Partners & Paws Summer 2026

A message from Cabell our executive director

The vision of Saint Francis Service Dogs is about empowering and transforming the lives of people with disabilities, one dog, one person, one family, one community at a time. I love that vision. I love the way it moves from specific to broad and shows the ripple effect of our work. In my mind, I have always viewed it simply in terms of the people we serve. I see it differently now. As many of you know, I raised a puppy named Ivy for Saint Francis. She was accepted into the Breeding Program, and I continued to foster her as we prepared for her first litter. I was looking forward to experiencing this part of Saint Francis – our still young Breeding Program. When Ivy came into heat, I was so excited. I took her to Virginia - Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech to meet with the fantastic theriogenology team for her two transcervical inseminations. Everything went well. She was healthy and happy. Ivy had pyometra – a serious infection of the uterus. It is rare in dogs her age, she is strong, and it seemed that she was battling the illness well. We decided to try to treat it and preserve her ability to breed in the future. Lots of fluids, lots of medicine, lots of attention. By the next morning, I could see she was losing her fight, and we dashed back to Virginia Tech for emergency surgery. And then she wasn’t.

I found out that you can go from being so excited about one potential future (adorable litter of puppies!) to complete terror about another (will she die?) to peaceful acceptance (she’s going to be okay) so quickly it can give you emotional whiplash. I am thankful for the great teams at the Veterinary College and Saint Francis that knitted together quickly to save sweet Ivy. I am thankful for all the patient responses to my many late night and early morning calls and texts, the offers of help, and the constant support. I am deeply grateful to our staff, volunteers, and donors for believing in this work and making it possible for us to do what is right for our dogs so they can do what they do best – making the world better. Ivy will not be a service dog. She will never have puppies. She will become my dog, and I will treasure her brave heart for the rest of her days. She will snore into my nights and shed into my carpets. She will play with me, nap while I work, and monitor the whereabouts of all the squirrels. Saint Francis empowers and transforms lives, one dog, one person, one family, one community at a time. I thought the vision was only about other people.

Until one day, the dog was Ivy, she was in trouble, and the person – was me.

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