COL (Ret) John Broderick, '70 finding new purpose in retirement with his dog, Lily

When he finally retired in 2017, COL (Ret) John Broderick, '70, determined that he needed to find something to do during his newly found free time. More importantly, he wanted to do something to contribute to the community. At about the same time, he and Lily, his English Cream Doodle,  were undergoing training when their trainer said that she thought Lily would be a great therapy dog. After she explained the role of a therapy dog, John and Lily went through additional training and were eventually certified by Therapy Dogs International after passing the evaluation.  Since then, John and Lily have visited nursing homes and Hospice Savannah every week. 

Ms. Tammie Kennedy, Volunteer Coordinator remarked that Hospice Savannah is so grateful to have John and Lily as volunteers. Not only is John wonderful because he has Lily, but he has at many requests said “yes” to honoring other veterans who have come under our care. He is a blessing. With the combination of John and his calm and caring demeanor and Lily's lively and bouncy energy, we have a winning team that the entire Hospice Savannah building readily embraces. John has always been so willing to share his and Lily’s time with the patients and families that we serve.  He has often commented that Lily knows when it’s her day to visit and gets so excited he can hardly contain her. What he doesn’t know is, that we at Hospice Savannah feel the same way! We anticipate the day that they will arrive. I have had many staff ask, “Is today John and Lily’s day!?”  And, when we hear the tap, tap, tap, tap of her paws on the floor, a smile comes to everyone’s face. We truly miss them when they are not here. They are our heroes!