SHARE SOME PUPPY LOVE

By Wednesday, August 10, 2016 31 , , Permalink

Harley was forced to take a “personal day” last week from his pet therapy job because his handler was unavailable. #mybad

So this week – he was more than ready to share some puppy love at the MUSC Children’s Hospital..

SHARE SOME PUPPY LOVE

Everywhere he roams, he takes time to make people feel special.

Take Kristin the Volunteer and Guests services Admin Assistant.

He looks for her every week. If she’s there, he’ll stroll into her office, pull up a chair and make her feel as if she’s the most important person in his world…

SHARE SOME PUPPY LOVE

That’s how he rolls #sharesomepuppylove

The 5th floor is generally our first stop.

From the elevator door to the actual ward, there are – four turns and three doors to navigate through.

He was in such a hurry, I couldn’t keep up…

SHARE SOME PUPPY LOVE

My fluffy four legged GPS knew exactly where he was going. He had a job to do. He was ready to #sharesomepuppylove

SHARE SOME PUPPY LOVE

Even though he loves the little humans, the nurses hold the key to his heart stomach because they always have treats for him…

SHARE SOME PUPPY LOVE

For hours Harley walked from room to room meeting new friends and celebrating with a few old buddies who are getting stronger and healthier every day.

WE HAVE TRADING CARDS! –

The hospital provides “trading cards” for the volunteer “hairy heroes” and the children are obsessed with collecting them.

Some keep them displayed in their room for all to see and read. Others have them tucked away in little books protected in plastic sleeves like true trading card aficionado’s.

Harley’s cards finally arrived and there were many we needed to pass out!…

SHARE SOME PUPPY LOVE

They are absodoodlelutely adorable!

His photo is on the front with his name, height, and weight. the back gives his personal “stats#cantmakethisup

The children are able to learn –

  • my name
  • his breed
  • interests and hobbies
  • favorite treats
  • awards and training
  • special tricks

Handing them out for the first time showed me the priceless value of this token gift.

Each child comes alive as soon as a dog enters their room. Eyes twinkle and faces light up when they see Harley (aka – the big white fluffy dog). As I reach in my smock pocket and pull out a card – WOW! The smiles light up the room.

Harley worked a little OT this week. Maybe he felt he needed to make up for last weeks absence. Whatever the reason, I didn’t mind that he lingered in each and every room, it felt good to be back. #happyhandler

A swing through Chic-Fil-A afterwards for a little “ice dream” on a cup lid completed our day!

Happy to be home, and thrilled with his trading cards, he just kept smiling…

SHARE SOME PUPPY LOVEBut as I changed out of my volunteer uniform, I noticed the hardest working Doodle in the house was about to crash…

SHARE SOME PUPPY LOVE

And as I slowly laid back across my bed, I thought  “not a bad idea#handlerdown

If you have a dog you believe could #sharesomepuppylove as a pet therapy volunteer look online for an animal- assisted therapy organization in your state that offers a training program.

Be kind to someone today – you’ll feel marvelous if you do!

Signature

This is our contribution in the BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

31 Comments
  • Taryn
    August 10, 2016

    How wonderful you do this! I love the trading cards! And isn’t amazing how our dogs know right where to go in a big building?!

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 10, 2016

      Hey Taryn! Harley does it all, I’m just the driver! LOL He amazes me as I watch him navigate each and every floor (we go to three) once we exit the elevator. It’s so rewarding. Makes me week! #feelingblessed

  • Two French Bulldogs
    August 10, 2016

    You must bring an awful lot of smiles to the kids faces
    Lily & Edward

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 10, 2016

      You said it French Bulldogs – Harley brings a great deal of smiles to their faces!

  • Pedro and Alessandra
    August 10, 2016

    What a wonderful account of a hard-working puppy and his pawsome handler that have found such joy in this noble occupation. Thanks for sharing it with us and making us smile, hundreds and thousands of kilometres away! Thank you for bringing out the smiles on the nurses and the kidlets! Loving paws from Pedro and I

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 10, 2016

      Hello Pedro! We have found a great deal of joy in visiting the hospital. We always overstay our welcome, the kids have such a great time with him, and I love to stand around and watch along with the parents, and hospital staff. Just makes everyone smile for the rest of the day. I love it!

  • Jackie Bouchard
    August 10, 2016

    That’s so great that you guys can do that. Love the trading cards. If I ever end up in the hospital or a rehab place, I hope there will be dog therapists coming to visit!

    (Rita could never do this – she’s way too nervous about new things. She’d probably be fine with the kids and the female nurses, but she might be sketchy with the men and the carts/equipment, etc. She has worries!)

