Community May 27, 2016
The experience of a child interacting with a canine is absolutely wonderful'
Kids, cute. Dogs, adorable. Volunteering, great. Dogs (and owners) volunteering their time to brighten a sick child's day, absolutely amazing. This is exactly why Rady Children's Hospital San Diego made it a priority to bring a canine therapy program to its patients.
The experience of a child interacting with a canine is absolutely wonderful, says volunteer coordinator Madelyn Hornstein.
The PetSmart Paws for Hope program brings at least one dog to both the in- and outpatient halls of Rady Chidlren's every day to visit 65 lucky patients. Each patient visit is full of tricks, treats, laughs and cuddles for around 5 minutes. Then, it's on to the next lucky boy or girl who requested a visit, and according to Madelyn, this is huge in the treatment process.
[It gives patients] opportunities to make decisions, she explains. Here in the hospital, you don't get to make decisions when you're a patient. So allowing them to decide if they want to have a dog visit or not makes them feel a little bit more confident about their experience. It's very empowering.
It's also the cutest darn thing you'll ever see as soon as as you knock on a patient's door to let them know a dog is there for a visit, which is undoubtedly followed by ear-to-ear smiles, giggles and, in some cases, an invitation to jump on into bed for a few restful minutes and loving cuddles.
One of the best things to see is a child that maybe hasn't smiled or is having a rough time, just to see their face light up as soon as the dog comes into the room, it's really special, explains volunteer services manager Sylvie Sneep.
And it's not just the Rady Children's children patients who benefit from these visits. Supportive family members and hardworking nurses, doctors and staff members alike are encouraged to enjoy the healing powers of a few pats on a furry friend's head.
From greyhounds to goldens and every doodle in between, the 65 dogs of the program aren't just any regular pups. Each dog, and owner, is required to through a rigorous testing process that challenges things like responses to loud noises, listening to commands and, of course, love-ability. Even then, some dogs can be on the waitlist for up to two years, so the tail-wagging visitors trotting through the halls are truly the pick of their litters.
When we heard about the awesome team of volunteers and pups that make this program possible, GoPro couldn't help but go barking up that tree. So a team of GoPro San Diego employees, armed with GoPros, spent a Thursday during their Live It, Eat It, Love It Program following one of the caring canines around to capture his life as a children's hospital celeb.
His name was Hops, his owner goes by Geoff, and he was the most wonderful labradoodle doctor ever.
Check out the edit above (or here) and learn more about
Rady Children's Hospital San Diego's Canine Therapy Program here.
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Community May 27, 2016 
