健康的生命纽带吉祥物

安琪拉 总是和动物一起长大, 虽然她想要一只宠物, 作为一个忙碌的专业人士, 她觉得自己没有线上电子游戏飞禽走兽了.

That all changed during the pandemic when she was isolated from her friends and longing for companionship.

She was introduced to Ollie, a one-year-old Patterdale terrier mix, at the Sacramento SPCA.

“他真的很害羞. 他们说他是一只高度焦虑的狗, 他有问题,安吉拉说, 一家生物技术公司的人力资源经理. 这句话牵动了我的心弦. 去年谁没有高度焦虑? This puppy looked at me, and I just wanted to be that person in his life to change things around.”

She adopted him on the spot, and immediately was forced to develop new, healthier habits.

“He helped me establish a routine -- during the pandemic, it has been hard to have a routine. 他提醒我休息一下吃午饭，然后我们去散步. 他喜欢蔬菜. 我在饮食中加入了更多.”

作为一名马拉松运动员，安吉拉在健身房的跑步活动被搁置了. Now Ollie runs with her outside, and she’s training for another marathon.

“奥利绝对改变了我的观点，”她说. “他真的让我专注于小事.”

工具包 and her husband were without pets for 13 years after the death of their beloved 11-year-old family dog.

直到梭罗进入他们的生活.

小猎犬, 大流行来袭时，他们把谁带回家了, had a much bigger impact on the Clarks than they would have ever imagined.

A massage therapist, 工具包 was forced to close her business down for two months due to Covid.

“这是毁灭性的。. 我习惯了整天被客户包围. I had that people connection all day long, and to go from that to nothing was really hard. 他对我的情绪和精神健康都很有帮助. 我的压力水平非常高. I honestly don't believe I would have made it through that time without him.”

The Clarks are avid hikers, and Thoreau has fit right into their routine.

“我们把他纳入了我们的徒步旅行. 我们喜欢徒步旅行. 我们更多地在公园和山上散步，”她说. “狗需要保持健康的体重，就像人类一样. 他和你一样需要锻炼.”

Now that she’s back at work, Thoreau has helped her remember to take breaks during the day.

“他教会我们放慢脚步. 我午饭时下班回家陪他散步. 这让我有线上电子游戏飞禽走兽集中精力，保持活跃.”

工具包, 谁在30多岁时被诊断出患有先天性心脏病, has been a supporter of the 美国心脏协会 in her community. Although she didn’t require surgery to correct the hole in her heart, 对她来说，这是一个顿悟的时刻，让她过上了充实的生活.

事实上, her favorite quote is from poet Henry David Throeau -- Thoreau’s namesake -- and inspires her to do just that: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! 过你想象的生活.”

Stephanie had dreams of riding horses, but growing up, she didn’t think it was a possibility.

Until seven years ago when she and her sister Jennie started taking lessons as adults. It was at the practice barn where they met 惠斯勒, a thoroughbred Hannovarian cross breed.

惠斯勒, 他现在21岁了, had been a champion show jumper -- but an injury forced his retirement from the competition ring. His owners kept him at the barn as a school horse for people like Stephanie and her sister, 谁在学习骑马.

惠斯勒的主人正在为它找一个新家. 不幸的是, he wasn’t in good enough shape for the therapy riding organization they wanted to send him to. 而不是, 主人把它给了斯蒂芬妮和她的妹妹, 谁为实现儿时的梦想而激动不已.

就在去年，惠斯勒的脚受了伤, 斯蒂芬妮一直在那里帮助他康复.

“I feel like I owe it to him to take care of myself and keep him in the best shape I can,” she said. “照顾他激励了我更多地关注自己. 你无法向动物解释，‘我就是不想做这件事.“我致力于帮助他快乐和健康.”

这也意味着要确保她的身体状况良好. Stephanie does strength training and flexibility exercises to strengthen her hips, in addition to cardio to keep her from getting winded during riding.

骑车的好处也延伸到心理健康.

“我是一个焦虑型的人. 我练习瑜伽、正念和活在当下. You can't focus on anything else but the horse when you're riding, you have to be really present.”

大流行期间, caring for 惠斯勒 helped her emotional state in the midst of a swirl of uncertainty.

“With Covid there’s been such a shift in finding what truly makes you happy. 我们不知道能不能去谷仓. 当你整天呆在室内时，你会失去对周围事物的关注. Seeing him, grooming him, being outside more helped me stay positive.”

NOTE: Stephanie works in the neurosciences center at the University of Utah Hospital. (医院与当地AHA合作). 她是自己的自行车国家队的队长, and she worked as a nurse's assistant on the cardiovascular unit for a few years. 心脏病是她家族遗传的，她爸爸, 爷爷和她妈妈那边的家人都有心脏病.

比莉·乔在纽约州北部骑马长大. 但当她上大学时，她把马抛在了身后.

She made a promise to herself that she would one day have a horse again.

An unhealthy lifestyle reined in her dreams --  a significant weight gain kept her from riding. That was the motivator for her to start improving her health and lose weight.

两年前, 一些朋友在卖马, including Grace; they made 比利乔 a deal she couldn’t refuse.

“She has been an amazing boost to keeping me healthy,” 比利乔 said. “我骑她的次数比骑任何马都多——我们一起‘星期天兜风’. 她鼓励我. 和她在一起鼓励我保持健康.”

比莉·乔和格蕾丝有一种特殊的联系.

“我们厨房的窗户可以俯瞰牧场，”她说. “When she knows I'm in the kitchen, she'll come and stand by the window.

Grace has helped improve 比利乔’s physical -- and emotional -- health.

“她是我的锻炼工具. 她降低了我的血压. 她减轻了我的压力. 格蕾丝有一颗优雅的灵魂和心灵. 她只是散发着爱.”

大流行期间, 比利乔, 特殊教育老师, 特别是依靠格蕾丝来帮助她应对压力.

“在大流行时期当老师很困难. 老师们习惯于和孩子们在教室里. 我们都被召唤去做我们不习惯的事情. 压力很大. Being able to have her and pet her and be with her was so good for my stress level.”

比利乔 wanted to share Grace with her students, so she started virtual "barn math" lessons. One day a week she broadcasted from the barn and taught real world lessons with Grace -- like measuring the angles of her shoulder and calculating feed.

One of 比利乔’s students with autism fell in love with Grace and started riding her.

“对他来说，她是一个很大的动力.”

注意:自闭症学生的家庭可能愿意参加. 比利乔 is also going to look for video footage of her teaching her students "Barn Math" on Zoom. Grace and 比利乔 did the 20-mile beach ride last year in Myrtle Beach. 比莉·乔的爸爸死于心脏病.