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Lending a Helping Paw

Service Dogs Offer More Than You Might Think by MATT NORMAN When you think service dogs, what comes to mind? You probably think of a beautiful lab in a vest and helping the visually impaired. While many service dogs are used for guiding those who are blind, there are a lot more ways service…
Caring Canine

Meet Victory Ridge Academy’s Superstar, Dub the Service Dog by TERESA SCHIFFER If there’s one face familiar to all at Victory Ridge Academy, it’s Dub, the dog. Dub, short for Dublin, has been working at the school for children with special needs for the last 10 years. Dub is a Labrador retriever who has been…
Riding for Therapy

Equine-Assisted Activities Offer Heartfelt Help for Vets, Children with Special Needs by Mary Toothman At TiAnViCa Riding Academy, more than a dozen horses are on hand to allow people to ride — and heal. Sara Meadows, executive director and co-founder of TiAnViCa Riding Academy, says horseback riding for people with special needs has been offered…

Medical Advice: Back-to-school tips and the 5-2-1-0 program

AS STUDENTS and families prepare to return to school, the Florida Department of Health in Polk County (FDOH-Polk) would like to take this opportunity to remind them to take the proper steps to stay healthy this school year. Good health is important for students in order to maintain regular school attendance and be ready to…
Hospice Help: Hospice myth busting

WHEN MOST PEOPLE hear the word “hospice,” they immediately associate the provided care as being intimately tied to hours, or if lucky, days before death. Then there is also the supposition that hospice is only for cancer patients. These are just two myths that need to be busted when it comes to understanding hospice.
First impressions of our daughter’s new specialist

WE HEARD IT growing up from our mothers all the time, but we didn’t quite understand the true significance of it. As adults, we begin to see the value in making a good first impression. Whether it’s for a job interview, that first parent-teacher meeting, or sitting down with a new doctor, first impressions play…