Florence resident George Bowers has fond memories of his three beloved dogs, Augie, Watson and Cooper. Now that they’ve passed, Bowers and his wife Shayne use those memories as a key part of their inspiration to give to the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund.
“They were the lights of my life,” he said.
Augie was Bowers’ first dog, whom he had for 17 years and who “helped [him] get through some very tough times.” Cooper belonged to Shayne, and Watson was their shared dog — “He was for both of us,” Bowers said. “He made us smile.”
“Any pet that you grow close to makes your life better,” Bowers said. “They love you, they’re forgiving, and they’re just wonderful.”
All three were adopted. Still, as Bowers said, “Instead of being rescue dogs, they rescued us.”
Augie had a special job: he came to Cooley Dickinson with Bowers, an oncologist, to visit patients as Bowers made his rounds.
“The patients just loved him,” Bowers said. “He changed the demeanor of the whole place. People knew him more than me. They’d say, ‘You’re Augie’s dad!’”
It didn’t bother Bowers, though. Animals like Augie who come to facilities like hospitals, nursing homes, and rehab centers “change the whole place into a much better place,” he said.
In donating to the Toy Fund, Bowers wants to honor the happy memories that his dogs gave him, but also to help less fortunate families make happy memories of their own. He once made a Christmas donation a family affair: he dressed up as Santa and had his children dress up as elves before they dropped off toys for a family in need.
As he sees it, people who are able to make Christmas happen on their own should help other families who aren’t able to do so.
“There’s so many kids who are not as lucky as I was, as my wife was, as my kids were and still are. I think, therefore, you gotta give back,” Bowers said. “It sounds kind of hokey, but it’s true.”
Named after a former business manager at the Gazette, the Toy Fund began in 1933 to help families in need during the Depression. Today, the fund distributes vouchers worth $65 to qualifying families for each child from age 1 to 14.
To be eligible for the Toy Fund, families must live in any Hampshire County community except Ware, or in the southern Franklin County towns of Deerfield, Sunderland, Whately, Shutesbury and Leverett, and in Holyoke in Hampden County.
The following stores are participating this year: A2Z Science and Learning Store, 57 King St., Northampton; Blue Marble/Little Blue, 150 Main St., Level 1, Northampton; High Five Books, 141 N. Main St., Florence; The Toy Box, 201 N. Pleasant St., Amherst; Comics N More, 64 Cottage St., Easthampton; Once Upon A Child,1458 Riverdale St., West Springfield; Plato’s Closet, 1472 Riverdale St., West Springfield; Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, 227 Russell St., Hadley; Odyssey Bookshop, 9 College St., Village Commons, South Hadley; The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, 125 W. Bay Road, Amherst; Holyoke Sporting Goods Co., and 1584 Dwight St. No. 1, Holyoke.