Little Red Dog beats life of pain

Anne Guthrie’s contribution to the Lowcountry started with an awful car wreck.

It was a routine day more than 30 years ago. She was in Atlanta, on her way to work as a Delta flight attendant.

In an instant, Anne was left with a life of pain — constant headaches, neck pain, zero neck mobility, inability to drive, and extra sensitivity to noise and bright colors.

She coped with it the entire 23 years she lived on Lady’s Island; she and her husband, Louis, were among the first residents of the neo-traditional Newpoint neighborhood.

But that’s not what people remembered when Anne Guthrie died of cancer at 72 on Sunday.

They remember her Little Red Dog Foundation, named for her dachshund, Stephanie.

It’s a total-volunteer nonprofit without a penny of overhead, said its president, Deb Libaire. Its mission is to create mobility and independence for the disabled with specially equipped therapeutic three-wheeled cycles.

Since 2005 — with help from a lot of local people, businesses, schools, therapists, doctors, first responders and the Kiwanis Club — the foundation has given away almost 500 cycles in a five-county area.

It started by accident. A neighbor of the Guthries had an adult, three-wheeled bike. Anne tried it and pronounced, “I feel free.”

Louis bought her one, and she quickly saw that it could make a lot of people feel free. The Guthries decided not to buy Christmas gifts for each other, but instead spend the money on three-wheeled bikes for others.

“So we just did it,” Louis recalls.

They told the story in their Christmas card. People sent $5 or $10. If it was $25, they thought it was a windfall.

They got enough money to buy two adult cycles and four for children. They were shipped to the Sam’s Point Fire Station on a Friday. Over the weekend, firefighters and EMS workers volunteered to put them together. Everyone watched anxiously as the first recipients came into the bay. As Louis recalls, a little boy shuffled in with his walker and squealed, “My bike! My bike!”

All the volunteers say the looks on the faces of children gets them hooked.

“It just grew,” Louis said.

Today, the bikes are custom-made therapeutic machines, all under the supervision of physical and occupational therapists.

The foundation’s mission statement says that “use of the cycles can improve circulation, increase body strength, expand range of motion and improve endurance, all of which can lead to increased self-esteem and feelings of independence and accomplishment. Hope and courage follow.”

The foundation is now a local chapter of the national AMBUCS charitable organization based in North Carolina. It gets AmTrykes from them, paying for them with private donations and grants.

They have given bikes to wounded warriors — one time outfitting 13 veterans in town for the Lt. Dan Weekend.

The 200th cycle went to local Marine Staff Sgt. Pablo Barios after his first 18 operations from an explosion at the end of his fourth tour of duty in Iraq.

Anne told about it in an essay for the paper.

“I hope Pablo knows how much we all appreciate what he has sacrificed for our country,” she wrote. “A simple thank you is not enough for what Pablo has done for us, so I will say a million times over, ‘Thank you, Pablo.’ ”

Another adult recipient is seen a lot in Beaufort’s Northwest Quadrant. Mark Wiggs, whom everyone knows as “Gizmo,” is now on his third cycle from the Little Red Dog Foundation. He’s put hundreds of miles on them.

“He lost the use of both legs when he was 13,” said his mentor, Russ Berry. Previously, he was getting around on a bicycle, propped up by his crutch.

Still, Anne’s friend and neighbor Harriett Hilton said there’s more to her story than the special cycles.

“What her doctors, friends and family must remember is that cancer, other disabilities, and even her death do not stop the force that was Anne’s compassion and hope.

“Those two factors are constants displayed every time a disabled child or adult rides a donated Little Red Dog cycle, every time one friend comforts another, and whenever an individual reaches beyond their own handicap or shortcomings to inspire others and make Beaufort and the world a more positive place.”

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Little Red Dog beats life of pain."