March 31, 2024 - By Jeff Jardine - Shortly after the Veterans Home of California-Fresno opened in October 2013, Gladys Garza-Brown took her former husband, an ailing veteran, there to scout it out as a place where he might live.
She also brought along her Border Collie, Chase. The moment they walked through the doors, staff immediately began recruiting her and Chase to volunteer at the Home.
“The activities director asked if I’d bring Chase, who was a certified therapy dog,” Garza-Brown said.
Garza-Brown has a big heart that includes a soft spot for veterans. Her dad served in the Army and her brothers in the Navy, and so, without hesitation, she accepted. Though working weekdays at the Fresno Unified School District, she volunteered her and Chase’s time on Saturdays. Over the ensuing months, the new Home filled up with veterans and their spouses..
“The first time we went, there was a Vietnam vet who wasn’t that into dogs,” said Garza-Brown. “By the time I retired (from the school district) in 2017, and started going twice a week, Chase had made a lot of friends. We joked that everyone knew Chase more than they knew me. And if I went there and didn’t bring him, everyone would ask, ‘Where’s Chase?’”
Indeed, for the better part of a decade, her smart and friendly pooch brought his gentle, relaxing nature to delight residents and staff of the Home.
“The residents were so much more at peace with Chase there,” Garza-Brown said. “He made an impact on their lives.”
As they did on his.
“I’d be walking down the halls with him, and (the residents) would save part of their breakfast or dinner for him,” she said. “We’d leave the place, get into the car, and Chase would be in a food coma.”
In March 2020, the pandemic prevented family, friends, and volunteers, two- and four-legged alike, from visiting the Home. Nor could they visit UC Merced, Stanislaus, and Fresno State universities, Fresno-Pacific University, or the Marjaree Mason Center (a safe haven for abused women and children in Fresno) all places where Chase had made friends and built trust.
“When COVID hit, we had to stop,” Gaza-Brown said. “It really affected him. I think he lost his purpose in life.”
They returned to the Home in 2022 with a drive-thru visit, followed by accompanying groups of veterans to the Fresno County Fair and other events last summer. But by then, he was slowing down. Chase, 15 in human years, passed away late in 2023.
“The joy and excitement that Gladys brings to the Fresno Veterans Home is beyond measure,” said Whitney Fisher-Doyle, the Home’s Coordinator of Volunteer Services and Donations. “Her visits with Chase were a welcomed and highly anticipated [part of our] day. Everyone, including staff, loved seeing these two around. Our Front Receptionist even started a ‘treat jar’ for Chase.”
Garza-Brown continues to volunteer at the Veterans Home.
“Gladys exudes positivity and immense generosity,” Fisher-Doyle said. “Her presence can be felt in every corner of the Fresno Veterans Home, and we are so grateful to have her as one of our remarkable and valued volunteers.”
“I love hearing their stories,” Garza-Brown said. “I could sit there and listen to them for hours; it brings me such joy. I look at them and I think, ‘Wow, what they survived and the things they did for me.’”
Each time she volunteers at the home, residents will tell her they how much they miss Chase. There are currently no therapy dogs regularly visiting the Home. She plans to remedy that with a Terrier mixed-breed dog named Cody, who will begin training in April and should be certified by 2025. Another veterans’ best friend, another dedicated volunteer.
This article is part of a series of stories about volunteers in our Veterans Homes—volunteers serving veterans. For more information on the Homes, and to volunteer at a specific Home, visit www.calvet.ca.gov/calvet-programs/veteran-homes for contact information. Ask for the volunteer coordinator.
The Veterans Homes of California system of care offers affordable long-term care to older and disabled veterans as well as their eligible spouses and domestic partners. With eight facilities across the state, the services offered range from assisted living programs with minimal support to 24-hour skilled nursing care for veterans with significant clinical needs including memory care.
CalVet staff are uniquely capable of serving the needs of our veterans and provide an environment that honors their service to the country. The Veterans Homes are nationally recognized for the premier care and services they provide to California’s veterans.
Would you like the opportunity to serve veterans in your work? Join the CalVet team! We are dedicated to ensuring that veterans from every era, along with their families, receive the state and federal benefits and services they have earned and deserve due to their selfless and honorable military service. At CalVet, we prioritize serving veterans and their families with dignity, compassion, and a commitment to helping them achieve the highest quality of life. See our current career opportunities at www.calcareers.ca.gov/CalVet.
Source: CalVet
