Pet's Name Cadi

Your pet's story:Meet Therapy Dog Cadi. This is her story told by her best friend and handler, Linda Eastlake - who is part of the Auxiliary at Halifax Health: For a number of years, my lovely black Labrador therapy dog, Nelson, had accompanied me to Atlantic High where we would visit with students who faced a variety of challenges. Nelson just knew what each student needed and worked hard to provide it. One month after Nelson passed, in November of 2010, my daughter, a veterinarian, called me to say, “Mom, I have your next therapy dog.” She had recently delivered by C-section a litter of yellow Labradors for New Horizons Service Dogs, and one tiny puppy had developed an infection in her rear leg. My daughter had to remove the leg to save the pup’s life, which meant this pup could never be a service dog. New Horizons offered to let me have the puppy because they knew I would use her as a therapy dog. I wasn’t sure my heart was ready….it had been only 4 weeks since I had lost my beloved Nelson….and then I met the spunky irrepressible little tri-pod who became “Cadi.” Cadi was full of joy, self-assurance, and mischief, and was a dream to train. As soon as she reached her first birthday, we went through the process to make her an official therapy dog by registering her with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. Then we asked to join the Auxiliary at Halifax Health. Cadi has been visiting folks there regularly ever since. When she sees that blue Halifax Therapy Dog vest come out, she is ready to go!

Is your pet an HHS Alumni?