Guide Dogs

A yellow Labrador retriever named Paul was born to be a Southeastern Guide Dogs superhero, but as fate would have it, that wasn’t to be.

Barely out of puppyhood, the 30-month-old dog spent his formative months like every future guide dog, living for his first year or so with puppy raisers, and then heading back to Guide Dog University for professional training.

Paul was initially raised by a very active, on-the-go family in Orlando, which turned out to be quite overwhelming for the young pup with a calm, laid-back personality. After being returned to the Southeastern Guide Dogs campus in Palmetto for reassignment, the 7-month-old puppy needed about six more months of puppy-raising.

“They gave him to us and asked us to focus on positive behaviors by redirecting his attention somewhere else,” said Apollo Beach resident, Chip Barker. He and his partner, Chris O’Leary, have a longstanding relationship with the school as “puppy finishers.”

So Paul moved in and completed his basic training before heading back to campus in August 2019 for professional assessment and career training. It was decided there he’d be best suited as a veteran’s service dog, and his training began.

“All of his progress reports were phenomenal,” O’Leary said.

But then the pandemic hit. In March, O’Leary and Barker were asked to take Paul off campus (like all of the other dogs at Southeastern at the time) and care for him. They were told he had a bit of a cough and was being treated with medication.

He was No. 1 on the placement list, but as the months went by the cough persisted, and Paul was held back, O’Leary said, adding the school was doing everything it could to help the pup. It had him see a specialist in May, and that veterinarian placed him on a three-month course of (different) medications.

Ultimately, it was determined Paul could not be safely placed with a veteran, and other career options for him were explored to no avail.

“They dearly loved him,” Barker said. “He’s just so special. They tried everything possible to keep him in the program.”

But in the end, Southeastern “could not confidently place him as a working dog, so it was decided he would be dropped,” Barker said. “We got the call we were dreading (Nov. 19).” Both men were devastated.

“We felt it was coming, but we knew he could have made a difference in someone’s life,” O’Leary said. “We kept hoping he could be placed.”

As is customary, the school offered Paul to his puppy raisers as a pet. If they chose not to take him, the dog would be offered to the public for a donation of $5,000. The guys had 48 hours to decide.

They spent those hours going back and forth on what to do. Twenty years ago, they had taken in and adopted another career-changed dog as a pet and temporarily stopped puppy raising. The dog developed bone cancer and died 11 years later, after an exhausting and heart-wrenching battle with the disease.

Afterward, they went back into puppy raising and enjoyed it so much, they felt they’d never own another dog. But neither of them could actually bear the thought of Paul’s going to a new home and both realized their home was actually the best place for him to be.

“After a whole lot of crying, debating and sleeplessness, Paul’s trainer came by the house to tell him goodbye and drop off some things for him,” said Barker, who thought she was coming to take him away. “Chris told her we decided we just couldn’t let him go. She broke down crying and so did I.”

That’s how Paul went from being a future superhero to becoming “Paul Barker-O’Leary.” Instead of changing the life of a veteran with PTSD, he’ll simply be a hero to the guys who trained him.

“He’s changed our lives and will continue to do so with everyone who meets him,” Barker said.

O’Leary and Barker will take a short break before accepting a new puppy to finish for Southeastern Guide Dogs. But this time around, things will be a bit different. Paul will take part in its training.

Wavely The Therapy Dog

or students stressed about tough classes or feeling anxious during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tupelo High School’s new therapy dog in training – a goldendoodle named Wavely – will be there to help.

Anne Marie Goad, a special education teacher and MET Chair at the high school, had the notion to get a therapy dog for the school in October 2019, but tabled the idea after the pandemic began.

While scrolling through Facebook in August, she saw a post from a woman trying to find a home for the goldendoodle puppy. “I saw her face, and I knew that she was supposed to be ours,” Goad said. “I literally went and got her the next day.”

She said it was important to get a puppy because she wanted the student body to watch her grow.

Wavely was born on June 17, 2020. At 5-and-a-half months old, she has a natural curiosity and loves to learn, fetch and receive belly rubs. She’s expected to weigh about 50 pounds as an adult.

In-person classes at THS resumed for the first time since mid-March just two days after Goad brought Wavely home.

“I knew in my heart more so than ever, we needed some joy and we needed something to boost everyone’s spirits here,” Goad said.

