Chloe the Service Dog
Judie Charlton and her husband, Bruce
Andrews, were in search of an intelligent,
good-natured, obedient dog when they
found Chloe. After locating her through a
breeder in Nebraska whose dogs have a
high success rate in becoming guide dogs,
they decided to train Chloe, their English
Labrador retriever, to become a service dog.
Chloe graduated from basic training first,
where she learned commands like sit, stay
and heel. She then entered more intense
training specific to therapy dogs that included
struggling to provide pediatric eye surgery
and rehabilitation services for blind chil-
dren. The island government and volunteer
agencies had not had the desired impact
in these areas, so a team of West Virginia
eye care professionals was invited to try to
help. The West Virginia team’s ability to
meld with their culture and circumstances
had a large impact, and the partnership
continues today.”
Charlton’s professional accomplish-
ments and passion for those she serves
hasn’t gone unnoticed. Throughout her
career, she has been the recipient of the
WVU School of Medicine Distinguished
Teacher Award, the Dean’s Award for Ex-
cellence in Clinical Service, the Most Loyal
Faculty Mountaineer and the Community
Bridge Builder Award. While she is proud
of these accomplishments, she considers
her greatest success to be parenting three
children while growing a clinical program
that has recruited 550 physicians in four
years and provides approximately 7,000
performing tasks with distractions like
approaching patients in beds and wheelchairs
and controlling her excitement when crossing
paths with people and other dogs. She
had three supervised trial visits at nursing
homes as well as extra veterinarian tests
to ensure she was healthy before applying
to the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. With her
acceptance, she applied to be a hospital
volunteer.
Today, when Charlton gets out Chloe’s vest,
Chloe gets excited at the prospect of visiting
patients. At the nursing home, some units
like to have therapy dogs visit with interested
patients at scheduled times. Other times,
therapy dog visits come as a special request
from a patient or their medical team. While
Chloe has brightened the day for patients
with a variety of health challenges, she seems
to have a greater impact on stroke patients.
According to Charlton, the most rewarding
experience has been when Chloe helps
stroke patients who were unable to speak
coherently find their voice as well as some
happiness in a difficult time.
patient encounters per day.
Charlton is now pursuing a hobby in
botanical illustration through the West
Virginia Master Naturalist Program,
which provides education and volunteer
opportunities in areas of forestry, botany,
wildlife, geology and waterways.
“After decades of working with data
about how West Virginia trails the nation
in health disparities, it is refreshing to be
with polar opposite data that shows West
Virginia as top in the nation in plant di-
versity and other natural resources,”
says Charlton.
While Charlton’s ancestors, Morgan
Morgan and Francis Pierpoint, may make
her West Virginia royalty, her loyalty
to the Mountain State is born from the
opportunities she has found here.
“My core connection to West Virginia
is the incredible gift given to me by its
citizens who sponsored my education,
gave me transformative opportunities and
entrusted me with their care,” she says.
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