Wish mom creates paws-itive experiences through dog breeding business
She had left her job as a nurse to spend more time at home with her daughter, and after starting her own Golden Doodle dog breeding business, Daisy’s Delightful Doodles, she had an idea how she could help.
“I remember calling Make-A-Wish Arizona after my first litter to see if I could donate a puppy, and they added me to a list of breeders they reach out to when a wish to have a puppy comes up,” she said. “When a girl fighting cancer named Lilly wished for a little red Golden Doodle, they called me and I was so excited we were able to make her wish come true.”
For Sherri and Rebecca, planning the elements leading up to Lilly’s wish was half the fun.
“Rebecca loves to work with the puppies and she helped with feeding, socialization, training and giving them lots of pets,” Sherri said. “We had a holiday photoshoot with the Wish Litter and so many people wanted to help and donate items for Lilly. It was really fun to send her things to help her wish be complete.”
“We even recorded a video singing ‘Happy Make-A-Wish To You’ for Lilly, which is the same song we sang to Rebecca right before her wish.”
Lilly says she chose her puppy Wishes because she ‘just had a feeling about him’ and as soon as saw her, he ran up to give her lots of kisses and immediately rolled onto his back for belly rubs.
“He’s such a sweet puppy,” said Sherri. “With everything Lilly is going through medically, I hope he can comfort her with lots of love and snuggles.”
Granting Lilly’s wish feels even more meaningful to Sherri because of her daughter’s experience.
“Rebecca has multiple conditions that affect her heart and she’s losing her vision, so her wish to go to Thomas Land was a great memory for her to see her absolute favorite character, Thomas the Train, in person,” she said. “At the time, we weren’t sure if Rebecca was going to make it and it was an amazing experience for our family to be able to have together."
“We talked about her wish every single day leading up it and when she finally met Thomas, she was speechless, waving her hands in the air and she rode the train around 15 times!” she continued.
Right now, Rebecca’s heart is stable and she’s happy to be helping out with the newest litter. While Wishes is the first puppy Sherri has donated, she says he certainly won’t be her last.
“It’s extremely rewarding and fulfilling to grant a wish for a child in my community. It gives me true joy in my heart that I can give what we received to someone else and provide joy and comfort in another family’s life,” she said.