Featured Animal Assisted Therapy Story

Getting off the elevator on one of the patient floors, a little girl in the hall exclaims,
“Ricky is back!”  Another patient says, “Look at his tail!”   Ricky has a big, fluffy circular tail, which is always wagging and makes him easy to spot.  He is often called “Ricky the Clown” because he wags his tail in a big circle, not back and forth like other dogs.  Ricky has a big, thick coat and he loves to be petted.  Sometimes a child will ask whether he knows any tricks.  Ricky’s best trick is that he can guess which hand holds the dog treat by sniffing each hand, then licking the hand with the treat.  Needless to say, since he is very good at this trick, he probably needs to go on a diet.  Ricky’s new favorite food is dog beef jerky. 

One day a little girl patient asked, “Does Ricky have a girlfriend?”  I said, “Yes, she’s another Love on 4 Paws dog.”   She asked, “Which one?”  I said, “Mattie!”  Then the girl smiled and said she knew Mattie.  When she had her picture taken hugging Ricky, both she and Ricky were smiling.  After the visit, as we were leaving her room, she said, “Thanks for coming, Ricky.”

On one of his visits last month, Ricky was on the bed of a little boy who was petting him.  Suddenly Ricky reached up and gave the boy a big kiss.  Just then the nurse walked in and said to the little boy, “This is the first time I have seen you smile since you came to the hospital.”  Ricky rarely kisses a child, but he will do it when his instinct tells him that it will be much appreciated.

Another little boy patient wasn’t sure if he wanted a visit with a dog because his arm and hand were bandaged, and he couldn’t pet the dog.  But he agreed to let Ricky get on his bed anyway.  Ricky jumped up on the bed and got a big smile from the little boy.  When the nurse walked in, the little boy proudly announced, “This is Ricky!”

Before coming to CHLA, Ricky spent 6 months visiting the boys and girls at Shriner’s Hospital.  Often we visited children who were working out in the Physical Therapy Gym.  One girl, who was trying to get used to using her new prosthetic leg, walked Ricky around the room, and when she stopped to rest, she would pet Ricky and talk to him.  Because Ricky was there, she was motivated to try harder and walk farther.

Every time we visit the hospital, we can see that Ricky brings joy to all the children.  -Ricky truly gives the gift of happiness.

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