Owner Kathy Gasque: Lizzie is a Scottish Terrier and a Therapy Dog. She loves to play ball, go for walks with her mom and get Belly rubs, butt scratches and TREATS! Lizzie is part of the Love On A Leash team.

Owner Mark DuPuis: 

Cooper’s journey to becoming a pet-assisted therapy dog started when he was 4 months old.  At that time, “Mr. Wild Boy” was in desperate need of basic obedience training.  Happy K9 Academy and the wonderful “Miss Judy” came to our rescue.  The big blond fur ball Cooper walked into his first day of “Delights in Distractions” class and certainly provided a major distraction for all of the other well behaved quiet dogs sitting there patiently waiting for school to start. Total class disruption ensued and Cooper was in heaven! Well, Cooper does believe in making big entrances!  After 3 weeks of disappointing results and struggling to not buy a choker collar to assist with the training (as I had always used for our previous dogs), I called Miss Judy for HELP.  She reassured me Cooper was just young and she was sure he would start responding to positive treat training.  Well, she was totally right and Cooper ended up passing Delights in Distractions with flying colors.  Along with several of Cooper’s Love on a Leash (LOAL) buddies, Lizzie and Charlotte, Cooper and I advanced through the next several sets of classes.  And then came the BIG challenge - the canine version of the SAT test - the Canine Good Citizenship test and Love on a Leash evaluation.  I’d like to say I wasn’t nervous, but that, of course, would be a total lie.  Cooper and I took a 3 mile beach walk the morning of his test to work off a smidgen of his endless energy.  And embarrassingly I remember listening to Julie Andrews singing “I Have Confidence” from The Sound of Music on the way to the test.  As it turned out there was no reason for concern as Miss Judy had predicted and Cooper did great.  Following this, Cooper and I successfully completed the Love on a Leash certification process.  Cooper and I have been an active LOAL team for at least 3 years.  Cooper loves “going to work” and interacts well with everyone he meets, sharing his unconditional love with ease.  He is a big “ham” and loves to perform the tricks that he learned in Miss Judy’s tricks classes.  He is convinced everyone, animal or human, is his best friend and reciprocally, he loves everyone and is their best friend. So, he is well suited for pet-assisted therapy.  In addition to his LOAL certification, Cooper also has also become READ certified.  READ, or “reading education assistance dog” is a long established and extremely successful national and international program through Intermountain Therapy Animals that assists children struggling with reading and self-esteem by having them read to certified dogs who are non-judgmental and provide love, comfort and support.  While Cooper and I have primarily provided pet-assisted therapy in the assisted living setting, we look forward to getting more involved in wellness and de-stressing events as well as with the READ program.

Owner Linda Siehler: Raffydiddle's Waltzing Matilda...aka Miss Tilly, is an Australian Labradoodle. She is 4 years old. Miss Tilly has garnered many awards in short 4 years. She is an AKC Canine Good Citizen, a certified Therapy Dog with Love on a Leash, and an Intermediate level Trick Dog with Do More With Your Dog, ( She pays basketball and the piano). She also is a volunteer with the Conway library children's reading program. This summer she will begin her volunteer service with the Conway Medical Center's therapy dog program. Miss Tilly's favorite activities are snuggling, getting pets, and making people smile.

Owner Debbie Martucci: Charlotte is an English Creme Retriever and was born on June 5th, 2012. She is a therapy dog and is part of the Love On A Leash team. She loves to see her friends and spread her love. Charlotte loves playing with her younger sister Abbey, who is also an English Creme Retriever. She loves to play on the beach, go for walks with her Mom and especially loves treats!

