Sign In

Hero Dog Award

June 1, 2020

Dolly, a service dog from Naples, acts as a cardiac alert for her owner Amy Sherwood.

Dolly, a service dog from Naples, has made the semi-finals for Hallmark Channel’s Hero Dog Award.

Dolly works as a cardiac alert for her owner Amy Sherwood, who is restricted to a wheelchair because of multiple illnesses. The black lab alerts Amy if her blood pressure drops too low or her heart rate rises to an unsafe level.

Dolly is trained to press a certain button that calls 911 if Sherwood were to pass out at home. If they are out in public, she knows how to go alert someone for help. Dolly has had to use her skills multiple times.

While this is Dolly’s most important job, the 4-year-old black lab has other talents. She opens doors, pulls packages into the house, helps to do the laundry, pulls Amy’s wheelchair, will pay for items in stores, and even works as crowd control in case people are getting to close and make her owner uncomfortable.

According to Amy, “Dolly is my friend, my partner, and my medical equipment with a loving beating heart. She has changed my life completely. I don’t know what I would do without her.”

Sherwood says she was quite insecure and afraid to be “a functioning part of society.” Dolly inspired her to write two children’s books, Pawsibly the Best Medicine and Emotional Support is Ruff.

Amy trained Dolly herself by taking her to casinos and arcades to teach her how to press buttons and took her out in many public places to acclimate her to crowds and distractions. But it’s not all work and no play for Dolly, the black lab spends her time off the leash dock diving. She has competed twice in the DockDogs World Championships. While dock diving is a favorite pastime, Dolly loves any activity involving water.

Register Your Dog

  • Most Recent News

    Former Victoria man’s diabetic alert dog helps him get back to life

    When Luke Hengen’s diabetes worsened in his early twenties, it stripped him of the outdoor activities where the country kid felt at home. Countless wilderness adventures and years of hard-fought football games took a toll on his body, to the point where he could no longer sense when his blood sugar was too high or […]

    Read more

    Students Get Therapy Dog

    When middle school students return to class on Jan. 11, they’ll find a new face at the door: Daisy. Daisy is a therapy dog and the personal pet of Rob Kreger, principal of the Rock L. Butler Middle School. The five-year-old golden retriever is not a school pet or mascot, but rather a working dog […]

    Read more

    Therapy Dogtor

    Last March, Caroline Benzel, a third-year medical student, began to notice the stress and discomfort her nurse friends were feeling from the pressures of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. “[Personal protective equipment] can be really rough on the skin,” Benzel, 31, tells PEOPLE. Benzel and her 3-year-old Rottweiler, Loki (who’s also a therapy dog) hatched a […]

    Read more

    Therapy Dog Pups

    When Stanley the miniature fox terrier’s owner passed away, the little dog started a ‘paw-some’ new role – bringing puppy love to some of the Gold Coast’s oldest residents. After Carinity Cedarbrook Diversional Therapist Julianne Staff adopted Stanley, he began visiting the aged care community at Mudgeeraba as a therapy dog. Therapy dogs help to […]

    Read more

    Puppy Cams

    A nonprofit is providing an unusual form of therapy for those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic – puppy cams! “You spend five minutes with a puppy and try not to smile,” said registered nurse Robin Lingg Lagrone. Lingg Lagrone says watching little furballs wag their tails and prance on their paws helps […]

    Read more

    Pet Committee

    When Moore County’s school doors were abruptly closed earlier in 2020, two- and four-legged volunteers from the Moore County Citizens’ Pet Responsibility Committee (PRC) were in their 12th year of presenting a six-session Pet Responsibility Education Program for fourth-graders. The PRC quickly shifted gears and placed its program materials online as part of a home […]

    Read more