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 10, 2016

      I thought the same during testing with Leo – he did much better than I imagined because I was there with him. Harley is the one who seems to enjoy it the most though. I’m still waiting on Jaxson to mature a little bit more before I start training him LOL

  • HAPPY HAZEL
    August 10, 2016

    WOW Harley! I am so impressed! You are an amazing angel dog! 😀 Thank you for making this world so bright and beautiful with your light! <3 I'd love to buy you ice creams and hotdogs! 😀

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 10, 2016

      Than’s Hazel! You could own Harley with ice cream and hot dogs #forsure!

  • Robin
    August 10, 2016

    Harley is such a great therapy dog! He looks like he loves every minute of his job. 🙂 I love that he has trading cards. That would be so fun for the kids! Love that.

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 10, 2016

      It’s so much fun to watch them show you all the cards they’ve collected. They love it – and it’s such a rewarding feeling watching their little faces light up each time we walk through those doors!

  • Emma
    August 10, 2016

    We dogs always learn and remember the important things in life. The ridiculous stuff like sit, come, stay, come and go as they aren’t as meaningful to us 😉 Enjoy your job, buddy!

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 10, 2016

      I know right? We can learn some much from you all Emma, if we’d only listen!

  • Verna
    August 10, 2016

    So Pawsome! Love it!!!!

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 11, 2016

      Hi Verna! Thanks, we love it too!

  • Cathy Keisha
    August 10, 2016

    Harley is adorable so I can imagine the kids faces when a big ball of fluff comes into their rooms. Then they got a gift! How precious.

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 11, 2016

      The best part Cathy – is when they don’t see him at first, then when they do, they jump up (sort of) and make noises, or clap their hands and the parents are amazed because all they were doing was laying in the bed barely doing nothing. We stay way longer sometimes, so my husband has gotten used to us being gone practically the entire day! Its a blessing for me – I’m tickled to Doodle to be doing it.

  • Christine Caplan
    August 10, 2016

    Oh Harley is the BEST therapy dog! Look at the faces of the people in the hospital that he visits with… and those playing cards for people so they can learn more! What a great IDEA. I’m sure he brings a lot of happiness to all these patients. How often do you do this?

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 11, 2016

      Harley is a true delight to all that he comes in contact with at the hospital. I love the cards myself – I think it’s a nice touch for the patients. We have to commit to 100 hours each year so Harley’s scheduled for two hours every Tuesday (but he stays longer) and then we’re sometimes called in by request.

  • 2 Punk Dogs
    August 10, 2016

    That’s so awesome! They must love to see Harley’s fluffy face. 🙂 The trading cards are such a great idea.

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 11, 2016

      The families really do light up when we walk through the door. It’s a great distraction from all the waiting. We also get called to help keep the little people busy when the doctors are conducting routine tests, examines, etc…

  • Jen
    August 10, 2016

    Harley’s training cards are awesome! I think what you both do is awesome and one day I would certainly like to have a therapy dog just like Harley!

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 11, 2016

      I agree with you! The trading cards are a nice “plus” to have. Doctor’s and nurses stop me in the hospital hallways asking for cards. There are more than 47 dogs in the program with at least a dozen in training. So it’s fun for people to collect them. You’d love it Jen – when it’s the right time for you, you will love it!

  • Lindsay
    August 11, 2016

    He looks like a proud little peacock by day’s end. He must sleep like a log after his visits. Good on ya Mum for always rewarding the lad with his favorite treat. 😉

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 11, 2016

      It’s definitely “lights-out” early on Tuesday evenings. He plays initially with Jaxson when he gets home, lot’s of romping in the backyard. Early dinner and before 8pm I can hear him snoring lightly on the other end of the couch.

  • Monika & Sam
    August 11, 2016

    Kudos to you for giving so much with pet therapy. I’d love to have Sam get on beds more often but sadly he’s a huge bed hog. BOL Still the patients love his visits.

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 11, 2016

      Harley’s done a few chair visits. Sometimes the kids are fresh out of surgery so I’d rather he not make their beds jiggle! I know Sam brings great joy and smiles on his visits too!

  • Jean Dion
    August 12, 2016

    I love the idea of trading cards. That way, he keeps spreading the love even when he’s at home napping. Such a sweet boy.

    Jean from Welcome to the Menagerie

  • Jan K
    August 12, 2016

    It’s such a wonderful thing you both do! I think the idea of the trading cards is great…I can imagine the kids having so much fun with those.

    • Cathy Bennett
      August 13, 2016

      The trading cards really cause lots of squeals and giggles. It’s so much fun hanging out there. We’re always staying way past our scheduled time! Can’t wait to get Jaxson started next year!