Our Story

My name is Angela, my husband is Kirby, and dogs have always been part of our lives.

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of following my dad and our dog, Daisy, through overgrown fields in pursuit of rooster pheasants. Kirby worked in a vet clinic growing up, and like me, has always loved animals. 

We passed on that love of animals to our three children, who learned how to responsibly train and care for our family dogs through dog 4-H. As time went on, our daughters moved away to college, our son went into the Air Force and the dogs they grew up with grew old and passed away. 

Our oldest daughter began looking for an allergy-friendly dog that would be eager and intelligent enough to train for service work, and that’s when I started researching the Australian Labradoodle breed. After hours and hours of research, we all agreed that the breed was a good fit for her… and for Kirby and me. With our children away, the house was quieter than ever, and I wanted a sweet little buddy of our own. So, my daughter adopted a smart and funny male puppy and his sister came to live with us. 

There is nothing better than having a fun, wiggly little puppy in your home. We enjoyed every second of it! But, one month after bringing the new puppy home, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. 

Our puppy, Katie, immediately became my personal therapy/service/emotional support dog. She napped with me when I needed to rest, waited patiently to go outside when I experienced episodes of temporary immobility and loved me and licked away my tears when I sat on the floor and cried. Katie forced me to get out of bed in the morning and move, even though walking was often difficult.

My symptoms have now greatly improved, and I am so thankful that she was there to make me smile and laugh when I was struggling to deal with the reality of having this disease. Katie is now retired from her breeding career and I’m looking forward to training her as a certified Therapy Dog so that we can share with others the healing and support that she brought to me. 

Katie is one of four beautiful Australian Labradoodles who live with us and keep us smiling, laughing, and well loved, just as our other dogs do for their guardian families. Life is so much richer with them in it: Whether they are being MS medicine for me, stress relief for my husband or simply a sweet part of our family, they bring us incredible joy.

Angela Gordon