08/26/2026
Today, we’re celebrating National Dog Day with a very special member of the TMH Animal Therapy family: Copper. 🐶❤️
Copper’s story started at a local scrapyard. Crystal got a call from a friend who had found a dog and wasn’t able to take her home. She had recently lost her therapy dog and was looking for another four-legged partner. Copper, with her beautiful black-and-tan coloring, immediately caught Crystal's eye.
For a month, Crystal searched for Copper’s family, putting up flyers and trying to find out where she came from. No one came forward. So, Crystal decided to keep her.
“I said, well, I’m just going to keep her because she’s amazing and she’s going to be a therapy dog.”
And she was right. ❤️
Copper is smart, loving and incredibly gentle. She loves being around people and seems to know when someone needs a little extra time with her.
“There have been times where a person sits with her, and it’s almost like she can tell, I need to be with this person a little longer, mom. This person needs me. I don’t know why, but this person needs me,” Crystal says.
“And genuinely, during that point, she will lay down and she’ll kind of roll so that her belly is up. And that’s kind of the sign like, hey, mom, we need to stay here.”
That is Copper’s gift. ❤️
And while we love ALL of our TMH Animal Therapy dogs, the mission of National Dog Day gives us a special opportunity to shine a light on some of our rescue therapy dogs and the incredible love they bring to our community every day. 🐾
For Crystal, adopting shelter dogs is something she believes in deeply. She has volunteered with the Animal Shelter Foundation for years and has welcomed several rescue dogs into her own family, including five who have gone on to become therapy dogs.
Her message to anyone thinking about adoption is simple: keep looking.
“There is a dog for everybody,” she says. “And just because your dog isn’t there [at the shelter] on the day that you go doesn’t mean they’re not going to be there tomorrow.”
She also encourages people to look beyond breed or pedigree.
“There’s nothing that makes them different other than the fact that they don’t have a certificate or a piece of paper,” she says. “But they’re wonderful, wonderful creatures.”
And perhaps most beautifully: “It’s a gift. It is a gift. They know they are being adopted and they are thankful. It is the most amazing thing.”
So this National Dog Day, we’re celebrating Copper and all of the rescue dogs who have found their way into the TMH Animal Therapy family. They may have started out in shelters, rescues or even scrapyards. But now, they spend their days bringing comfort, joy and a little bit of home to people who need it most. ❤️
To support our amazing Animal Therapy teams, visit TMH.ORG/AnimalTherapy.
And check out a few of the other rescue dogs we’re celebrating today (in order of appearance):
🐾 Copper
🐾 Kannoli
🐾 Frida
🐾 Malley Blu
🐾 Gracie
🐾 Callie
🐾 Minnie
🐾 Harlow
🐾 Lulu
🐾 Zuzu
🐾 Tess
🐾 Bugsy