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A whole new world opened up for Todd when he got Groot,” says Karla McIntyre (Locked In, page 16), of her husband’s service Great Dane. Being confined to a walker made it hard for Todd to do simple things like walk on grass. Todd got his new best friend three years to the day after his stroke. Karla later sent her Bichon, Arctic, to Groot’s trainer to help with her own PTSD. “I worry about Todd getting sick again,” Karla says. She and Arctic joined the Go Team, a nationwide group of therapy, crisis and airport dogs and their handlers. Karla and Arctic visited Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood after the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting with a Go Team. Karla named her Bichon after her travel goals. “My dream vacations are Antarctica or Alaska,” she says. “Since the Arctic is white, it just fit.”

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