Sophie

Pet Therapy Dog

2002, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 48"

"Sophie was a six week old puppy when she was found by a NYC animal control officer. She was all alone in a drainage culvert in the Bronx, NY. Three years later, she still has an obsession with drainage pipes. I wonder if she is looking for her mother.

She failed her first temperament evaluation at the ASPCA and appeared on Good Morning America as an example of a puppy you should not adopt. But my granddaughter Lucy persuaded me to adopt her. She had confidence in Sophie and she was right. Slowly her behavior improved as a result of being socialized by many loving and patient people at the ASPCA.

Now she is a therapy dog, certified by the Good Dog Foundation. She has worked for two years with a special group of people who have been convicted of animal cruelty. Some of these people have killed their own dog and it is very important that these people have a dog they can apologize to...a stand in for their animal victim.

Sophie enjoys agility, swimming, and is learning to herd sheep. We think she is a mix of a border collie and Eskimo.

Sophie made numerous visits to Ground Zero."

-Stephanie LaFarge, P.h.D
Senior Director of Counseling
The ASPCA

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