Delrio and Josh

Josh had been in a motor vehicle accident almost 2 weeks earlier, and he had bruises and bandages covering most of his little 6 year old body. His parents apologized when I asked if Josh wanted a visit from my dog, saying that he hadn’t smiled and had barely spoken since he’d been admitted.

Being hospitalized had been a difficult experience for him. He had been in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit until 2 days ago and was probably still in some pain. Delrio, who doesn’t know how to stop smiling, kept eye contact with Josh, while wagging her tail with enthusiasm. I decided to ask Josh if Delrio could just sit on the end of his bed for a minute. He said OK, so I gently put her up near his feet. Within seconds Josh scooted down to her, wrapping his arms around her, smiling, giggling, and talking! Soon his parents were smiling too, amazed how a furry face could change a situation so quickly. After a nice long visit, I gave them a Polaroid photo of Josh and Delrio, looking like best friends. Now they had something good to remember from an unfortunate event.