b'Linda would hand out Bobs trading cards to each per- mail through the pandemic, Linda included them to receivesontheyvisitedasakeepsake.Itlistedhisfavoritetoy Bobs cheerful, often funny notecards. (Wubba) and his mission statement (Share my heart to com- LindaalsoenrolledBobinanationalprogram,Petsfort and serve). So astute was Bob in his new line of work Together, that provided virtual visits to nursing homes andthat he earned a Silver Medal and the title of Therapy Dog hospitals during the pandemic. Between the note cards andExcellent from the American Kennel Club.thevirtualvisits,BobandLindastayedbusy,andmostDuring the height of the pandemic, nursing homes and important,fulfilled,knowingtheyweredoingsomethinghospitals banned visitors, including the therapy dog teams. important.Family and friends were no longer allowed to visit in person. With every scenario that Linda created for the next noteSuddenly another crisis was developing among the socially- card, Bob sat patiently all while being accessorized and pho-isolated, who were now at greater risk of developing mental tographed. Linda would praise Bob by telling him what ahealth issues, including dementia. true hero he was.Furthermore, as a cancer survivor, Lindas doctor forbade She has since written a book, complete with 46 photosher from going out. Homebound, Linda was determined to of Bob. The 30-page soft-bound 8x8 book is called Thefind another way to continue Bobs work. She wanted to cre- Many Faces of Bob. ate something that would keep them both socially-connect- To date, Linda has given away 330 copies of the booksed, and busy, while helping others during such a scary and to hospice patients and two other special groups: the Circleuncertain time. of Love hospice bereavement group for grieving children,ages 6 through 16, who had just experienced the death of aloved one. The other group was a Hillsborough County at-risk counseling group for elementary school-age children. Linda recalled a profound moment that occurred justbefore the pandemic. It helped her reaffirm how importantBobs work was, and continues to motivate her to carry on.She and Bob were stopped in the hallway of a nursing homeby a woman who lived there with her husband. She toldLinda that her husband had recently passed away. But,Iwanttotellyousomethingelse,shesaidtoLinda. I want you to know how much your dog meant tomy husband. After he passed, the woman had gone throughher husbands belongings and found Bobs trading card intheirfamilybible.Thattellsmeyourdogisveryspecial, the woman told Linda. ULinda would like to continue providing her book, The Many Facesof Bob, to hospice patients. Her goal is to print 1,000 copies anddistribute them free to hospice patients in the Tampa Bay area.She has set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money to cover thecost of printing. The Go Fund Me link isBob loves his mail carrier, Beverly. https://gofund.me/e022280cThinking about the therapy dog trading cards, that werealways such a hit with everyone, Linda started creating her Bob also has his own Instagram page: @Bob.Therapy.Dog and onown note cards. She posed Bob in funny and entertaining Facebook @Bob The Therapy Dog.photographs and placed them on the cover of individual note Linda is puppy raising another SEGD, George. Bob, naturally, iscards. Each card contained a personalized message from Bob, mentoring him. For more information on how to become a Puppybeautifully handwritten by Linda. She mailed the cards out Raiser, visit www.guidedogs.org/get-involved/raise-a-puppyeveryweektothefacilitiesthatwereonceontheirvisitation route. Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD) provides testing, registration,Bob began gaining quite the following as a result. Linda support, and insurance for members who volunteer with dogs toalso sent cards to local fire stations and police departments to visit hospitals and other facilities. For more information, visitcheer them up, and let them know Bob was thinking of www.therapydogs.comthem. Realizing that the mail carriers were still delivering the28 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'