Partners and Paws Summer 2021

A message from Cabell

Whew – what a year! As life begins to return to the “new normal,” I suspect that you, like me, are looking around and taking stock. How do we want to work now? How do we want to live? As a team, how do we want to function? For many of us, priorities have changed. As COVID cases recede, I am taking a deep breath of relief, but something still isn’t quite right. It’s hard to put my finger on it, but there is something that feels unsettled. I am not alone in this feeling. In fact, it comes up in so many conversations with so many people lately that I suspect it is nearly universal. I think it is going to take some time for us to all realize the full cost - physical and emotional - of the past year. Service Dogs continues to push ahead with your unflagging support. We were thrilled with the overwhelming success of Barks ‘n Rec. It was fun to be a part of a community meeting personal challenges for a cause – and doing it together in a pandemic sort of way. Thank you to the 500 people who participated in and contributed to Barks ‘n Rec. You got outdoors with your pets. Some of you walked or ran. Some swam or kayaked. Some of you played musical instruments or games of basketball. One of you even herded cattle! That is all the more reason for the gratitude I feel towards all of you. Saint Francis

Thank you to our sponsors who supported this first-time event in an uncertain year and helped us make it a success. Thank you to our media friends who helped us spread the word in our community, state, and well beyond. With your help, 27 different states were represented among our Barks ‘n Rec supporters. Thank you to our Event Committee who dedicated their time and energy to creating this event and figuring out how to make it happen, without ever being able to meet in person! Together, we raised over $66,000 for our mission! How? Through countless people stepping up in so many ways when we needed them – as you all do, again and again. I wish us all a safe and peaceful re-entry into the “new normal.” I hope that we will be gentle with ourselves, knowing that the hill in front of us as we climb out of the pandemic is a steep one. I am moved daily by the generosity of spirit of all of you. I am ever so grateful that Saint Francis has weathered this horrible storm in the company of such fine human beings. Thank you.

“I am moved by the daily generosity of spirit of all of you.”

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