Brenda Eagle Ransom is a born and raised Yooper who has spent most of her life living in Sault Ste. Marie.
She started working for Daymakers Day Spa for several years before eventually buying the business in 2001.
As if owning a business with a large clientele doesn't keep her busy, Ransom finds time outside of her business to volunteer her time with many organizations.
Ransom is a Global United Lifetime Queen, which platform consists of raising funds and awareness for childhood cancer, a board member of the Miss I-500 Pageant, the chaplain for the I-500 race, and a Commissioned Lay Pastor for the Presbytery of Mackinac.
"I do it because I enjoy it. I believe in giving back to the community that supports me. The community supports my business so I believe in the giving to the people who help me out," Ranson said.
As if all that is not enough to keep her busy, Ransom and her 3-year-old Golden Retriever, Molly, are on a mission to bring comfort to people when times are difficult and chaotic.
Ransom and Molly are part of the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response. Molly is a crisis therapy dog who works wonders with Ransom at her side.
"Molly is my child. She is my second HOPE dog. Raven was my first. She passed away four years ago in June. She is now buried at the War Dog Memorial Cemetery in South Lyon," Ranson said.
Losing Raven was devastating.
"It was tough. Real tough. She was a good dog. It was hard at first not to compare Raven to Molly because they have very different personalities. Raven was an English Retriever/Poodle and got her at 16 months old. She had been verbally abused, so she was really hesitant about things, but she made a great therapy dog. We got Molly right out of the gate at 12 weeks old. We picked her up Saturday and on Monday, she was at the Spa. She has grown up here with all my staff. They are her aunties," Ransom chuckled.
After Molly turned one, it was time to expand her love and mission beyond the Spa.
"I was able to screen her to have her be a therapy dog. With therapy work, those are more planned visits like going to the Hospice House. We go to Lake State when it is exam week and offer students comfort there and visit area schools. I also take her with me when I preach at the smaller churches. She enjoys going," Ransom continued.
Then, Ransom took the next step in certifying Molly as an animal-assisted crisis response member. Molly officially completed that training in May 2024.
"After a year of being a therapy dog, we were able to apply and go through the screening to become a HOPE dog. The mission with HOPE is to offer comfort and encouragement through animal assistance to anyone affected by a crisis or disaster. It's just not the police or fire, it is Red Cross or 9-1-1 dispatchers. It's anybody and not just the victims that are affected," Ransom said.
Molly has been busy the past several months.
"Molly and I went to Drummond Island last year when the unfortunate passing of the young man in the boating accident. She and I met up with a team from Sault, Canada, Stephanie and her dog, Ellie, joined us. We were also at the Wood Creek Manor incident. We actually went to Hearthside, where some of the (displaced) residents from Wood Creek were waiting to see when they would go back to their apartments. Molly and I went there and help them get relocated to a hotel for the night. After we got everyone settled into the hotel for the night, I brought Molly in, and one gal put her on the bed and calmed her right down. A couple days later, we actually helped the residents move back into the apartment building with a scheduled time set up. Stephanie and Ellie came over and supported us with this, too. Earlier this month, we were at Malcolm School as a part of HOPE to support those students in the passing of the young man from the snowmobile accident. We were there for about three hours," Ransom explained.
The reward for helping in difficult situations is great, she said.
"Both organizations are all volunteer. None of it is ever paid. It is very rewarding on multiple levels in the fact that in the crisis mode with HOPE, you get people who are at their most vulnerable state and get at least five minutes where they don't have to think about what is going on. They can sit and pet that dog. They will sit and talk to Molly. They won't expect an answer but they can just sit and pet her and talk to her and feel nothing else is going on around them at that moment in time," Ransom concluded.
