Cherie and Sylvie Hope to Bring Smiles to the Medical Field

“I first got Sylvie when she was 8 weeks old from a local woman who breeds working-line German Shepherds. She’s almost 8 months old now, and we spend a lot of time together training. 

My hope is that I can get her good canine certification so she can be a therapy dog. I want to bring her into facilities to be a happy ray of sunshine for people. 

Currently, I’m the manager at Magnus on the Water, but I’ve also worked in healthcare for almost a decade and in emergency medicine throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Doing this would allow me to work at a facility in a different capacity. I want to bring positivity into healthcare, because at times it can feel pretty negative. And this is a great way to do that.

Sylvie would likely start out at assisted-living facilities. She is still a puppy with high energy, so I’ll probably wait until she is a little bit older and develops the calmness necessary to be around children. 

She does for me the exact thing I want her to do for other people, which is just bring joy on a daily basis. She is really my solace on those days where things just aren’t great. Honestly, having something else to take care of is really nice. 

She is my only pet and I’ve never done this before, so it’s a new adventure for the both of us. I know she will bring a smile to the faces of those who need it most.”

— Cherie Kahrman and her dog, Sylvie