So far, Wavely has passed her beginning obedience class and the AKC Star Puppy Test. She’s being trained by Malia Parker and David Bundy at Awesome Dog Academy in Tupelo, and veterinarian Dr. Glenn Thomas of the Tupelo Small Animal Hospital is donating all the usual medical services for Wavely at no charge.

Advanced obedience training will begin after Christmas, after which Wavely will complete the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test and therapy title evaluation. She will take part in Comfort Creatures of North Mississippi’s “Love on a Leash” therapy training in the spring.

Goad expects Wavely to earn the title of therapy dog by May 2021.

“She is a very trainable dog, and she’s already shown the signs to be a really good therapy dog,” Goad said. “But she still has a lot of puppy in her that we’ve got to work through.”

In the meantime, Wavely will visit campus to get acclimated and begin interacting with students. When she starts working on campus full time, Goad imagines Wavely will be present in the mornings as students get off the bus or in the courtyard, and she’ll be available to visit classrooms and work one-on-one with students.  Katie Schafer, ninth grade counselor at Tupelo High School, said even before the COVID-19 pandemic began, there was a tremendous need for students to receive emotional support. Now that there’s even uncertainty about what their lives will look like day-to-day, Waverly’s role is even more critical.

Therapy Dog Program

School Therapy Dog

The newest employee at Christ the Teacher Catholic School is a boss’ dream. All he requires are a bed in his office, a few trips outside during the day, and some scratching behind the ears.

Meet Dewey, the year-and-a-half-old golden doodle who has become a fixture around Christ the Teacher. Dewey is principal Steve Adams’ pet, but he’s become much more than that over the past few months. A trained therapy dog, he has become a fixture at Christ the Teacher.

There, he comes in two or three times a week. He greets students in the morning, makes classroom visits and bids farewell in the afternoon. Adams said Dewey has become an important part of the school.

“During the time of COVID, I think he’s really essential. He’s an essential employee. Just to help break the tension,” he said.

“Studies show that the sheer presence of a dog reduces a stress hormone in people. Petting dogs, they say, for a minute lowers blood pressure and reduces anxiety. So I think during any school year that’s needed.”

Other studies show that children who struggle with reading can benefit from reading to a dog, Adams explained. The animal is “a nonjudgmental friend” who won’t correct a child. That helps boost self-confidence about their reading skills.

Adams didn’t just show up with Dewey one day in September. The pet has two certifications as a therapy dog, which involved going through basic obedience training with an emphasis on positive reinforcement, such as petting and praising, Adams said.

“When he gets that from the kids, that really rewards him,” he said. “Some dogs you reward with treats. He would rather have positive praise and feedback. Of course, teachers have treats in their classrooms, and he know which classrooms to go to when he wants a treat. And he knows which teachers let him love him a little bit more.”

Before bringing the canine to school, Adams got the OK from the pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Msgr. John Hopkins, a dog owner himself. He also presented his case to the superintendent of schools, Louis De Angelo, armed with research.

One of the common goals shared by Adams and Msgr. Hopkins is to clear the Canada geese who congregate on the grounds of the parish and school. About once a day, Dewey gets a chance to get outside and chase the birds away. Also, when students are not around, he sometimes gets the opportunity to run around the school’s athletic fields. But most of the time, he’s on a leash if he’s not in Adams’ office.

There, some students come to visit for “Dewey time,” as Adams puts it. The dog has all the comforts of home there. “He’s got a bed, he’s got his water dish, he has his toys. While I’m working he’ll just kind of lay down and take a nap.”

His favorite toy is a stuffed hedgehog. Adams calls that Dewey’s emotional support. “He carries that around all the time.”

Adams got the idea from Salesianum School, which also has a dog. He had done research for several years on the benefits of having a dog in school, and he got Dewey — named after the Sussex County beach town — with this in mind. Adams also wants to take him to visit hospitals and nursing homes, but that will have to wait until the coronavirus pandemic is over.

Parents were notified of Adams’ plan before Dewey first came to school, but only a few asked that their children not take part. But Dewey’s presence has been an overwhelming success.

“It’s been a very well-received program. I’ve gotten many parent emails thanking me for bringing Dewey in and a lot of feedback from the parents saying Dewey’s made a positive impact of their child’s day. Whether it’s seeing him first thing in the morning, or in the classroom or in the hallway, his presence as our newest employee is definitely welcome around here.”

ESA On Flights

The Department of Transportation said Wednesday it will no longer require airlines to make the same accommodations for emotional support animals as they do for trained service dogs. No more guaranteed free flights for comfort cats and dogs, therapy monkeys or miniature horse companions.

