Dogs make everyone smile!
Type of Volunteer:
Hos-pet volunteer
Where is your hometown?
Oak Hill, West Virginia
In what place have you lived the longest?
The state of West Virginia the longest; then on to Marietta, GA, then 14 years in Buffalo, NY, 13 years in Jacksonville, FL, and now 4 years in Bluffton, SC.
What is your favorite place that you’ve lived or visited?
My favorite place I’ve visited is Barbados.
What convinced you to move to the Lowcountry?
My cousin living here.
What is your current occupation? If you are retired, what was your past career?
Retired Technical Trainer
What are three of your favorite hobbies?
Playing tennis, mah-jongg, and cards.
What is your most memorable moment in volunteering with HCL?
Every moment I get to see a smile on an Assisted Living Facility resident.
What have you learned in your experience volunteering with hospice?
Dogs make everyone smile!
What inspired you to volunteer with HCL?
Once when my mother, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, was living in a Skilled Nursing Facility, I was visiting on “Doggie Day.” I witnessed the joy and excitement the residents showed at the sight and touch of the dogs. One of my treasured photos of Mom is holding a puppy that had just licked her on the cheek….the smile is priceless!
At that moment I decided upon my retirement I would get a dog and have her certified as a therapy dog so we could make people smile.
Do you volunteer with other nonprofits in the area?
I served as a Wedding Coordinator with the wedding ministry at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church.
Have you or your family been personally affected by hospice?
My husband and a best friend both passed away under hospice care.
What is your happiest or most rewarding volunteering story?
It’s not my story, but I love to hear the stories the residents tell. They love to reminisce about their former pets as they are petting my dog, Layla.
What is your favorite part of volunteering with hospice?
Seeing the joy the dogs bring to the residents.
How does HCL’s mission inspire you?
I hope I can bring a little comfort to someone by sharing Layla with the patients.
What skills make you a better volunteer?
It’s not a skill, but people frequently say my smile lights up a room.
What do you wish people knew about HCL?
How caring and compassionate the staff is.
How has being a hospice volunteer changed your outlook on life?
I know there is always someone there to help me or my family and friends when the time comes.
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
I would have the ability to be in two places at once so I could accomplish more.
What would you want your last words to be?
“Thank you!”
