animal lover's profile

The Healing Power of When a precious little Aussiedoodle puppy (Australian Shepherd PuPPies & Standard Poodle mix) came into the Verbeck family’s life 2 ½ years ago, none of them ever imagined the love, joy and healing that this little bundle of fluff would bring to so many. Emily VerBy Nancy Dewar beck is tall, vivacious and beautiful with a bright infectious smile and displays a genuine warmth the minute one meets her. She is the mother of three handsome young sons; Nash, 9; Colt, 7 and Clark, 5. She is also an enormous dog lover and had promised to get her oldest son a puppy for his birthday. One day, while scrolling Facebook, a litter of therapy puppies from a reputable Colorado breeder caught her eye.

“I decided to call the breeder and explain our situation,” she told me. Emily had found this litter while passing endless time at Dana Farber Cancer Institute where her middle son Colt was being treated for lymphoblastic lymphoma. That was the difficult situation, and Emily thought a therapy dog might be good for the whole family. Five-year-old Colt was in pre-school at Exeter Day School when they discovered a lump on his neck. “The next thing we know, we are at Children’s Hospital where Colt spent a month of testing and initial treatments.” Their lives were turned upside down, and it was the beginning of a long journey of fear, hope, faith and juggling of lives for Colt, Emily, his Dad Chad, siblings, grandparents and friends.

When Emily spoke to the breeder, the wonderful woman said, “I know one of these dogs will be perfect for you.” Via Facetime, they met the first pup Juno, and thought she was precious. The breeder then said, “But you really should meet Lenni too.” A little black ball of fur appeared on the screen, and Emily immediately knew “She is it!” A week later they met their puppy at Logan, never imagining the heartwarming journey their little Lenni would take them on. And never imagining the number of lives that would be touched because of this precious pup.

Though technically Lenni is Nash’s pup, she is really a family dog who not only has completely bonded with Emily (as most dogs do with the Moms of the family), but she also immediately connected with Colt and seemed to sense his needs as he bravely faced 26 months of weekly chemotherapy. “It was a very emotional time, his body was wrecked; and Lenni just knew when to snuggle with him and give him love and comfort,” Emily said. “Sometimes we couldn’t give Colt what he needed, but Lenni could.”

Colt is in remission, and they now visit Dana Farber only once a month for check-ups. But the Verbeck’s life hasn’t slowed down much as Emily and the boys decided they wanted to do something to raise funds for Dana Farber and help others fighting cancer. The path she chose isn’t necessarily easy; it’s actually been a lot of work! But it’s one that is filled with love, joy and experiences beyond imagination. What was Emily’s idea? PUPPIES!!! She decided to breed Lenni and donate the proceeds from each puppy to Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

I asked Emily how she ever came up with this idea! “I love dogs. I love puppies. I love the joy Lenni brought to our family and I wanted others to have that too. I wanted my kids to have this experience.” Selecting Lenni’s mate was easy, as a few years ago Emily had done research to figure out why she was so crazy about her special dog. “I knew right away that Lenni was my dream dog but wasn’t sure what part…the Poodle in her or the Aussie!” While exploring both breeds, she came across Ashleigh LaPointe, a breeder of Australian Shepherds in Barrington, New Hampshire (HT Aussies). “I went to Ashleigh’s about two years ago to meet her dogs with Lenni. Her dogs were great but seemed more active. Ashleigh fell in love with Lenni and decided to get a poodle to incorporate into her breeding program. That poodle, Kota, became Lenni’s mate two years later,” Emily explained.

Though an experienced Mom, the world of puppyhood was a new experience for Emily. Lenni went into labor at 10:30 on a Friday night. Emily’s darling neighbor Lisa Massicotte came over to help with a bottle of Moet to celebrate! I happened to meet Lisa, who told me, “We never got to open the champagne. The night was just too busy!” It turned out to be a very long night too. They knew from an ultrasound that there were five puppies. Four came out over the course of hours but the fifth seemed to be stuck. At 5:00 a.m. Emily took Lenni, along with the four puppies in a laundry basket, to the emergency vet in Portsmouth while Lisa stayed at home with Emily’s boys.

Being in the midst of COVID, Emily had to stay in the car while the vets examined Lenni. They phoned her with two options, as the puppy was stuck in the birth canal.

They could perform a C-section or give her a shot to hopefully induce the final stage of labor. “When I learned that a C-section would cost $3,600, I just cried. That would wipe out almost all of the money I was trying to raise for Dana Farber.” Emily opted for the shot and thankfully puppy No. 5 was born while they were still in the vet’s parking lot. The exhausted duo of Mothers arrived back home at 8:00 AM, with their new grand adventure having just begun.

The three black puppies are boys and looked so much alike that Emily placed a dab of different color nail polish on their heads to tell them apart. The two gals are varying shades of brown and all have adorable names: Push-Pop-Peggy, Puppy, Milky Way, Expresso and Benny! The saying “It takes a village to raise a child” is certainly true. The puppies became the joy of the neighborhood and a community project, as well. After opening their eyes at three-weeks, the adorable little pack began to spend most of their days outside in their puppy pen… complete with an umbrella, toys and a Tupperware pool. “I take them out around 6:00 in the morning and bring them back in around 8:00. If I go out for a few hours, neighbors come by to check on them. When they were babies, it was easy because they didn’t do anything. But at the four-week mark it was like…oh boy…nothing but play time!”

The puppies were born on July 11th. I was lucky enough to meet them on September 1st, just a few days before they all head to their new homes. I knew it must be bittersweet to let them go. However, Emily said with love and pride, “There are many silver linings…for both the pups and their new parents.” One is going to Dennis, Colt’s long-time best friend who has been there for him through thick and thin. Push-Pop-Peggy is also going to a friend of Colt’s, a young girl who is also in remission; the two actually went through treatment together. Two puppies are going to college roommates of Emily’s; one who has battled breast cancer. And the fifth, Expresso, is off to the home of a neighbor’s daughter.

This wonderful puppy project will end up donating over $5,000 to Dana Farber. Though Emily laments the fact that she didn’t keep one of the precious pups, there may be a second chance as they hope to breed their

other family dog, a Standard Poodle named Jazzy, this fall; again for the same great cause. And again, I’m sure that puppy project No. 2 will be another neighborhood effort that transcends generations. While I was there, a family with two young boys stopped to visit, and Emily shared a photo of her 93-year-old Grandmother holding one of the pups. These puppies have impacted people ages three to 93! Her friend Lisa (who helped with the delivery) said to me, “In spite of COVID, 2020 became the best summer ever…the PUPPY SUMMER!”

Kudos to the entire Verbeck family, Lenni and all their wonderful neighbors and friends who made 2020 the best summer ever! You can see some precious puppy photos on their Facebook page, and please be sure to keep Dana Farber Cancer Institute in mind when considering donating to important causes. Also, check out another fundraising website and company that Emily created to raise funds to fight childhood cancer: aniMAILcares.com where one can order a witty animal Pun-Package to send to friends. Each gift box contains a note card and a wool-felted animal. As I left, Emily said, “Whenever I can, I give back to the organization that saved my son’s life.” She sure does. What an understatement!

P.S. Prior to breeding Lenni with Kota, Emily and Ashleigh had all the DNA, veterinary and health testing done that’s required to ensure the greatest health of the puppies; a protocol she’ll follow with future litters. (Facebook.com/fourgoodcanines/)