A service dog is trained to do work or perform a task to benefit an individual with a disability. Emotional support and psychiatric service animals function therapeutically. And starting in 2021, it will be up to individual airlines to decide whether or not treat the two the same.

The DOT said complaints by passengers with disabilities, inconsistent service animal definitions, fraudulent representations and animal misbehavior drove the change in policy. Also, disturbances brought about by requests to transport “unusual species of animals onboard aircraft,” have compromised the public trust in recognized service animals, the department said.

In 2018, a woman in Newark, N.J., tried to get her peacock, Dexter, onboard  a United Airlines flight. A woman and her emotional support squirrel were booted off a flight out of Orlando, Fla., later that year.

The DOT considered permitting miniature horses and Capuchin monkeys that are legitimate service animals, but ultimately decided against it. The department received comments in support of miniature horses.

Psychiatric Service Dog Partners, a nonprofit group based in South Carolina commented to the DOT, “Many miniature horses are comparable in size to a St. Bernard, and that many can fold their legs and lie down more easily than their larger equine counterparts.” Another service dog organization added that a miniature horse should be 34 inches or shorter, if measured from its withers; slightly smaller than a Great Dane.

Although a Great Dane may be marginally larger than a miniature horse, it cannot be discriminated against based on breed. There are several instances in which a service dog may not be allowed to fly. According to the new rule, a service dog may be denied if: the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others; the animal causes significant disruption in the cabin or at the airport; or the animal’s carrier with a disability fails to provide the necessary paperwork.

The animal could also be turned away if it violates “applicable safety or health requirements of any U.S. federal agency, U.S. territory or foreign government.” Individuals traveling to Hawaii with service animals or guide dogs must have appropriate documentation of the animal’s vaccinations. Australia requires all animals, including service dogs, to undergo a quarantine period, even if accompanied with the appropriate paperwork. They take it very seriously.

In 2015, actor Johnny Depp’s Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo, were almost sentenced to death after entering the country illegally, NPR previously reported. Barnaby Joyce, Australia’s agricultural minister at the time, told Depp the animals would be destroyed if they weren’t removed voluntarily. Pistol and Boo were hustled out of the country.

Finding Comfort In Dogs

When soldiers return from combat, those with post traumatic stress disorder often have trouble reconnecting with society due to fear, severe anxiety and mistrust that can lead to social isolation.

Adam Keith, a dog trainer of 15 years who breeds Labrador retrievers, met one such veteran who came to him for training.

Seeing the veteran bond with his dog gave Keith an idea to start an organization that could help many more vets find companionship as well as provide homes for dogs from local shelters. Having several friends who are combat veterans — and knowing 2.5 million vets have been diagnosed with PTSD — Keith knew the need was there.

Keith recognizes that dogs, like Shiba Inu, are fun and energetic. They can go through training, become therapy dogs, and provide comfort to humans experiencing stress or trauma.

“It broke my heart to watch such a struggling group of people,” he said.

The first group of veterans graduated from his Operation Freedom Dogs program in 2017, and since then a new group of four to five veterans has graduated every year.

Each veteran is paired with a dog based on their personality, and the vet trains the dog themself in groups and individually once a week for six to seven months with assistance from certified trainers.

As it prepares to graduate its fifth group of veterans this month, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is changing its name to Warrior Freedom Service Dogs and expanding to serve more veterans.

Demand for the program has grown, Keith said, with 20 veterans currently on a waiting list to participate.

“We’re the only organization for 350 miles around us,” he said, though Keith limits participation to residents within a 250-mile radius because of the high local demand for the service.

His goal is to make the program more financially stable and for each trainer to graduate three groups per year.

The organization is funded through individual donations and grants, and is currently raising funds to complete its training facility in Flintstone, Georgia. Construction began last fall.

Warrior Freedom is now Keith’s full-time job, and he also has a small staff of head trainers and full- and part-time kennel caretakers.

Along with financial donations, he said the organization is in need of volunteers to foster dogs for short periods of time to get them out of the kennels. The facility currently has four dogs, two of which have been raised there since they were puppies, and two to three more dogs will be arriving soon.

Pandemic Pups

My husband would tell you that I manipulated him into getting a dog.

