In Loving Memory, Gayle Hutchens

Our founder, our inspiration and our friend, Gayle Chadwick Hutchens, died Saturday evening, August 13, 2011, embraced by the love of her devoted family who were at her bedside and the many, many friends whose lives were touched by her selfless generosity and kindness.

Gayle was a wife, mother, grandmother, nurse, healer, teacher, mentor, manager, entrepreneur and a woman of deep personal faith. Her crowning achievement and the legacy of which she was most proud was the creation of Paws & Think, Inc., in October 2001. The agency’s unique mission touched lives throughout Central Indiana and brought her accolades from around the world.

In Paws & Think, she discovered her passion and spent her last years working tirelessly to extend its reach into schools, the juvenile justice system, adult day care, library reading programs and bereavement programs, including a funeral home where she placed dogs who help children, adults and even staff travel through the landscape of loss. She retired completely just weeks before her death.

We celebrate the life of this remarkable woman through our commitment to build on her work in service to at-risk youth and canines.