Make-a-Wish Cancer Survivor a SCCC Running Start Student

From Make-A-Wish to Aspiring Pet Partners Team

Caitlin Holloway was fourteen when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2006. While battling her illness at Children's Hospital for nine months, she met Sugar Bear, a loving Golden Retriever that would change her life.

The joy Sugar Bear brought made her want to train her own therapy dog and become a part of a Pet Partners team. "Sugar Bear's visits had an amazing impact on me. It was something I was used to since we had a dog at home. I was used to having that constant in my life. It was sweet, happy, reassuring, and calming. Knowing that it had that affect on me, I started thinking about training my own therapy dog."

At Children's, she was allowed to make one wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation; and she wished for a Golden Retriever like Sugar Bear. Caitlin already had a dog at home, but she had bigger plans for her 'Make-A-Wish' dog.

On the days that the dogs came to visit, she said that she was happier, excited, and able to sleep better. They gave her something to look forward to and her desire to become a Pet Partner made her hopeful.

Once Caitlin was out of the hospital and her immune system had fully recovered, she received Scout, an 11-week Golden Retriever. Scout had already been through two weeks of training and Caitlin continued to take him to basic, advanced obedience, and Rally.

With her cancer in remission, Caitlin was able to attend school and join the Running Start program at Seattle Central Community College. She is currently a junior, and plans to apply to Southern Illinois to become a radiation therapist. She also plans to bring Scout along for the ride, so they can volunteer together.

"The school is connected to a hospital so I'm hoping to be able to take him with me to volunteer. They also have a vet program, so I'm hoping their dorms will be a little more animal friendly, but otherwise I'm planning on getting an apartment."

Caitlin says that right now her goal is to finish training so when Scout is ready, she'll be able to take Scout to Children's Hospital and volunteer there. She also hopes to visit a long-term living care facility in West Seattle.

Training Scout has been a very rewarding experience for Caitlin, who says that having a therapy dog is a lot different than just having a house pet. "There are different rules. Scout's personality is just so different. It's nice to be able to know that you're doing something for the better – your pleasure actually has a purpose and this animal you're enjoying is also going to help other people."

Once they complete all of their training and Scout demonstrates he wants to do this work, Caitlin will be able to be on the other side of the hospital bed with Scout as her helper. "I wanted to do this because Sugar Bear helped me, so I wanted to give back and see the smiles on other kids' faces."

Thanks to the support from Christi Dudzik of Healing Paws and Caitlin's hard work, one day it is hoped that Scout and Caitlin will be able to return the joy that Sugar Bear brought her, through their own Pet Partners team.

This is a P-I Reader Blog. P-I Reader Blogs are not written or edited by the P-I. They are written by readers, for readers. The authors are solely responsible for content. This blog was written by Whitney Gates.
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