Kristan Higgins, author of In Your Dreams wrote "When an eighty-five pound mammal licks your tears away, then tries to sit on your lap, it’s hard to feel sad.”

 

To that, Norm Curran, as a parent of two Goldendoodles might say "imagine the joy of two!” For almost 10 years, Norm and his wife Lone (pronounced Lonnie) held their dogs, Bogart and Oliver, at the centre of their lives.


"We weren’t supposed to have any more dogs,” says Norm. "When our American bulldog died of cancer, we decided not to get another dog because it was simply too hard on us when we had to say goodbye.”


To his surprise, one day Norm came home from work to find a Goldendoodle.

"You’d have to know my wife,” says Norm. "She had a mind of her own and when she decided on something, that was it.”


Norm recalls returning home after being away for a week and thinking how much his newly acquired dog had grown.


"As it turned out, this wasn’t the same dog at all. Lone had gone out and added a second Goldendoodle to the household.”


Late last summer, Norm, Lone, and their dogs Oliver and Bogart moved from Burlington to Brantford. It would be their 13th move during their marriage, and while they didn’t know it at the time, it would also be their last as a family.

On September 13, just days after moving into their Brantford home, Lone began to feel sick, and a diagnosis of brain cancer soon followed. Subsequently, Lone had surgery to remove the tumor but unfortunately, the doctors were not able to get it all, and a course of chemotherapy was scheduled.



In December, 2018, Lone entered Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton where it was determined her platelets were too low to begin chemotherapy. She had also suffered blood clots and other complications resulting from having contracted pneumonia, making it impossible for her to receive treatment. She was transported to Brantford General Hospital in February where she was visited by a medical team from Stedman Community Hospice, who determined their Residential Hospice would be advisable and three days later, Lone was admitted.


Norm spent most of the days that followed at his wife’s bedside, leaving only to go home to walk and feed Oliver and Bogart a couple of times each day.

As Lone’s time in Hospice grew, Norm realized he needed a plan for the care of the dogs, and decided that as difficult as it would be, he would have to find them a new home. He mentioned this to Hospice volunteer, Cathy Finch, who unbeknownst to him, was in the market to adopt a dog.


Cathy spoke with her husband, Mike, about the possibility of adopting two dogs since they had only ever planned on getting one. Being parents of twins, they understood the importance of keeping the dogs together and arranged with Norm to bring the dogs for a visit.

 

Cathy recalls the visit went really well, and after receiving a favourable assessment of the dogs from the vet, Cathy and Mike adopted Oliver and Bogart on May 13th. Norm came to visit the dogs on a couple of occasions and was very pleased with how well the dogs had adjusted.

The adoption enabled Norm to dedicate all of his time to his dying wife. On September 17th, 2019 Lone passed away with Norm by her side.

Norm says he owes a debt of gratitude to the Finches. Not only did the adoption give him precious time with Lone, it gave him the peace of mind of knowing the dogs were together and in a happy home.


Cathy, who is retired and has been a volunteer at Stedman Community Hospice and St. Joseph’s Long-Term Care residence for the past eight years, is a lifelong nurturer. The mother of three grown children and grandmother of four, she also raised several dogs over the years. She has helped dogs from animal shelters regain trust after they have suffered trauma and abuse from owners who eventually abandoned them. Oliver and Bogart were the opposite.

"These dogs are wonderful!” says Cathy. "They are so well behaved. It’s obvious they came from a very loving home.”


The dogs are so gentle and well behaved that Cathy has trained them as therapy dogs, visiting senior residents at St. Joe’s Long Term Care facility regularly.

 

"I volunteered at St. Joe’s last week without the dogs and they all asked where my dogs were. They used to get excited to see me and now they get excited to see the dogs,” Cathy chuckled.


This story is a testament to the culture of kindness at Stedman Community Hospice, a culture worthy of the donors who built our house of love – one that defines the basis of care given to patients, families, and their fur babies too.


Read more inspiring stories! 

Couple asks wedding guests to give to Hospice