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One afternoon, Child Life Specialist, Beth Welch and I, were delivering Owie’s to the children, when we happened to walk into a room where this beautiful little girl was not happy. My heart always breaks when I hear a child crying, especially one who is in the hospital and simply wants to be home with her family, playing with her toys.

 

When we walked in the mother smiled as we attempted to give her daughter a gift, but the little girl was so upset that we finally just left her Owie on her bed and continued on to the other rooms. A little while later, as we were walking back up the corridor, here comes the little girl, holding Owie by the hand, and walking with her mother to the playroom. As we passed by, her mother and I smiled at each other, and she quietly mouthed the words,"THANK YOU!" we nodded with a smile, “you’re welcome!” and the two of them continued on to the playroom.

 

A few weeks later Owie received a card that read:

 

Dear Arf Angel,

 

Thank you so much for giving my daughter a gift of comfort that calmed her down within moments. I was at my wit's end and wasn’t sure what to do to calm her fears,  so please let everyone know at Owie BowWowie and Friends what a difference that stuffed dog made to my daughter.

 

Enclosed are two photographs. One is her resting with Owie and the other is her playing “Hide-and-Seek” in the hospital playroom, so as you can see, that little dog is going to be her friend for a long time.

 

Thank you again so very much for your caring compassion for my daughter.

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Story told by Gina Meyer