The Southampton Children’s Hospital in England has a very special team of volunteer therapists that educate kids and help them cope with pain, fear, and loneliness during long hospital stays.
The 6 golden retrievers bring comfort to children and families by lending their unconditional love and patience when needed most, whether it’s having a furry friend around in the play area to de-stress with, a furry shoulder to lean on during treatment, or a patient friend to demonstrate different procedures that might seem a little scary the first time, like an MRI or echocardiogram.
Recently, the dogs have been acting in a series of videos and photos to help kids understand how different procedures work to take some of the fear and stigma away from things like the big scary MRI machine or holding still for Xrays.
These very good boys and girls look forward to sharing their special brand of love with the kids and learn the names and room locations of patients on long stays.
And when the vest comes off, it’s definitely fun times ahead for these wonderful volunteers. From long walks on the beach and through the woods, to just relaxing at home, the handlers make sure the dogs are rested and ready to be at their best on each visit.
Weekend beach fun
Sunday at the beach for Leo, Jessie and Quinn after a busy week. As lovely as #animalassistedintervention visits are it’s important that we have time to be dogs and rest, relax and recuperate. If you’re interested in this field remember you can’t do AAI without the animal! ?? pic.twitter.com/2ilDn0xzw7
— SCH Therapy Dogs (@schtherapydogs) July 28, 2019
Want to see more of these awesome 4-legged volunteers? You can follow the Southampton Children’s Hospital Therapy Dog team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
