27/10/2022
A little backstory of why I started this journey. We’ve had goldens in my family a combined over 30 years, they’re our heart breed. My mom was a survivor of multiple strokes and a brain aneurysm, she recovered, mostly. To a certain degree she was comprised and dealt with anxiety, OCD, and depression. One thing that my mom loved was her dogs, but she struggled with the excessive shedding of goldens (I know it may seem silly to many, but not to those that are/have suffered from OCD/anxiety). She always wanted a Goldendoodle, eventually that day came true for her. We both had Goldendoodles, one was poorly bred, she suffered a fatal seizure in 2020, a day before the 2 year mark of my moms death, and the other suffered with anxiety and lacked confidence a lot. She still loved her doodle, Dory, and she was there for my mom when she was lonely.
My mom passed away very suddenly in June of 2018 when I was 8.5 months pregnant. I don’t often admit it, but I’ve suffered from extreme anxiety and PTSD that I hide very well. Late in 2018 I wanted to begin the search to find a dog to start a program with dogs for those suffering PTSD. By 2019 we purchased our foundation dog, Chava, after extensive research. Dogs touch a part of my heart that no one can touch, when people have failed me my dogs have been there, through the continued daily grief from my mom my dogs have been there. A friend recommended this curriculum to use in my program, when I looked into this I know I found my place. Where I’m supposed to be.
It feels surreal to finally get my logo and business name in place for my dogs. My mom helped name my daughter a few days before she died, I knew it had to be included in this. She’s the driving force behind why I’m starting this journey. I’m so ready to start this and work with families to find that special pup for their hearts. Each year I plan on donating pups in my moms name, Sherri, in hopes to continue her legacy through the heart healing work these pups will do. I look forward to continuing to grow and learning daily in this program.