It’s no secret: Dogs are one of the most instinctual animals to exist. Whether or not you’re a dog person, you’ve got to know that’s true.
I can’t even count how many times my dog has nuzzled me when I’m sad, panted happily when I laugh, and cuddled me when I needed it most. This is just a regular dog—but when you’re a therapy dog, the intuitiveness might be even more intense.
Therapy dogs help people in need, whether children at schools, elderly at nursing homes, or those in the hospital. They’re basically trained to use affection, comfort, and love to help improve the lives of other people.
Needless to say, therapy dogs are very special dogs. If you have any doubts about what a therapy dog can do, meet Cora the corgi. Cora’s owner Madison Palm always knew there was something special about her pup, who is currently undergoing training to become certified as a therapy dog through the American Kennel Club’s canine good citizen program.
Madison always travels with Cora, and on one recent trip home to Alaska from Idaho after visiting Madison’s mother, Cora did something truly inspiring. During a layover in Seattle, Cora walked off towards a man sitting not too far from Madison, and plopped herself down next to him. Madison captured it all in a short clip for us.
“Before I could even call her she was already at his feet being loved on. I asked him if she was bothering him,” Palm said in an interview with TODAY. “And with a somber face and watery eyes he said, ‘No, no. I lost my dog last night.'”
This tugs right at our heartstrings. How moving is that? It was like Cora just knew this man needed her to be by his side right at that moment.
And he really did. While she sat still at his feet, he smiled and pet her and scratched her ears for a while Madison just looked off in awe. The man even got to take a photo of Cora while she sat perfectly still.
“I truly think she has a gift. She knows who is hurting and she knows who needs her,” she said. “Once he told me that his dog passed away I looked at Cora and I thought to myself, ‘You are so amazing. How did I get so lucky?'”
It turns out Cora didn’t always have such a lovable owner like Madison. She found her on a Facebook post that said they were giving away a corgi that was killing a family’s chickens. It turned out that Cora was severely underfed and as kept outside for almost her entire life.
She’d never been to the vet even though she had an ear infection, rotting teeth, and was super dirty.
Madison adopted her, even though it required her to get a new place, as she was only allowed one dog where she lived, and she already had one.
Cora helps Madison just as much as Madison helped Cora. The dog keeps her owner calm when she’s experiencing any anxiety.
This dog is something else! We can’t stop smiling about how sweet this story is. Doesn’t this make you want to go out and adopt a Corgi?