Owner Barbara Tilke: Sugar Layne is a 4 year old mini-schnauzer. People are often confuse with her white coat since black, gray and a combination of salt and pepper are most often seen with schnauzers. She also has longer, floppy natural ears rather than the pointed cropped ones. Sugar earned her AKC Canine Good Citizen ranking at 15 months and her Love on A Leash Therapy Pet certification a few months afterwards. She is Barbara’s second dog to earn this title following in her older “brother’s” (Jett) paw prints. The pandemic, and it’s limitations of visitations, impacted Sugar and many other therapy pets. She and her owner have gradually gotten back up to speed by taking part in additional training and resuming visitations to hospitals, assisted living facilities, homes of cancer patients, guest visits to scout troops and, of course, events at Coastal Carolina University. Her owner is an AKC evaluator, Chapter Leader of Grand Strand Love on A Leash, reading assistance education dog handler and retired teacher. Barbara and Sugar hope to develop a partnership with reading and library programs in local schools

Owner Karen Hilbourn: Ling Ling was the first certified therapy dog who joined the LiveWell Office for outreach events to help students and staff de-stress in 2018.  Ling Ling was adopted on September 27, 2016 from a rescue organization called WAGS, located in Jesup, Georgia (just below Savanna).  Kathy Jones, her rescuer, told her new owner that Ling Ling was found living under a bridge.  A kind lady came by and fed her for three days before taking her from her circumstance and turning her over to WAGS.  It was 21 days from the time Ling Ling was found under the bridge to the time she was adopted by the one person who loves the ground she walks on, and even then, she was 10 pounds under weight, had only half the hair left on her little body, and had mastitis from dried and swollen breasts.  It’s not known if she was tossed or lost.  She was just a hot mess with the sweetest demeanor and the kindest attitude when I met her.   Ling Ling was so gentle and sweet that she needed to be shared with people who needed just that, someone who cared.  The AKC (American Kennel Club) soon had Ling Ling hooked up with The Alliance of Therapy Dogs and, by January 2017 she & Karen had participated in the testing and observation requirements for Therapy Dog Registration and immediately began working in nursing homes and adult day care centers, and thereby advancing to cancer survivors, disaster relief, children w/mental challenges and, yes, CCU.  She suffered a brief setback with the pandemic, but has since began working at the Myrtle Beach International Airport and returned to the delightful students at CCU.  Although Ling Ling suffered a stroke in February 2021, she has continued to delight a multitude of individuals with her sweet demeanor and her kind approach towards people of all ages. Ling Ling does not judge appearance, character, wealth or intelligence. She loves everyone.  Only God can exist within a being so grateful and gentle as she.

Owner Monica Callahan:

Orio   Birthdate: 9/24/18

Orio became a certified therapy dog when she was one year old. Orio has always loved visiting, even from a young age. She is a fire dog who visits at the fire station and loves getting rides on the fire truck. She is also currently an airport therapy dog at MYR. When she’s not being a therapy dog, her favorite thing to do is play frisbee. She turns into a maniac when it comes out. She enjoys playing dog sports like frisbee, rally, scent work, and fast CATs. Something else she really enjoys is anything and everything food. She is the true definition of a food hound. I haven’t found a food she hasn’t eaten yet. Orio’s favorite spot to be pet is her cheeks or her backside! 

Quint   Birthdate: 5/27/19 

Quint is quite the handful. Quint was adopted at four months old from an animal protective league that saved him from a puppy mill. He is deaf and they were going to kill him because of that. Being deaf hasn’t stopped him though and he always lives life to the fullest. Quint is always on the go and isn’t afraid to check things out. He hasn’t met a dog or person he’s disliked yet. Quint is also a fire dog and MYR airport therapy dog. When he isn’t visiting, you can probably find him terrorizing his canine siblings or running through the house with his turbo jets on. Quint’s favorite place to be pet is his backside or neck!

Owner Candice Cordes: Candice adopted Beauregard or “Beau” from Grand Strand Golden Retriever Rescue.   People always assume that Beau is a golden doodle but he has no poodle in his DNA.  He is a mix that you would never guess.  According to his DNA report his mother was 100% golden retriever but his dad was a mix of min pin, Boston terrier and numerous other breeds.   He recently turned 7 and has been a therapy dog for 4 years.  He is registered with Alliance of Therapy Dogs and before that with Canine Angels.   He is the best friend ever and has the most gentle soul.  We enjoy visiting at Assisted Living Facilities, Grand Strand Medical Center, preschool classes and wherever else we are requested.  Beau loves riding on our golf cart, walking on the beach and watching the birds from our backyard on the marsh.  Beau is the best friend ever and I love him to the moon and back.