Linda is quick to credit her husband
and two sons for family support during her treatments for cancer. But Sport – well let’s just say he hung the moon for Linda during those rough moments while undergoing chemo. And, he still does.
“I have what I call little souvenirs,
thanks to cancer. Neuropathy is one. Sport just gets me. He knows when I need quiet comfort,” said Linda. “And, he knows how to just be, for me. The warmth of his body helps warm my arthritic hands. When Sport and I are vis- iting other people who need comfort, I don’t think about my own pain or challenges. Sport helps renew me in a different way.” As volunteer puppy raisers for
Southeastern Guide Dogs, Linda and her husband have a house full of dogs, now. Bob was their first puppy through Southeastern Guide Dogs. “After the
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puppy raising period, we returned Bob to Southeastern Guide Dogs, thinking he would go through training as a service dog and be partnered with a veteran.” While Bob was in training, back at
Southeastern Guide Dogs, he was diag- nosed with having bad hind quarters. “They called me with the news that he could not be a service dog, and asked if we would like to adopt him,” said Linda. “I just started crying, knowing that he would be coming back home to us.” It’s understandable that the thought
of death’s door lurked in Linda’s mind, even after Sport came along; even after they began their journey of helping others through pet therapy. “When I look at all that we’ve accomplished, never in a million years did I think I would be alive this long. I truly believed that I would die before Sport, to the point of making arrangements with Eric, my younger son, to take Sport, after I was gone.”
After their first 50 visits, Linda
wondered about her stamina and how many more visits they would be able to complete. Within 14 months of volunteer service, they had completed a little more than 200 site visits. She’s now training Bob to become a therapy dog and they’re raising Sherman, another Southeastern Guide Dogs puppy-in-training. Linda believes that Bob’s return to
them was a sign that the volunteer work she and her family are doing is the right path. While she’s not fully in remission from cancer, her doctors have told Linda to keep doing whatever it is she’s been doing to regain her strength and improve her health. “So, we’ll continue with the therapy
visits, day by day, as we’ve been doing since 2015. Having the dogs keeps my focus on the now instead of worrying about next week. That’s the gift dogs give us - the joy at hand, right now.”U
THE NEW BARKER 45
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