He’s right. One afternoon in June, I was in my new home office (my bedroom — but add a desk), flicking through Instagram, when I saw a post about how anyone can volunteer to walk rescue dogs at Doggie Style Pets,  a shop around the corner from my Queen Village home. It was one of those weeks of the pandemic where it was particularly hard to make sense of all that was happening in the world. What’s more, I had just received an email confirming that my oldest daughter’s summer camp was officially canceled. So this small piece of new information? It felt like a sign. The idea of walking a dog seemed like going out for ice cream — a mini delight everyone in the family would enjoy. I immediately went to the website for Saved Me (the adoption agency run by Doggie Style) and signed up for a 30-minute slot for the upcoming Saturday. Like all kids ever, my two young daughters have been begging for a dog for ages. Finally, in a year with precious little of it, there’d be some good news to deliver.

We planned our Saturday around the appointment. I insisted my husband come along, having a sneaking suspicion that the second he saw the girls smothering the dog with baby talk and love, his resolve would crumble. It worked. We leashed up Minnie, a sweet three-month-old pit bull mix. By the time we reached the end of the block, my husband and I were having a full-on silent parent conversation, exchanging lots of knowing looks, head tilts and “C’mon” hand motions. He was hooked.

For a variety of reasons, it didn’t work out with Minnie. (As one friend said, “It’s easier to get into Harvard than it is to get a rescue these days.”) But by Monday morning, my husband was texting me links to nearby cockapoo breeders. We went from telling the girls “We’ll talk about it when you’re older” to putting a deposit down on a puppy in a week. Not long after I had given away the last of our baby stuff, I found myself once again installing safety gates at the bottom of our stairs. I’ve never considered myself a dog person. You know the type — they can’t help but comment on every pooch they see, bring their own pups on vacation, wear fanny packs stuffed with treats. (My dad is a capital-D Dog Person. He used to tote gallons of water from his home in New Jersey to his place in Florida so my family dog could “ease into” the tap water down there. Seriously.) I adored my childhood pet, but as I got older, I saw dogs less as lovable companions and more as to-do lists with fur: something to walk in the rain, take to the vet, stress about. Still, as the pandemic rolled on without an end date in sight, I got fixated on the idea of getting one. With everyone home and nowhere to go, the timing was right. A new member of the family could inject some much-needed happy energy into the house. (Kinda like having a new baby, but without having to save for college.) And after all of the missed birthday celebrations, virtual-schooling arguments, financial stresses, fights and tears and virus anxiety, joy was something we needed. So that’s how we got Penny, the world’s greatest dog and my new favorite child, a 10-pound chocolate brown wavy-haired furball who follows me into the bathroom. But look around, and you’ll see that my story is one of a million. Philly is booming with puppies and newly adopted dogs these days. My Instagram feed is full of friends making “new member of the family” announcements, my vet is booking appointments a month out, and there’s more dog poop on the streets than usual. (And that’s saying something for Philly.) Rachel Golub, manager of adoptions at the North Philly location of the PA SPCA,  says they’ve had a hard time keeping up with the demand to adopt rescues. In the spring, Golub’s office started fielding hundreds of application and inquiry requests a day: “As soon as we would get down to 100 emails, 100 more would pop up,” she says. Due to COVID and logistics, they haven’t necessarily had more rescue dogs available to adopt, but the ones they do get in are finding new homes remarkably quickly. The number of dogs that were adopted by the families who were fostering them has also skyrocketed: Between January and September, 79 pups took up permanent residency with their foster families; in the same period in 2019, that number was only 10. Melissa Levy, executive director of the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society. (PAWS) — the city’s largest rescue partner — has seen the same thing. For the first time ever, she says, PAWS has more people interested in adopting and fostering dogs than it has actual dogs.

Pain Of Pet Loss

Livonia man Brady Walker is certain he’ll see his soulmate — a sheltie named Sully — again one day.

Until then, Walker lives with the undercurrent of grief over Sully’s death two years ago at age 13.

“I think about him every single day. The grief is terrible and there’s something deep in your heart, you know this isn’t the way God planned it. This kind of love should not be separated,” Walker said. “There’s a spiritual bond between a pet and its owner that transcends beyond that between humans.”

There are many people who understand that bond Walker references, and there are other people who just don’t get it at all. But losing a beloved pet can be emotionally and physically debilitating, often equal to the grief of losing a human loved one.

Micky Golden Moore of Oakland County does get it. She started Beyond the Paw Print Pet Loss Support Group in 2009. She wanted to validate the grief and let grieving owners know they’re not alone. The support group continues to grow in popularity, even though the monthly meetings have been conducted on Zoom rather than in person since the pandemic began. She has also now penned a book on the topic: “Tails from Beyond the Paw Print.” “I know people have greater losses during their lifetime than the loss of a beloved animal, but that is why there’s this group because people understand that other people don’t understand,” Golden Moore said. “We don’t have to compare losses or how big the wound is in each of our hearts. We’re both grieving and need a hand to hold.”

