By Janet Wenholz | Sr. Assistant to the Executive Director
New OFP clients are encouraged to become ambassadors for disabled people with service dogs. We never know when an interaction with another person may influence them. A client once told me about meeting his first service dog team in the hospital waiting room; the handler was very reluctant to talk to him, but she gave him OFP’s name. He followed up and became an OFP client as well. Although she does not even remember the conversation, for him it was “pivotal”, and he will always be grateful for that chance encounter. It set him on a new path where he found hope and healing that has served him well for the past ten years. Being open to sharing, though difficult for her, saved his life. Our Founder, Mary Cortani, talks about “ripples in the pond”——the far-reaching affects that a simple interaction can have on another person. When we have a service dog, conversations with strangers are often difficult for us….but we may destined to offer hope to someone who is desperately looking for answers.
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