I adopted Avery from Safe Harbor Lab Rescue in February 2017. When I lived in Pine. Colorado I volunteered with Avery at Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver in their Paws for a Cause pet visitation program. In 2018 I moved to Fruita, Colorado and got Avery certified as a Therapy Dog through Alliance of Therapy Dogs in 2019. For the next five years Avery and I volunteered at Family Health West Hospital, Pediatric Rehab,Oaks Assisted Living Center and Memory Care. For the past three and a half years Avery and I volunteered at Mesa County Library-Fruita branch in their Dog Ears program where children would read books to Avery.
Avery enjoyed hiking the trails in Fruita, going up to the Grand Mesa, swimming in the lake retrieving her bumpers and riding in my truck going to the mountains to view the fall foliage colors.
In 2023 a small lump in Avery’s ear was found to be a mast cell tumor that required surgery to remove most of her right ear to get clean margins on the removed tumor. For the next two years Avery would undergo three additional surgeries to remove multiple mast cell tumors and undergo five different Chemotherapy protocols. In addition to being my good friend and companion, Avery was an amazing female Yellow Lab who touched the hearts of so many people in Fruita through her sevice as a Certified Therapy Dog.