Last Sunday, Prince William and Kate Middleton announced their dog, Lupo, passed away earlier this month. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge posted on Instagram a photo of the dog and wrote, “He has been at the heart of our family for the past nine years and we will miss him so much.”

The duchess’s brother, James Middleton, also shared a tribute via his own account, saying, “Nothing can ever prepare you for the loss of a dog. For those who have never had a dog, it might be hard to understand the loss. However for those who have loved a dog know the truth: a dog is not just a pet; it is a member of the family, a best friend, a loyal companion, a teacher and a therapist.”

Golden Moore said the royal couple’s openness about their feelings over the loss of Lupo helps bring awareness to the pain of losing a pet. “It gives us tremendous legitimacy and it’s a tremendous validator to our group,” Golden Moore said. “He was a little boy when Princess Diana died and he was so loved. So for him to express his grief — because he lost his mother — to say he’s heartbroken for having lost his animal companion, what can be more legitimizing?”

For Lindsay Hadden of Livonia, the royal couple’s story resonates.

Hadden adopted her dog, Knuckles, as a puppy in 2007. A military wife at the time, Hadden quickly made Knuckles her daily companion as her husband was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. In the royal couple’s case, they adopted Lupo so that Middleton would have company when Prince William was away, published reports said.  Hadden, who now works for the Michigan Humane Society, formed a deep connection with Knuckles during their decade together. He was her companion, child and protector all in one. So when she had to euthanize him in 2017 at age 11, she was heartbroken and eventually hit a point where she “was so exhausted from the loss and grieving, I didn’t want to live anymore with the pain.” So she did something about it.

Her therapist suggested she find someone who specialized in pet loss grief. In 2018 she started going to Beyond the Paw Print meetings. She said they helped her accept the loss and embrace her emotional capacity to love again.

“I’m not scared of adopting another dog someday. It helped me work through the guilt that I had of, ‘Should I have done this?’ ” she said, referring to her decision to euthanize Knuckles. “But I realized I loved him so much and I couldn’t have given him a better life.”

So when she saw the royal couple’s announcement, she read it and cried.

“I am glad to see it promoted because there are so many people grieving in silence,” Hadden said. “I was in the animal rescue world and I didn’t know this support group existed.”

Labradoodle Helps Vets

Howard County Superior Court II Judge Brant Parry stood in his courtroom last week and looked around like he had lost something.

‘œYou want to see her?’ he asked, still looking around the mostly empty room.

A few moments later, a brown fluff of fur came bounding through an open back door, prompting instant smiles on all the faces sitting nearby.

Her name’s Kadence, and she’s an 11-month-old chocolate Labradoodle.

But she’s no ordinary dog, Parry is quick to point out.

Purchased through a grant from the state of Indiana, Kadence – KD for short – is the new therapy dog for Howard County’s problem solving courts like Veterans Court and Mental Health Court.

She also helps the probation department and juvenile programs too.

A dog of many hats, Parry noted.

‘œI’ve seen for a long time how you have individual service dogs that you use with people or just general therapy dogs that are in facilities,’ Parry said while sitting in his office before a recent gathering of Veterans Court. ‘œSo I started mulling that in my head, and I thought it’d be a good idea. Between Veterans Court and Mental Health Court, we have a lot of people that suffer from anxiety, PTSD, those types of things.

‘œAnd when they have to come into court or meet with their probation officer on a regular basis, it causes them great stress and anxiety,’ he continued. ‘œ’» So we decided to apply for a grant and purchase a dog that could be trained, not for one individual purpose but for an entire group of people.’

So last February, Parry and a few others enlisted the help of Darren Petty, owner and operator of Indianapolis-based Indiana Working Dogs.

Petty even drove to Sheridan to handpick Kadence from the rest of her litter when she was just 8-weeks-old.

‘œOne of the things when you’re picking out something for a project like this is that you’re trying to minimize the chance that the dog won’t work out,’ Petty said during a telephone interview with the Tribune. ‘œNot every dog can be a therapy dog. Not every dog can be a service dog. So one of the things I looked at was her puppy temperament testing results. And she did very well. ‘» She’s got a great personality.’

Petty has seen that personality many times over the past few months too, as he’s been the dog’s primary trainer.

