Mary Anne, Finn, and Sharky

2017 was a very hard year for me until I became part of Faithful Paws. My former two Goldens, Buffett and Mango, passed away three weeks from each other in January. I just got my puppy, Finn, two days before Buffett passed away. Two days after Buffett passed, my mother became ill and was either in the hospital or rehab facility until she passed away in May. I was always at the hospital, so I had to depend on neighbors and friends to take care of Finn for me. During this time, my business of 35 years was really starting to slow down and I was wondering what my next step was going to be.

My friend, Karen, and I had lunch after my mom passed away and she told me about Faithful Paws and suggested I look into volunteering. She told me there was a long waiting list and that I should go ahead and fill out the application. Two days later, I was told that Finn and I could start classes. On my first day of class, Connie, the Executive Director of Faithful Paws at the time, took Finn from me and was working with a very excitable Golden Retriever puppy. She scolded him very firmly and said “You are not a credible image for Faithful Paws”. Here I am thinking I am going to get kicked out before I had even started! I went to classes for six months and Connie kept telling me, “keep it up, Finn will be a great therapy dog.”

During my time in classes, Hurricane Harvey flooded my house I had inherited from my mother. I had been working hard to get it ready to have an estate sale and put the house up for sale. Now, I had to deal with a flooded house that was supposed to go on the market two days after it was flooded. I was lucky enough to be able to sell it the following year for lot value and very thankful I had flood insurance to offset my loss.

I continued to go to class every week until the next year when Connie and I both agreed it was time to test Finn, and he passed! I became involved and started making visits to assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and eventually, hospitals. I do about 25 visits a month with Finn and my other Golden, Sharky. I am thankful to Connie and Faithful Paws for putting a purpose back in my life after the many losses I had incurred in 2017. I am truly grateful to Connie for her patience and continuing to encourage me to keep working with Finn until he was ready to be tested and become part of a great organization.