Chicken Soup for the Soul - My Dog’s Life....

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Okotoks Woman’s Story Pulls at the Heartstrings!

When Connie and Jamie Greenshields agreed to take a guide dog puppy into their Okotoks home for a year and a half they had no idea how incredibly difficult their job would be... or how heartbreaking and rewarding at the same time. Now Connie's story about Dudley is about to be shared with the world via the latest Chicken Soup for the Soul - My Dog's Life - available in bookstores mid April.

The Greenshields, like many families, wanted to teach their children about the importance of giving back to their community. When they heard Alberta Guide Dog Services, a local charity, needed volunteer puppy raisers, they willingly opened their home - and their hearts.
 

Dudley came to them at eight weeks old, a Golden Retriever puppy with gentle eyes and impossibly soft fur. From the very beginning he was a challenge. “He could grab something and eat it, no matter how much you watched him," says Connie. He devoured children's socks, pebbles and even a bottle cap when he was very young. Dudley survived the resulting-surgery to remove the cap and started to thrive...quickly becoming an important part of their family. Everyone loved him - even their own dog Bogey.
 

Connie's story describes their growing pride in their puppy as Dudley finally mastered basic commands and the tears that came when he went off to college to become a guide dog. “Letting him go was the hardest thing I've ever had to do,” says Connie. “And yet we know this was the ultimate gift to someone who really needed him.” Today Dudley is a guide dog, giving independence to a blind man living on Vancouver Island.
 

Dudley's story in Chicken Soup is a “must-read" for anyone who loves dogs. Connie, who still volunteers as a puppy sitter for Alberta Guide Dogs, also receives a cheque for her story. To nobody's surprise, she's donating it back to support future guide puppies.