

	Featured Story		Dog of the Day

Charlie

Please Note: The dog in the accompanying photograph is the subject of the story, but the person pictured is probably not the patient in the story.

The excitement begins when Charlie senses it’s time for a bath. She knows that once we’re all cleaned up, I put on my green LO4P shirt, she puts on hers, and we go to work.

Charlie is a Dachshund/Labrador mix, a fact which prompts a lot of conversation. I rescued her from a shelter outside of New York City when she was a few weeks old. In our first few days together, when she was just a tiny ball of fur, a trainer who came to meet her said to me, “If you train her properly, this puppy could definitely be a therapy dog.” I had only a vague notion of what a therapy dog was and was totally mystified by his ability to assess anything from this hyper little pup, but I’m so grateful to him for noticing Charlie’s talents and encouraging us.

Charlie has been visiting hospitals for almost two years now, and her favorite place is Childrens’ Hospital. She has lots of fans among the patients and the staff, and because of her compact size, she often has the honor of being the first dog a child has touched. She knows right away how to behave with any child: some children are healthy enough to receive an enthusiastic, energetic response from her, and others require a slower, more careful approach.

Our favorite place to visit is the Rehab room. There it’s anything goes! Sometimes Charlie lies still next to patients who are being stretched on mats; sometimes she runs and fetches and plays soccer. Many times we have encountered children who are just learning to walk again, and, generally, they are reluctant to do so due to pain and fear. But Charlie loves to be taken on walks, and suddenly, with her leash in their hands and Charlie by their sides, the children can’t wait to walk the long halls with their new four-legged friend.

One day in the Rehab room a little boy was exercising his legs by climbing the stairs of a plastic slide in order to drop a doggie treat from the top. Charlie patiently waited at the bottom of the slide, never taking her eyes off the boy, and caught every treat as it slid down. The boy was elated. Finally, when his session was nearly over, he asked, “Can Charlie go down the slide?” At first, I said “No”, as this was certainly not a part of her training. But then I thought, Why not? And sure enough, when I asked her to do it, she climbed the stairs of the slide, and, standing proudly, slid on all fours to the ground. Everyone in the Rehab room cheered and applauded! Charlie had made everyone’s day.