Every Tuesday, Sophie slips on her blue cape and heads to work. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel pads through the halls of St. Louis Children’s Hospital, hops gently onto beds, and offers quiet comfort to young patients who light up at the sight of her silky ears and steady gaze.
“One little boy was learning to walk again, and Sophie walked right beside his walker down the hospital hallway. “For the first time, he squatted just to pet her. It was the sweetest thing,” recalls local author Julie Huetsch, who is releasing Cavie’s Caring Crew, the third installment in the Cavie Tales series, based on Sophie’s real-life therapy work.
That moment in the hospital hallway is just one of many that Huetsch has witnessed since Sophie became a certified Duo Touch Therapy dog. After completing Duo Dogs’ multiweek training program, the pair began making regular visits to St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Special Care Center locations, as well as schools, libraries, and community events across the region. What started as a way to give her energetic Cavalier a “job” quickly became something much bigger.
“I can’t tell you how inspiring it is just to be there,” Huetsch says. “The patients, their families, even the staff—they light up when Sophie walks in. Sometimes she’s up on the hospital bed with a child, and you can just feel the comfort in the room.”
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Seeing those reactions firsthand is what inspired Cavie’s Caring Crew. The book introduces young readers to therapy work through Cavie—a character modeled after Sophie—and her fellow four-legged teammates, based on real Duo Touch dogs and their trainer. In the story, themes of compassion, teamwork, and courage take center stage, reflecting the very qualities Huetsch sees play out in hospital rooms and school hallways each week. The series is geared toward early readers, with gentle storytelling and real-world lessons that parents can continue long after the last page is turned.
“It’s not just one dog out there,” Huetsch says. “We really do operate as a team. It feels like a family.”
Beyond medical visits, Sophie and her fellow Duo Touch dogs regularly show up at high schools, universities, libraries, and community events—anywhere a little stress relief or encouragement is needed. From “paws for reading” programs that help young readers build confidence to campus de-stress days during finals week, the demand for therapy dogs continues to grow across the region. For Huetsch, that widening reach underscores just how powerful—and necessary—the work has become.
The Open House
To celebrate the new book’s release, Huetsch is partnering with Duo Dogs for a family-friendly open house on March 28 from 10 a.m.–noon. The event will take place at Duo Dogs’ training facility (10955 Linpage), and guests are encouraged to RSVP in advance. The free event will invite children ages 2–10 and their families to meet the real-life therapy dogs who inspired the story, chat with trainers, tour the facility, and enjoy book signings, activities, and giveaways. A portion of book proceeds will benefit Duo Dogs, whose programs extend far beyond therapy visits to include breeding, training, and placing service dogs with individuals with mobility impairments, hearing challenges, and veterans with PTSD.
For Huetsch, the open house is about more than celebrating a new title; it’s about giving families a tangible connection to the mission behind the pages. Children can take photos with the dogs, collect stamped “pawtographs,” and see firsthand how therapy and service dogs are trained.
“When kids meet the real dogs, it becomes so much more meaningful,” Huetsch says. “They realize this isn’t just a story. These dogs are truly out there helping people.”
Huetsch hopes that Cavie’s Caring Crew is just the beginning. She envisions the series expanding—possibly even into an animated show—bringing the message of compassion and teamwork to an even wider audience. “There are so many shows about superheroes,” she says. “But these therapy dogs are real-life heroes.” Through Cavie and her caring crew, Huetsch hopes young readers will learn that kindness is also a kind of superpower.
“If we can teach compassion early—through stories, through these dogs, through this community—it can last a lifetime,” Huetsch says.
