I was ready to turn Kathy down when she said she had a 5-month-old puppy to donate. But so far she's been so great, just so mellow.

Yes, unfortunately, she has a tendency to believe that anything that is stuffed is hers. She has a favorite stuffed animal - a pink bear - but sometimes needs to be reminded that not every stuffed animal is hers.

Chetek is such a giving community - we had more squirrel food than we knew what to do with last year. I know this may be a lot to ask, but we hope that folks will help us out once again with Sophie. She means so much to the residents.

I have definitely seen more smiles around here since Sophie arrived. Residents who wouldn't have necessarily come to the activity room before make several trips a day to see what Sophie's doing.

There are some residents who are allergic or just don't care much for dogs. Sophie is sensitive to that, and after being told to leave a few times she gets the hint.

Stanley lived on his own for many years after his wife passed away. Stanley had a cat that was his constant companion. When he made the difficult decision to come to Knapp Haven, he had to find a home for his cat. Stanley misses that cat, but I think Sophie has filled that hole.