Otis

6/1999 - 7/2014

Otis, Portuguese Water Dog, therapy and animal-assisted crisis response dog who touched many lives with his canine comfort, died July 6, 2014, after 15 irreplaceable years. He was born June 27,1999 in Portland, Oregon. From the beginning, even as a young puppy, he was a gentle, intuitive old-soul with a mission to bring canine comfort to people of all ages. His biggest pleasures were to love and be loved, not only by his family, but also those who were able to benefit from his sweet, calm, nurturing temperament.

With his human companions, Marcy & Richard Lowy, when he was 18 months old, he became an official animal-assisted-therapy dog team with Delta Society, now known as Pet Partners. He, Marcy, & Richard then began visiting at Shriners Hospital for Children with children who were in-patients, clinic out-patients, or going through rehab. Soon after, in addition, at Providence St. Vincent's Hospital, where he was the first therapy dog welcomed to visit in-patient rooms, he spent time with radiation oncology & chemo out-patients, He brought many smiles to cancer patients who were under treatment or in hospice care as well as the often-stressed staff. One of his gifts was to know who really needed him the most. He would quietly approach, sit, and then press his body against the recipient's leg. When he visited a patient who was terminal, he climbed in bed alongside the patient, would gently hold an arm between his paws, and softly lick a hand. In early 2002, he, Marcy, & Richard trained & certified as a team for animal-assisted crisis response, an advanced application of animal-assisted therapy. His crisis response work included working at the World Trade Center and related sites after the 9/11 attacks, Red Cross evacuation shelters following major forest fires, comforting survivors of fatal motor vehicle accidents, students & staff who survived school shootings, and bringing relief to children of deployed military families. He was awarded “Spirit of the American Red Cross Hero” in 2006 for his work in animal-assisted therapy & crisis response. He continued with his comfort work, often in partnership with Marcy, Richard, & his housemate, Willy until his well-deserved retirement at 13 when he developed age-related issues. Besides his service-filled life, nurturing spirit, & being a most loving companion to his family & many friends, Otis especially reveled in swimming at the beach, doing lots of tricks, playing with tennis balls, & getting frequent nose-to-tail-massages.

Willy

11/2003 - 4/2019

Willy (AKC Champion Tanaki's Will Turner), a Portuguese Water Dog, was born in Mission, Canada Nov. 15, 2003 and lived with Marcy and Richard Lowy, and his housemate, Otis, from the time he was 8 weeks old. As a puppy, he was continually on search & destroy missions, very energetic, loved to play tug, & didn't show much promise for having the calm temperament for comfort work. Somehow, though, around a year old, he must have gotten the “calm-down" memo from Otis. When he was 18 months old, in 2005, Willy became a Delta Society(now Pet Partners) Pet Partner. Until Otis' retirement, they often worked together as a foursome with their human partners supporting patients & staff at Shriners Hospital for Children (in-patient, clinic patients, physical therapy departments ); Providence St. Vincent Hospital(In-patient Oncology, Out-patient Infusion,Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Pediatrics, & wherever requested); at Barnes & William Walker Elementary Schools assisting individual children who had learning disabilities. Willy especially loved children, and out on walks, would pull his humans across the street to snuggle with babies & toddlers. One of his memorable accomplishments was helping a very unhappy young boy at Shriners' Physical Therapy unit go from sobs to confident smiles while learning to walk on his new prosthetic legs. He greeted his parents with “Willy's my new best friend!" Willy successfully completed the national certification training for HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response in 2006, then in 2008, with Cascade Canine Crisis Response. Willy's responses until his retirement in 2018, included providing comfort to school districts in Clackamas, Oregon City, & Beaverton following several fatal incident responses; at Operation Purple Camp—National annual summer program sponsored by National Military Family Association, Oregon Chapter's summer camp for children whose military family members were deployed & Camp Erin a national bereavement summer camp program for children who have lost a loved one (organized & directed locally by Providence Portland Hospice). Starting in early 2008, Willy, Otis, & the CCCR teams were recruited by Washington County Sheriff's Office to be on call 24/7 for Patrol to offer comfort and support to survivors, their families, bystanders, & impacted personnel during and after a traumatic incident. In addition, in 2009, they initiated a program in the Jail for regularly-scheduled weekly de-stressing visits with male and female inmates, deputies, and staff. Following Otis' retirement & death, Willy continued his comfort work with Marcy and Richard, & in June, 2014, welcomed his son & puppy, Arlo, as his housemate. When Arlo was old enough, he went through the process of becoming a therapy, then canine crisis response dog, and until 2017, when age-related issues led to Willy's retirement, continued his comfort work again as a foursome with Marcy and Richard.

