Meet The Author
A Special Hero Inspires Her Mother
Diane LaDouceur has a bachelor of arts degree in communications. She had the opportunity to build her skills by working in nonprofit, government, and corporate careers over the years. But in 1999 her life took on a new passion when her daughter was born 1 pound 2.5 ounces. Alison suffered from a blood bleed on her brain. Diane became a fierce advocate and surrounded Alison with people who could help her thrive.
In 2009 while watching an Oprah show, Diane noted an 11-year-old girl named Mimi Ausland. Mimi and her dad started helping shelter animals by creating a website called FreeKibble. It sparked a light in Diane. She decided to use animals as a way to build character, compassion, and kindness in young minds.
She adopted a Border Collie and trained her to be a therapy dog through “Love on a Leash.” When her daughter Alison turned 12, they began taking Sadie and two rabbits out to schools and camps, teaching children facts about rabbits and how to care for them. They helped Daisy and Brownie Girl Scouts earn their animal badges through animal presentations. They moved on to a girl’s club, later creating many successful camps like “Teens Helping Animals” and a pet sitting business inspired by her daughter Alison’s love of animals.
Diane’s volunteer work has been featured in Oprah’s Commemorative O Magazine and several other newsletter and newspaper articles.
Maggie and Dogs That Serve a Purpose are Diane’s debut children’s book and coloring books.
She decided to use animals as a way to build character, compassion, and kindness in her daughter and other children. Diane is a fierce advocate of service learning. She created many service learning camps, like “Teens Helping Animals,” inspired by years of volunteering with “Camp Helping Hands,” a service learning camp for children 5-12 years old.
Diane also helps parents who have children with learning challenges, teaching parenting classes and offering individual consulting. She is currently working on a new book called Parenting a Child with Learning Challenges: What I Learned from Loving a Special Hero about navigating the curvy roads leading to success.
