Merlin's Kids, saving 2 lives at once

Hello, internet! Happy Holidays!

In May, I graduated North Carolina State University and chose to take a gap year to further my life experience before entering a committed relationship with veterinary school. (Which I have recently been accepted into. Thank you to all my family, friends, and mentors who have supported me through my pre-veterinary career!) I wanted to do something BIG with my gap year. Make a difference. Live my year and life by the theme song "I Was Here" by Lady Antebellum. For those unfamiliar with it, here is the song/video:

I have been so blessed to be given the most amazing gift- the opportunity to rescue dogs and train them to become service dogs for special needs children and disabled war veterans. I intern for Merlin's Kids, a non-profit organization who provides free service dogs to those in need. I facilitate periodic training classes for therapy and service dogs. I care for several dogs and livestock who will be used for therapy and service. I have met some of the most amazing volunteers and children in the short two months I have been serving this organization.

Let me tell you a little bit about Shawn. Shawn is six-years-old and has autism. He loves helping me feed the livestock. In fact, he's much better at throwing the hay over the fence than I am. I seem to get hay everywhere, down my shirt, in my hair, up my nose. He seems to get it perfectly every time. He is also great at math and makes it difficult for this college graduate to keep up with him. The other day, we were eating Cheese-itz. Not only did he improve his counting skills, but also learned how to share, as he generously gave me some of the Cheese-itz. Next time he comes on the farm, I will make sure to have Cheese-itz with me.

Shawn feeding the alpaca.

Let me tell you about Leo. Leo is seven-years-old and has cerebral palsy. Most of his life, he is confined to his wheelchair. A couple weeks ago, we worked with Leo to see if we could find the right service dog for him. Leo has such a gentle spirit and kind soul. He was more concerned with making sure his wheelchair did not accidentally bump Chaca than worrying about his own needs. What a good kid!

Chaca is checking in. She instinctually wrapped around Leo every time that he stopped in order to make sure he was safe. Chaca has not yet been trained to do this, but she has been remarkably quick with figuring out Leo's needs.

The real miracle was at the end of Leo's evaluation. Thanks to Chaca, Leo was able to brace himself and mom was able to let go, knowing that Chaca was there for her baby boy. She arched her back, again, something she was not yet trained to do, and instinctually supported his weight. 

For kids like Leo and Shawn, and for dogs like Chaca, this is why I do what I do. For more information on how to help us help animals help children, please visit www.merlinskids.org. If you would like to make a donation or make a difference, please email me or Janice Wolfe. All donations are 100% tax deductible. What better way to show your holiday spirit than by making a donation in honor of a loved one or in sponsorship of a child. 

The Miracle Wedding

Although not animal related, I think it's appropriate that I blog about this.

Stacy Lawrence, a close family friend and CEO of Make An Impression, invited me to serve as her assistant for the Rothberg and Kaplan wedding. I was only given about 48 hours notice, but I had the Why Not? attitude. Why not help a friend? Why not attend a wedding that was planned in 14 days? Why not meet a bride who has survived Stage IV cancer, has started her own charity, ComedyCures, and has moved across the US from California? Why not be able to network with people from Israel, California, Philidelphia, and locally?  Why not be part of an Orthodox Jewish wedding?

The Hora!

This is a segment of the Hora, a traditional Jewish dance in celebrating a special event. 

Jews know how to party and this could have gone on all night. What a blast!

The Bride and Groom next to their groom's cake. Made by Grandma's Kitchen!

So back to this 14 days business. In Orthodox tradition, a man and woman should not live together until they are married. Phil (the groom) moved to the east coast for work, and Saranne (the bride) moved to be here with him. They agreed that the best place to raise Phil's kids would be here. School was starting soon. It was important to have the wedding during this month not only to ease the kids' transitions, but also because this was a very spiritual month for Phil, as it is the Jewish new year. So, they wanted to make this happen.

The handsome, lucky groom, Phil Kaplan!

The lovely bride, Saranne Rothberg (now Saranne Kaplan!) and her Daughter, Lorielle, holding the dress.

They sent out "save the date" E-vites to family and friends at midnight a few weeks ago, and received 100 "yes" RSVPs by 6am the following day! Saranne's 19-year-old daughter, Lorielle (who has an incredible singing career ahead of her) has been instrumental in the creativity and planning the entire event. They literally did not sleep for 14 days straight to make everything happen.

So back to this cancer and chairty thing. When diagnosed, Saranne used laughter as medicine to heal her through her difficult time. She was then inspired to create her charity, ComedyCures, to share laughter to cancer patients across the nation. WOW! When I heard that this was the person I would be working for, it reminded me of the Relay For Life conference I had back in July, where Sarah Thomas from Ireland pulled together a Relay For Life in less than 12 weeks.
















As a result of her community involvement, infectious personality, and love of life and everyone in her life, Saranne created a web of friends, colleagues, family, and shul members who all dove in to help her and Phil's special day. Although meeting everyone for the first time, the warmth, love, and support they clearly had for Saranne and Phil radiated beyond the tight-knit community, and was trickled to the workers- the catering staff, security, the DJ, Klesmer band (who flew in from California just for the wedding!) planners/coordinators, and everyone else involved.

It gets even better. Saranne is meticulous and thinks about everything- even all types of weather.

Placecards were fans since the ceremony was 
in their backyard and it was warm out.

The giveaways were umbrellas, which had a logo (designed by Lorielle) with the word "witness" on it. Everyone who came was a witness that it was possible. I was a witness that it was possible.

And, the umbrellas came in handy when it began to rain.