Parker

8/26/2007 - 1/18/2020

Sunshine's Golden Gait Park-R-Here (Parker) came into this world August 26, 2007, & was destined to become a truly special representative of everythin one could wish for in a canine companion. Right from the start, he was calm, gentle, and affectionate with an unusually strong love of learning nurtured by his human,Dan McFarling with obedience, tricks, agility, & numerous other classes. When he was four, he and Dan became registered as a therapy dog team with Pet Partners. Together they brought much comfort to patients at Doernbecher Children's Hospital/OHSU, Kaiser Westside Medical Center, and Hopewell House, a free-standing hospice facility. They also participated in school and library programs assisting children to improve their reading skills. In 2014, they trained, certified, and became invaluable members of CCCR. That led to their being part of the Washington County Sheriff's Office Canine Crisis Response Team, supporting youth & their families at Washington County Juvenile Department and Court, providing sweet snuggles to kids at Camp Erin and Royal Family Kids Camp. With their fellow CCCR members, they were a vital source of comfort to students and staff following fatal incidents at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, and Portland metro-area school districts.

Besides being a beloved family member, therapy, and crisis response dog, Parker had a stellar career as a performer. Early on he was a social media sensation on Facebook with over one million followers around the globe. His appearance as the "Five-Dollar Dog" in Cheaper by the Dozen at Hillsboro's Hart Theater led to multiple roles at Theatre in the Grove, Sherwood Center for the Performing Arts, Glencoe High School, Hillsboro High School and Liberty Hugh School. He worked as a professional model and animal actor, and was the mascot, "Wonder," for KGW8's (NBC affiliate) Great Toy Drive for many years up until his passing in 2020. If you want to learn more about Parker's life story, it is narrated in the book, Parkerpup: A New Lease on Life, A Journey of Hope, by Jennifer McFarling.

Boone

9/8/2012 - 1/24/24

Boone was a beautiful golden retriever. When Jo Ann & Gene Houck picked him out from his litter, they knew that he would be a great therapy and crisis response dog. He had a wonderful temperament, was curious about everyone and leaned into everyone he met. During his 9 year career he worked in hospitals comforting anxious patients and their family. He had the uncanny skill to know exactly who needed him the most. One of the hospitals specialized in treating Veterans suffering with PTSD. He was a light to those who have sacrificed so much. On one visit he brought an apple to a patient. This started the play fetch the apple with Boone game in the courtyard, which became an ongoing hit. He comforted children and teachers during crisis response call outs at schools. His kind face and loving nature brought smiles and relief to both inmates and staff needing a break from the long and stressful days at Washington County Sheriff's Office Jail. As part of an ongoing pilot program he brought calm to children and adolescents during and awaiting trial in Washington County Juvenile Court. Boone loved this work that he was so gifted at. I can not express how lucky we were to have him. He was, in a word, Joy.

Oakley

12/2013 - 5/2024

Oakley, a Newfoundland, partnering with Cindy Stephens, earned his therapy dog certification at two years old. He had so many accomplishments during his 9 years as a working therapy dog and crisis response career. As a therapy dog, he participated in the Oregon City library reading program, several of the local middle and elementary schools Read-a-Thon programs, and made comfort visits to our local hospital, skilled nursing facility and memory care unit, as well as Hopewell Hospice House. As a Cascade Canine Crisis Response partner, Oakley provided support to Oregon City High School and Holcomb elementary students and staff during times of crisis, youth & staff at Washington County Juvenile Department, as well as visits to Harkins House, its youth residential facility. As a Washington County Sheriff's Office Canine Crisis Response Team member, his gentle presence helped de-stress the sheriff's officers and support staff. His gentle-giant presence brought smiles, laughter, and emotional tears to everyone he met. Oakley exemplified what a therapy dog should be and I'm so proud to have been his partner. Oakley is greatly missed, more than words can say. I love you to the moon and back, Oakley!