{"id":349465,"date":"2026-06-25T04:23:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T04:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/349465\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T04:23:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T04:23:20","slug":"houston-man-fosters-7-golden-retrievers-while-healing-from-parkinsons-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/349465\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston man fosters 7 golden retrievers while healing from Parkinson’s disease"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeffrey Weiss, a professor at Texas Chiropractic College, is finding joy and purpose again after his Parkinson\u2019s disease<\/a> diagnosis by caring for foster golden retrievers<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Weiss began experiencing Parkinson\u2019s symptoms seven years ago and embarked on a journey to find healing through medication and the help of some very good pups. With his wife of 38 years, Yvonne, he has welcomed seven goldens<\/a> into their home in the past year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur home has also been filled with the joy of animals. Our last two dogs, Molly and Chloe, a golden mix and an Aussie, lived wonderful, full lives of 14 years,\u201d Weiss told Upworthy. \u201cOnce our hearts healed, Yvonne and I began fostering golden retrievers through the Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue<\/a> here in Houston.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"One of the seven golden retrievers fostered by Jeffrey and Yvonne Weiss.
Photo credit: Jeffrey Weiss.<\/p>\n

Parkinson\u2019s journey<\/p>\n

An avid bowler, Weiss began noticing Parkinson\u2019s symptoms early on in his bowling game and elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI struggled to walk, my bowling average dropped by more than 30 pins, and I even started to feel disconnected from my students,\u201d he said. \u201cIt started with very slight tremors that eventually progressed into frequent shaking, coordination issues, and difficulty walking. I found myself dragging my right leg and right arm. To top it off, I developed non-motor symptoms, which have actually become the most troublesome part of my daily life.\u201d<\/p>\n

After connecting with a neurologist who \u201cput me through the ringer with multiple MRIs, nerve conduction studies, and a spinal tap\u201d without answers, he sought a second opinion. He was finally diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease, but his initial treatment plan did not work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mental drain of these ongoing symptoms took a heavy toll on my energy and mood,\u201d Weiss shared. \u201cI went through the classic stages of grief, experiencing denial and anger, constantly asking myself, \u2018Why me?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

After finding the right medication, called CREXONT, and an effective physical therapy routine, he realized it was time for a mindset change.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs with any major obstacle, you have to learn to adapt, set reasonable expectations, and keep living,\u201d said Weiss.<\/p>\n

Fostering golden retrievers<\/p>\n

Another part of his Parkinson\u2019s journey has involved leaning into his love of dogs and fostering golden retrievers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are sweet, loving goofballs ranging from 65 to 95 pounds who, despite their size, just want to be lap dogs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Another golden retriever fostered by the Weiss family.
Photo credit: Jeffrey Weiss<\/p>\n

Taking care of them has brought him joy and a sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey make me smile when I don\u2019t feel like smiling, and they make me feel needed,\u201d he added. \u201cKnowing they just want to love and be loved gives me another sense of purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he hopes his experience can inspire others living with Parkinson\u2019s disease or facing other challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cParkinson\u2019s disease is not a path I would ever choose, but like any obstacle in life, what matters most is how you choose to respond to it,\u201d he said. \u201cMy deep desire to live, love, and interact with others is what keeps me grounded. It allows me to feel most like myself: a teacher, a bowler, a father, a grandfather, and a husband.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jeffrey Weiss, a professor at Texas Chiropractic College, is finding joy and purpose again after his Parkinson\u2019s disease…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[45577,124600,56,58,57,9068,245],"class_list":["post-349465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-fostering","tag-golden-retriever","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-parkinsons-disease","tag-pets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}