Ears perked, two bright eyes look adoringly up at her owner, waiting for the cue. Energy, raw and untamed, shimmers through the little Cairn Terrier body.
The three-month old pup is released and off she goes to greet the visitor at the door.
Joy exudes.
Effie the terrier is a living testament to a new-found faith in a long and healthy future.
Something that once might not have been reality is now front and centre to someone who's on the other side of pancreatic cancer.
"Me getting the puppy is me saying, 'No it's not going to get me, I'm not gonna die' - not right away - something will, because we're all gonna die but I feel well and I feel invigorated because of this new little entity in my life - you have to get out of bed, you have to go for walks and there's joy, so much joy and I'm embracing that," said local artist Cat Sivertsen, who counsels students at the College of New Caledonia.
Sivertsen goes for her last three-month check up next week. After that, she gets checked every six months as she gets further and further away from November 13, 2012. That was the day Sivertsen had her Whipple surgery, a complex surgery to remove part of the pancreas, part of the small intestine and the gallbladder.
It's hard on the patient and hard on the doctor who has to put everything back together so the patient can digest food and expel waste properly.
The successful operation was followed up by six months of chemotherapy at the BC Cancer Agency Centre for the North.
Sivertsen will be at Paint It Pink, an Evening of Hope, Friday night at the Civic Centre. The gala will raise funds for the fight against cancer and raise awareness.
Proceeds will go to the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation for diagnostic equipment and treatment of breast cancer.
Sivertsen will be making art at the gala. Her newly finished piece will be auctioned off live as part of the fundraising effort.
"I haven't been doing much lately and I was telling a friend that I was a bit nervous but it's almost like re-emerging," said Sivertsen. "I'm getting back out in public."
The piece has an already-completed under painting and then during the Live Art Making she will finish the healing-inspired piece. Sivertsen has a deep appreciation to the caregivers at the cancer centre in Prince George.
"I believe we're really fortunate to have that and I really believe in the quality of humanity in that place," said Sivertsen.
"I think it's amazing. Other people who have had cancer will get this. It never goes away. It's like this little guy on your shoulder tapping your face every once in a while saying 'I'm still here, I could come back and get you any time.'"
And you can't help thinking about it, Sivertsen said.
"And you get riled up and your head gets involved so you go to the clinic and you get all the tests and you get reassured and so the ongoing care is even more so than when you're in it and it's right here - you don't have to go to Vancouver - and there's a personal relationship developed," said Sivertsen, who has been using her own creativity as a source of wellness throughout her experience.
"Hopefully the piece will bring joy to people," said Sivertsen about her donated art work. "It's all about being part of the community."
Paint It Pink, an Evening of Hope, is Friday at the Civic Centre. Doors open at 5:30, dinner is at 7 p.m. and the special guest speaker is breast-cancer survivor, musician and entertainer Bif Naked.
Tickets are $95 each at the Prince George Citizen office, 150 Brunswick St., or at the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation office in the foyer of the hospital.
