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Ocf c ( Amanda Groves One of the things that stick in her mind is Her Viszla, a Hungarian pointing dog Dusty was already four years old when Groves was born, but the dog took to her irom the beginning. "He would let me sleep on him for a couple of hours," she said. "His coat was warm." But that was nothing compared to what Dusty taught Groves when she was just a toddler. "He taught me how to walk," she said "I would hang onto him, then I w ould walk with him. "He died when I was eight. I was pretty heartbroken." She lives at home today along with her parents and a brother and sister. The household also has its share of pets. The family has three pets, a cat called Lioness, a black lab, Molly, and a Boston terrier proper name Happy but also known at Tubby. Bendigo, a malamute, died on Thanksgiving, 2005. He was 12. Groves reads and listens to television and sometimes her brother Tom, 15, will explain what is going on on the tube She calls Tom her "best friend." She likes to read braille books and plays a good flute, a talent Groves used in the Madoc high school band. She would like to get back to the flute, but doesn't have the money, to purchase one right now. Groves also played piano. She has an interest in foreign countries and often writes stories based on items she has heard mentioned in books or tele- vision (Oprah). Her characters are set in different counties, like the Sudan or Jamaica. She can type and has a program called Jaws on the computer and it tells her if she has made a mistake. | Groves also likes to sculpt with sand Play Dough or clay. Her long-term goal is to be self suffi- cient, working for a paralegal firm and eventually going out on her own. It won't be easy, but then she has faced discrimination many times, from those who won't give her a ride home to Madoc from Loyalist, to those who think she is helpless. Based on what she has accomplished so iar it s a safe bet she will reach her goal of independence. Contact-Barry Ellsworth at: newsroom@intelligencer.ca