I have a seven-year-old son who will complete
chemotherapy in October for leukemia at St. Jude
Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. He said
that when his treatment is over, he wants to
"run into the ocean with a dog." We have
not been able to let him swim in the ocean for
the last three years of chemo. I am looking to
surprise him with a Golden because he bonded
with a Golden Therapy Dog at St. Jude.
Also, we had two Goldens before. If you have any
information on a Golden that flunked out of
training—that needs the love of a very brave
boy—that would be great for us. It would be hard
for me to train a puppy at this time (having
trained two before!). . . .
Brian's end of chemo party is October 4th at St.
Jude. I understand it will take a little while
to get his immune system back to normal and take
his port out. I'm thinking November, possibly
December for his big surprise? As far as cost,
realistically we could spend whatever it takes,
but $400 would be a relief. We have a lot of
medical bills. As far as age of the dog, that is
completely flexible. At 15 months, they begin to
realize that you're talking to them, if I
recall.
My first Golden was an American type Golden, but
our second was an English Golden named Bono. He
was a lifeguard dog. I had trained him to jump
in the pool, let the "drowning" person grab the
extra skin around his neck and he would pull
them to the pool steps. He also brought in our
morning paper, rain or shine. I miss him very
much. Brian was about two-years-old when Bono
died at age 13. In a way, it was a blessing
because it would have been very hard to have a
dog and go back and forth from our home in
Florida to St. Jude in Memphis. We also had to
keep our house so clean.
Thank you for any help you can provide. If it
doesn't work out, I am sure we will find the
right situation for Brian. We have been very
blessed so far. . . .
Brian had his last chemo in Florida yesterday
(September 28th). Monday, we go to St. Jude
Children's Research Hospital for biopsies, bone
density testing, MRI's, and scans. If they find
nothing, he will receive his last chemo ever!
— Nancy Quinlan, West Palm Beach, FL |