Kadence even spent three consecutive weeks recently with Petty at his facility down in Indianapolis, learning advanced obedience skills that will prepare her for upcoming therapy dog certification testing.

‘œCOVID has stopped it (the therapy dog certification testing), and we’re waiting for that to open back up,’ Petty said. ‘œSo right now, it’s just really important that she gets lots of practice just getting comfortable in the courtroom and with people being around her.’

And Kadence – who stays with Parry’s family – genuinely loves being around people too.

‘œI take her to work every day, Parry said. ‘œ’» And when I get ready to leave in the morning, she knows she’s going to work. She loves it. I let her out and put her leash on, and she sits by the door ready to go.’

Parry added that the people at the courthouse – specifically those in his problem-solving courts – are just as fond of Kadence.

‘œI think the benefits of having her here are endless,’ he said. ‘œThe idea is to just kind of take the anxiety levels down a couple notches that they would normally feel when they have to come to the courthouse and meet with a probation officer or come to court and meet with a judge. I think coming here and having the friend who doesn’t ask for anything from them and just wants to say hello to them and is just excited to see them is great.

‘œIf you can have that, ‘˜OK, I have to go to the courthouse because I have to see my probation officer and check in, but KD is going to be there while I’m talking to my case manager,’ it makes it easier,’ Parry added. ‘œI think having someone that doesn’t want anything from you other than to just be your friend and show love is important, whether it’s a human or man’s best friend.’

Veterans Court Coordinator Richard Cotterell agreed with Parry, noting that even the dog’s name was carefully picked out for her overall duty.

‘œCadence has to do with rhythm,’ he said. ‘œIt’s a military term as well, and we put it out there on social media for some folks to come up with a name for her. Someone submitted Kadence, with a K. And just like cadence has to do with rhythm, our veterans are out of rhythm right now because of some of the issues they’re facing. And Kadence is part of trying to help them get back into that rhythm. She’s part of that treatment.’

Sweet Angel Dog Petunia

Kaley Cuoco and her husband Karl Cook are mourning the loss of their rescue pit bull breed, Petunia. In the couple’s respective posts on their social media accounts shared Wednesday, they announced that their beloved dog had died. Cuoco and Cook had adopted the senior pup earlier this fall from the California organization, Paws for Life K9 Rescue, an organization that rescues dogs from shelters and trains some as therapy dogs.

“After a life of untold loneliness and hardship, she is at rest. For that, I am happy,” Cook captioned the poignant slideshow of photos dedicated to Petunia, embedded with several emojis, ranging from hearts to crying faces. “We did what we [could], adopted Petunia to do better than anyone else, give her everything. She is resting at peace, with every day’s sunset to warm her. That is what matters most. Petunia, it is not the amount of time together, but its [effects] on the soul. You affected everyone who met you. You’re forever, my old lady. I miss you so much already, sleep, my sweet angel.”

Cuoco, currently starring in HBO The Flight Attendant this month, also paid tribute to her dog via her Instagram Stories, sharing a shoutout to the nonprofit that initially rescued Petunia and where they adopted her from. “We were so honored to love her in her final days,” she wrote on top of an image of herself and Cook with the pit bull. “We love you dear special Petunia. You are the reason we continue to save dogs just like you. And we will never stop.”

The nonprofit organization also paid tribute to Cuoco and Cook’s Dog, sharing a post of their own alongside tender videos and photos of “Princess Petunia” with the couple. “Sweet Dreams Princess Petunia [broken heart emoji] condolences to [Karl Cook] and [Kaley Cuoco] for their loss. It is what we hope for every dog we take in, a life adored and cherished, no matter how much time they have.” The dog’s death comes just eight months after Cuoco announced she and her husband’s rescue dwarf pony, Fiona had died following health complications the animal experienced throughout their lifetime. Cuoco at the time commented on how Fiona’s “small body could not survive,” but was no longer living in pain and was “surrounded with love” thanks to the couple’s large family of animals, which include horses, dogs, bunnies and more. “We will continue to save everything we can but know days like this will happen,” she wrote. The couple’s shared love for animals is what brought the two together, ultimately developing a strong connection that Cuoco tells PEOPLE was one that was “meant to be” from the start. “We share so much love for animals — we love horses and we love the sport,” she said of her equestrian husband. “I think anyone who works with animals has to have a kind soul. It’s almost like he’s the horse whisperer. He is just wonderful with them. It’s really beautiful to see the patience he has with them. He’s so gentle.”