The good Cornellians can do: Barbara Osgood ’56, PhD ’80

Barbara Osgood '56, PhD '80 has been rescuing and adopting senior Labrador Retrievers and Lab mixes for over 30 years. Early on in her rescue experience, she realized older dogs were often overlooked by potential adopters, and were passing away alone in shelters. She wanted to do something about it.

"It broke my heart. It became my mission to save as many old dogs as I could," she says. "I recently adopted my 24th old Lab, a 114-pound yellow boy, 12 years old, named Remi."

Barbara says she tries not to judge why some of the dogs she's adopted have been left at shelters, and focuses only on providing a loving home for the dogs to enjoy the rest of their lives—whether that's several years, or only a few months.

"People often ask me how I can endure losing so many dogs," she says. "It isn’t easy! I treasure every one of them. But I also am consoled by the fact that these dogs would have died in the shelter if they had not come to me. And I also know that they give much more to me than I can ever give to them."

Cornellians around the globe are sharing how they do good in communities big and small. Share your own story.