For you dog and kid lovers, I want to tell you about a great organization where I volunteer here in Phoenix that you may want to emulate in your cities and towns.

The organization is called “Gabriel’s Angels” (gabrielsangels.org). Gabriel’s Angels provides pet therapy to “abused, neglected and at risk children.”

I visit a place called Youth At Risk twice a month with a Golden Retriever named Sophie and her human companion Michelle.

As we walk in with Sophie, 30 kids who have been instructed to remain sitting on the floor until told they can move, violate the rules and rush forward to hug, pet and brush Sophie. They love these activities as well as brushing Sophie’s teeth which was an interesting day because neither Michelle nor I had ever done that and here we were trying to instruct 30 kids.

Children who are shy, children who are scared, children who are anxious lose all their inhibitions in the loving presence of Sophie.

On May 7th, I participated in a fund raising breakfast for Gabriel’s Angels. There were 1,100 people in attendance, drawn there by their love and commitment to dogs and kids.

I was asked to speak on why I volunteer. In my talk, I noted that maybe, just maybe, if we can make these “at risk” children feel loved, they’ll pass that love on to the world they’ll inherit from us.

The world can certainly use it.

Sophie