I am excited to share that
for those attending Camp Good Days this summer we are welcoming the newest
member of our family, an Olde English Bulldog puppy, Invictus. Invictus will be the third in the line of
bulldogs, going back to the reason for Camp Good Days, my daughter, Teddi.
When Teddi was diagnosed
with a malignant brain tumor in 1979 at the age of nine, she underwent a seven
and a half hour craniotomy, and when I met with Dr. Nelson following the
surgery, he explained that he did the best he could but that they were not able
to get it all. Therefore, he suggested to start Teddi on eight weeks of
radiation, which would take place Monday through Friday and with that, it would
be best for her to finish school at home, with a tutor. With her brother and sister at school and her
home, he suggested it might be a good idea to get a puppy so that she would
have something to focus on and take care of.
I went to the library and took out a big book with pictures of all the
different breeds of dogs so that Teddi could look through it and pick out the
one she wanted. The next morning she
came down and was very proud of herself because she had selected an English
Bulldog.
Back then the English
Bulldog was not a very popular breed of dog in Upstate New York but wanting to
be a good Dad and hold true to my promise, I went over to World Wide News and
picked up a copy of Dog World Magazine.
In that I found a breeder in Jamestown and when I called they had one
puppy left who was the runt of the litter and already 16 weeks old, who they
had named Sweetums. Teddi, her Mom and her sister went to pick up
Sweetums. We had always brought dogs to
Camp Good Days and Sweetums was no different, quickly becoming part of the Camp
Good Days’ family. Although Teddi died a few years later, Sweetums lived to be
12 years old, the same age Teddi was when she passed away. For the children at Camp Good Days who are
going through their battle with cancer, which can include hair loss, increase
or decreases in weight, scarring, or the need for prosthesis, they oftentimes
don’t like what they see when they look at themselves. Pets can be so great and become so valuable
because they are not judgmental or cruel.
As the famous quote says, “I want to be the kind of person my dog thinks
I am.”
We later got Jordyn who
was a part of the Camp Good Days’ family for 10 years and now Invictus, whose
name means unconquerable and to me represents the courage of all of our
campers. The inspiration for his name
came because earlier this year, Wendy and I had the opportunity to attend the
Invictus Games in Orlando, which were started by Prince Harry. We were
able to see the Bronze Medal Game between Denmark and the Netherlands, and the Gold
Medal Wheelchair Basketball Game between the United States and the United
Kingdom. Wendy and I both have been to many, many sporting events over
the years, but this was truly one of the most inspiring experiences. To
watch the wounded warriors, and their commitment and strength is amazing.
They say that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you deal with
it. These athletes all paid a significant price in protecting our freedom
and athletes everywhere, as well as the rest of us, could learn so much from
them.
Hence, we felt that
Invictus was the perfect name for our newest addition and our newest Director
of Barketing and we are thrilled to have him join our family at Camp Good Days!
