Name

Breed

Height / Weight

24 in. / 55 lbs.

Personality

Training

Basic obedience and pet therapy classes.

How do you know that your dog loves therapy work?

Captain assumes he will become friends with any and all comers, people and dogs alike. He visibly enjoys attention from random people we meet on our walks and has never had a negative reaction to another dog, even if the dog shows aggression towards him. Like so many rescue dogs, he seems grateful for attention and affection and responds well to it.

August 22, 2023 - The Troupe mourns the passing of Wendy Steward's beloved therapy dog Captain, after a short illness. Wendy and Captain were Troupe members for the past six years. They visited at Loyola University Medical Center, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, many senior homes, colleges and crisis response events. Captain was an amazingly intuitive and gifted therapy dog. He truly loved interacting with people, and seemed to know instinctively who needed him the most. Here is what Wendy wanted to share about her sweet boy:

"Yesterday my heart broke. My friend, my partner, my Captain, had come to the end of strength and I had to make the decision to give him rest and peace. Captain had started refusing his food about two weeks ago. When I took him to the vet the xrays showed that his lung tumor had grown and was beginning to affect his heart. Monday I came home to find him in the middle of a seizure, after which he could no longer walk. My heart screamed "No, this can't be happening" - but it did. When the vet said that he would only last one or two more days, I nodded my head.

Captain's twelve and a half years were so impactful for so many. He was there for my son during a difficult time. He was there for my husband too, and for both of us as we faced cancer and chemo - our very own therapy dog. Since my husband's death, Captain has been the one at my side - the one I talked to, the one I came home to, the one I kissed good night at the end of the day. Our visits to Loyola and Gottlieb gave my life structure and purpose when I needed it most. 

And I believe his visits also gave him what he needed most - variety, stimulation so important for a dog as intelligent as he, and most of all affirmation that he was in fact a Good Boy.

Captain loved his therapy visits. They were the high point of his life, and he put all his heart into them. For that he will be remembered, and I do believe that as long as someone is remembered they are never truly gone."

Rest easy now, sweet Captain.