Hopkinton residents Elizabeth and William Richmond pose at the Boston Marathon start line with their therapy dogs, Hula and Gracie.

The members of the Richmond family have found unique ways to give back to their local and regional communities: their dogs and their plane.

The Richmonds’ two dogs, Gracie and Hula, are trained therapy dogs certified by the American Kennel Club.

Both dogs recently earned the titles of AKC Therapy Dog Distinguished and Therapy Dog Excellent for completing a certain threshold of visits per title.

The dogs provide services through two organizations: the Pets & People Foundation and First Responder Therapy Dogs.

Pets & People offers therapy teams to nursing homes, assisted living homes, special needs facilities, schools, libraries and hospitals. Pets & People primarily serves the Greater Boston area.

With the organization, Gracie and Hula provide support at the Hopkinton Public Library for children learning to read. Children are invited every week to read aloud to the dogs.

“We were there just recently for the start of the summer reading program,” said Elizabeth Richmond. “There were at least 30 kids waiting to read to the dogs.”

The program at the library has now been running for 10 years. The Richmonds, who live in Hopkinton, worked with the children’s librarian back in 2014 to develop the program with Gracie and their former dog, Kaboom.

For the Richmonds, the First Responder Therapy Dog program is a newer endeavor but nonetheless important.

“We started with them about three years ago,” said Richmond.

The First Responder program aims to address the mental and emotional health needs of first responders. Now in 42 states, the program provides emotional support through the use of trained therapy dogs.

Gracie and Hula comprise one of 300 therapy dog teams nationwide offering support to first responders during debriefs or post-emergency scenarios.

They also will show up for military members about to go on deployment.

“In those situations, it’s about providing support to the families of those being deployed,” said Richmond.

Other calls they might take include public events, department visits and situations involving significant community trauma. 

When asked what drives them to provide community support in this way, Richmond reflected on the healing power pets can have.

“There’s something about being able to pet a dog or get that love from a pet that’s so helpful,” she said.

PALS SkyHope volunteer William Richmond prepares to pilot two individuals on a PALS SkyHope flight.

PALS SkyHope offers flights to those in need

Beyond the work they do with their dogs, the Richmonds offer their time — and their plane — to people in need.

They volunteer for Patient Airlift Service (PALS) SkyHope, a nonprofit that offers free medical and compassion flights for both patients and veterans. 

“There are patients in remote areas who need to come to places like Boston for quality medical care,” explained Richmond.

Elizabeth acts as an ambassador for the program, routinely reaching out to clinics and letting them know this flight service is available.

Along with Bob Cordner, another Hopkinton resident, Richmond’s husband, William, takes care of the flying.

William has been a licensed pilot for eight years and has been flying with PALS for three. He uses his own plane to transport patients.

Many of his flights take him to Maine, but other paths have included Rochester, New York, and Pittsburgh.

“His most recent trip was up to Presque Isle, Maine, to transport a cancer patient,” said Richmond. 

PALS also will provide flights for veterans based on need. William has taken veterans to camp up in Maine and to programs in other states.

In the last 13 years, PALS has provided 3,200 families with more than 27,000 flights.

Eligible participants are never charged anything for the flights. All costs are taken care of by the volunteer pilots. All participants have to do is make a request, and PALS takes care of the rest.

For William, volunteering to fly for PALS hits close to home. Working in rare diseases at Sanofi, he understands how urgent and critical treatment can be. 

“Especially in Maine, there are these huge areas that are underserved,” he said. “Folks are driving 6 to 12 hours to get care otherwise.”

The Richmonds find great satisfaction in the work they do to help others. Elizabeth is particularly proud of the work her husband and Cordner do for those in need.

“The work they do is just amazing,” Richmond said. “And patients are always so appreciative.”