Ivy and Handler Cathy

Regional Area: West

Gender: Female

Breed: Golden Retriever

Ivy is as impressive as she is irresistible.

Ivy and Cathy have been visiting various facilities. With Project Pup, they’ve visited Palm Gardens Assisted Living. With Alliance of Therapy Dogs, they’ve visited Coral Oaks Assisted Living. Ivy has also been in the R.E.A.D. program at the Dunedin Public
Library. With Hearts of Gold, they’ve visited HCA Largo and HCA Largo West Hospitals. They’ve also visited Tarpon Bayou Nursing Home and St. Mark Village in Palm Harbor.

Cathy admits that their favorite therapy visit so far was at HCA Largo Hospital. A patient who was about to have open-heart surgery saw the dogs and made the orderly stop so that he could hug and love on them. What a moment! She knows they moved him deeply and made his trip to surgery somewhat easier.

At home, Ivy loves to play ball, play tug with her golden sister Savanna, and go for walks in the neighborhood. She loves carrying her big lambchop around and dares you to take it from her: she always wins! She has a fleece blankie that’s very dear to her. Her breeder sent one with her when she left her mother in Michigan. She’s also a towel thief who loves stealing the bathroom hand towels then hiding them in her dog bed.

Ivy is blessed with a special sense when danger occurs. Her sister Savanna, to whom she’s especially attentive, developed epilepsy a year ago, and despite being on medication, still has an occasional seizure. Ivy’s both alerted her parents and even awakened them during the night if Savanna’s having one.

Now that Cathy’s retired, she looks forward to attending more events with Ivy, particularly those involving children.

Training/Certifications
Basic Manners
Canine Good Citizen (CGC)
Project PUP Certification
Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD)
Hearts of Gold Therapy Team

Watch our Hearts of Gold Therapy Teams in action: Hearts of Gold YouTube channel

To learn more about what to consider for joining our Hearts of Gold team, click here!