During these uncertain times, it’s easy to feel helpless and question how you’re going to survive the next day, especially when you’re not seeing adequate and concrete solutions from your government. But the good thing is that our compassion and empathy towards those who are truly in need – those who are most vulnerable – make us strong together despite our need to keep distance with each other.
A woman in Colorado proved that she can find a way to help an elderly in their neighborhood while still practicing social distancing. Karen Evelth decided to train her dog Sunny to help their neighbor Renee Hellman with her groceries.
Having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) makes Hellman at high risk for contracting COVID-19. And to avoid her need to go outside and risking her health to shop for food supply, Evelth decided to train her Golden Retriever dog to fetch their neighbor’s groceries list every day then deliver the grocery items back to her.
“She got the list, she gave it to Sunny, Sunny brought it to me,” Eveleth said in KTTV report. “I went to the store, got her groceries, and he delivered them all to her.”
Sunny not only helped Hellman with her groceries—but seeing him also made her days more bearable during these trying times. “Little things like Sunny coming over to visit is nice, and it makes you feel good. It’s a way of communicating,” she said.
What started as a “test run” became a delightful task for Sunny as he seemed to enjoy being able to help. And surely, good things are rewarded.
“He does get his treats, he’s motivated by those for sure. But he’s really special to me, and I’d be lost without him because he helps me so much, so I wanted him to help other people. That’s exactly what he did. Pretty proud, Evelth shared.”
Aside from being a helpful neighbor, Sunny also helps his human in retrieving the mail and picking up trash whenever they would go for walks.
For Elvelth and Hellman, this goes to show that dogs are not only man’s best friend, they can also be our furry neighbor heroes amid a global pandemic.