afghanistan veteran with complex regional pain syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder supported by German shepherd Delta; and a 15-year-old quadruple amputee whose Labrador Charlotte starts the working day by helping her dress.