DEC 3, 2019 – It’s always fun to hear how Cardies are putting our cards to good use, especially when the story is as heart-warming as this one from Gloria Dougherty …

“I could not resist ordering a bunch of the Snowy Golden Christmas cards,” she emailed us. We’ll send them to friends to announce that Amos is getting a puppy for Christmas!”

Because she inspired our Please Listen postcard initiative, we’ve come to know Gloria’s big heart along with Amos’ charming story, and we’re happy to share it on this #GivingTuesday. “Amos has now served as a certified therapy dog for nearly a decade,” Gloria told us. “The children in our local library love reading to him — he’s a patient listener, and gives each reader one of his special trading cards.” Those feature a smiling Amos in his Green Bay Packers sweater and cheesehead; on the flip side are lists of his favorite sports (swimming, retrieving tennis balls and watching the Packers) and things that frighten him (ladders, vacuum cleaners and thunderstorms). Gloria explained with pride, “Children who share some of those same fears seem to feel that, if Amos is also afraid, things must be ok.

“He also goes weekly to our local nursing home where he is well known and loved. Amos is so great at sharing and comforting, that he has been asked to snuggle in bed with the dying, and to ‘speak’ at memorial services,” Gloria said in awe. “Since he just turned 13, we decided to give him a puppy to celebrate. We just want him to share his great knowledge with another dog who can hopefully continue in his fabulous paw prints. The puppy is an English Cream Golden Retriever, and will come home to Amos when he’s old enough, right after Christmas.”

Gloria is generally so giving, caring and kind that some might think she is one-of-a-kind. As extraordinary as she is, you’ll actually find many of her kind in our Cardie community! Check it out (once your holiday cards are in the mail and you have the time :) And, while you’re there, maybe you’ll want to join us and Share Your Story. In any case, we hope you’ll always do as Gloria does, and Amos too: “Enjoy the gift of looking into faces you love.”