In 2001, I met a woman named Pam Gaber. Immediately, I was taken by her grace. She’s also a very smart and motivated woman with integrity.

Integrity…. sadly, the word has become a cliche. Advertisers flood the airwaves claiming “honesty and integrity”. Yuck. The dictionary definition is, ”adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty”. To me, it means, “Doing the Right Thing”.

… and Pam Gaber has been doing the right thing for a long time. She founded Gabriel’s Angels, and I received a powerful refresher when I recently attended their ”Unleash the Love” breakfast with 1100 other people. Yes, 1100. Below is Pam’s story.

Cris Caruso, Big Goober

Reposted from Powerfully Positive Insights by Dr. Joel Martin

Gabriel’s Angels mission is to deliver healing pet therapy to at-risk children, nurturing their emotional development and enhancing the quality of their lives forever. Please read on. Perhaps this chapter from Pam Gaber’s book will lead you to create your own revolution.

CHAPTER 5 –THE CHRISTMAS VISIT

My volunteer work at Crisis Nursery coincided with Gabriel’s first year of life. The Friday after we adopted him, I told the kids, “I just got a new puppy!”

“What did you name him?” they asked excitedly.

“We named him Gabriel.”

The next Friday, they asked, “Miss Pam, how’s Gabriel?” I told them that Gabriel had his first bath. The kids’ eyes were wide  as I told them how Gabriel had been in the tub,  shaking soap and water everywhere. I described how I dried his soft fur and how good he smelled  afterwards. “What did he do next?” they asked.

“He fell asleep in my arms.”

“Awww,” the kids responded.

Every time I visited the nursery, they asked about Gabriel and wanted to see pictures, “What did Gabriel do this week? What did he do?”

“Gabriel ate my shoe.”

“Oh – Gabriel ate your shoe. Did you hit him?” on tiny guy asked. In that moment, I was reminded that this little boy was a victim of abuse and neglect.

“Oh, no,” I said. “I just threw away the other shoe. So now I don’t have those shoes anymore. Gabriel didn’t mean to eat my shoe. I left it on the bedroom floor, and he thought it was a toy.” I told them about the times Gabriel ate his bed and tore up the outdoor drip system. They were always interested in hearing how, when Gabriel was challenging, I never hurt him. I now realize that those little stories were lessons about compassion for these kids. They learned that Gabriel was a member of our family, and in my family we did not resolve issues with violence.

I began taking a little album with photos of Gabe to  share with the kids. It had various pictures of  Gabriel at home sleeping, eating, and playing. The  pictures illustrated for the children that Gabriel was  part of our family and was always treated as such.  One photo was of a huge, beautiful lake with a tiny  dot – Gabriel fetching a stick – right in the middle. I  would ask, “Where is Gabriel?” And they would point their tiny little fingers right at the dot.

* * *

Since I’d been sharing all the details of Gabriel’s first year with the children, I wanted them to meet him. After all, they had been bonding with an animal they had never met. The perfect opportunity presented itself, so I seized the moment. Marsha Porter was the Executive Director of the Crisis Nursery, and I needed her permission to carry out my plan. “I know you’re having your annual Christmas party in December. And I came last year – without a dog. How about this year I bring Gabriel dressed as Rudolph so the kids can finally meet him?”

She looked at me and said, “That’s interesting.”

Interesting? I thought. That certainly doesn’t mean no.

Off I went to our local doggie boutique, where I purchased a pair of doggie antlers, a “Just Call Me Rudolph” t-shirt, and a big jingle bell collar. Quite honestly, I was amazed at all the Christmas regalia available for dogs at that store. That night, Gabe modeled his reindeer outfit for Mike. I thought he might mind the costume, but Gabriel was beaming, as if to say, “Look at me!” He strutted his stuff down our hallway and around the living room.

The day of the party, we arrived at the Crisis Nursery, and Gabriel jumped out of the car in full reindeer regalia, anxious to greet the children. We walked into the nursery. The children noticed me first, and then their eyes lit up like Christmas trees when they saw Gabriel. At first they were a little confused about whether it was a dog at the end of the leash, or a real reindeer. Some were quite hesitant. “Hi, everyone,” I said. “I brought Gabriel to meet you, and he decided to get dressed up like one of Santa’s reindeer. Would you like to pet him?”

After volunteering with these children every Friday for a year, I had gotten to know them pretty well, but that day they were different. They did not display any anger or violent tendencies; they were simply kind and loving toward Gabriel. They would gently pat his head and hug him. They carefully took his velvety ear and touched it against their cheeks. The nursery became an oasis of peace and serenity. And the only difference that day was the presence of a gentle gray dog.

I remember one little boy who was about five years old, with dark hair and a Spiderman t-shirt. He had just been admitted to the nursery and was in his room crying, uninterested in coming to the party. Even when a child is removed from a violent home and taken to a safe haven, he’s scared to death because he doesn’t know what safety is. Familiar violence feels safer than a peaceful place with strangers. Though the nursery accepted children from birth to age ten, most of these kids seemed to be between four and six years of age. It makes sense, because stress often elevates during the holidays, and it’s generally the little ones who get pulled from the home because they’re just not safe there.

But this little guy kept peeking around the corner to see Gabriel, and before long, he came out and draped his arms around Gabriel’s neck and buried his head in the soft fur. The boy not only stopped crying, but began to smile and laugh. Gabriel’s eyes were a limitless pool of understanding that day. Soon the line for photos with “Rudolph” was longer than the line for photos with Santa!

We all stood in amazement at how Gabriel, without any effort on his part, was reaching these children in a way no human had been able to. It was as if we were watching a movie unravel its plot. Gabriel and I were preparing to leave the party, when the shelter director said to me, “I don’t know what happened here today, but would you bring Gabriel back?” Wow, really? I felt like someone had just told me my child was a genius. I checked Gabe’s calendar, which happened to be free – so I said YES!

As we got in the car to head home, I sensed that something profound had happened. I had witnessed Gabriel reach those children like no person seemed able to. Normally angry, impatient, scared kids had been only kind and loving. I was deeply moved by all of it. I remember thinking that something magical had happened in that nursery, and I could either do something to create more magic, or I could do nothing and let it end there. I decided in that moment that I was going to do something. I just didn’t know quite what.

What Pam Gaber did was form an  organization and launch a revolution. Today,  Gabriel’s Angels serves 13,000 abused,  neglected and at-risk children in Arizona through the application of innovative pet  therapy. Presently, Gabriel’s Angels has over 150 registered volunteer Therapy  Teams and 40 Helping Hands delivering pet therapy to over 100 agencies. All services are free of charge to the agency and the children. The future vision of the organization is to expand the therapy program to meet the needs of approximately  7,000-10,000 additional Arizona children that need their services. The current cost to  train and support one Therapy Team for a year is $2,500. To learn more about Gabriel’s Angels, visit https://www.gabrielsangels.org/.