The testimonial below was written by Dan Flores. He was kind enough to share his personal experience with us, so we could share it with you here.
“In December of 2020, my life changed forever. Like so many others during the height of the COVID pandemic, I was battling the virus — but what I didn’t know was that something even more dangerous was happening inside my body. I was rushed to the hospital, and doctors told me I had suffered an aortic dissection. They said I had just 45 minutes to live and needed emergency surgery right away.
Thanks to the incredible skill and dedication of the medical team at Sutter Health, I survived. But survival was only the beginning. Because of the impact of COVID, my oxygen levels were dangerously low, and it took five days before I was able to wake up after surgery. My family was told to prepare for my funeral — yet by the grace of God, I opened my eyes.
After waking up, I spent 21 days in the hospital recovering. Those days were long and painfully isolating. Because of COVID restrictions, I couldn’t have any visitors — no family, no friends. The only people who entered my room were doctors and nurses, covered head-to-toe in protective suits. There was no familiar face, no comforting hug — just the quiet hum of machines and the stillness of loneliness.
But then, something extraordinary happened.
About ten days into my recovery, a nurse walked into my room with a therapy dog — a sweet, gentle Labrador Retriever from Sutter Health’s care dog program. That beautiful dog came right up to my bedside and laid down next to me. In that moment, everything changed.
For the first time since my surgery, I felt peace. I felt comfort. I felt connected again — to life, to hope, to something pure and kind. Tears started streaming down my face as I realized how much I needed that simple, loving presence. That dog didn’t just bring me joy; it brought me back to myself.
What makes this even more profound is that, as a board member for Sutter Health, I had approved funding years earlier to support the care dog program. At the time, I thought it was a wonderful idea — but I had no idea how deeply personal and life-changing it would become. I never imagined that one of those very dogs would one day help me heal — not my heart physically, but my spirit emotionally.
To organizations like Unleashed PAwS, and to every volunteer, donor, and handler who makes these programs possible — please know this: what you do saves lives in ways that medicine alone cannot. You bring comfort where there is fear, hope where there is despair, and love where there is loneliness. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You reminded me that healing doesn’t just come from surgery or medicine — it comes from connection, compassion, and the unconditional love of a dog.”
— Dan Flores, Sutter County Supervisor, City of Marysville, Acting City Manager