A group of therapy dogs is helping to ease the nerves of sick children going through medical procedures. Milo, Hattie, […]
A group of therapy dogs is helping to ease the nerves of sick children going through medical procedures.
Milo, Hattie, Quinn, Jessie, Leo and Archie are part of a volunteer-run group affectionally known as the ‘dog-tors’ and are completing rounds at Southampton Children’s Hospital in the UK.
The six golden retrievers not only provide plenty of cuddles and smiles for the young patients staying in hospital, but are also showing sick kids that medical procedures aren’t as scary as they may seem.
It all started about seven years ago when a young boy in hospital needed to wear a mask and having never used one before, he found it a little daunting, so a therapy dog who was there to provide some much needed comfort put up his paw to help.
As soon as the patient saw that the dog was ‘using’ the mask, he was happy to give it a try too.
Recently the team of dog-tors started creating videos and photos using the medical equipment and it’s making procedures like X-rays look a lot less intimidating for young patients.
All of the dog-tors are experts in providing smiles and comfort to the children in hospital and their calming nature is the perfect way to show sick children what happens during medical procedures.
While the dogs don’t actually go through the procedures, posing for the videos and images makes the medical equipment seem less daunting and the young patient’s nerves turn to “surprise and giggles” once they see the dogs demonstrating the equipment.