CASS COUNTY — Although Danielle Lamb is a champion showman at the Cass County Fair, it is what she does away from the arena that should truly be celebrated.

The Dowagiac High School junior and her golden retriever, Molly, took home the top two honors in last week’s dog show: grand champion showman and grand champion overall versatility.

The dynamic duo has also been teaming up to bring joy to the elderly patients at the Timbers of Cass County — a nursing home and rehabilitation facility in Dowagiac.

They’ve been offering their furry form of therapy for the past two years at the Timbers’ various holiday celebrations, parties and open houses.

“When they are put in a nursing home, they get a lot of things taken away from them. Some even had animals in the past, so they want to love on her,” Lamb said.

“Bringing her in to visit and seeing their facial expressions makes my day, let alone making their days.”

Lamb has been showing dogs at the fair for several years and said the experience made her want to do even more with Molly.

That’s why she got Molly licensed as a therapy dog.

“I wanted to be able to take her everywhere I went so that I could make many more people’s days better,” she said.

Lamb trains with Molly and her other show dog — a Shetland Sheepdog mix named Parker — year round, even going so far as to take them to local pet stores where they can get used to performing with distractions all around them.

Her hard work is paying off not just at the Cass County Fair, but at even larger competitions. Earlier this summer, Lamb received an award from Michigan State 4-H for companionship animal science.

Lamb will compete in the small animal showmanship sweepstakes Friday along with the champions in the cat, rabbit and poultry exhibits.

Elizabeth Stockwell, of Dowagiac, was the champion cat showman, while Edwardsburg’s Lyla Blough was the champion rabbit showman.

Blough is a 2015 Edwardsburg High School grad who will attend Southwestern Michigan College in the fall to study information technology.