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Dogs in people hospitals

Bruce H

Well-known member
Hi All,

I just found out something very iteresting about at least one of the hospitals by me. I was up to visit a co-worker who is in the hospital for a few days. About the time I got there, her doctor came in and asked me to leave for a few minutes. So while they were doing their poking and prodding, I got a bright idea :rolleyes:

I talked to a person at the nurses station about bringing our therapy dog Anna up to visit my friend. They said that not only could I do that, but I could bring ANY of the dogs. They don't have to be a therapy dog if I'm just visiting one person. All I have to do is let them know a little ahead of time if she is in a double room. Since she is in a private room, I don't even have to call ahead.

That sure was a big surprise to me! I always thought the only dogs allowed in a hospital were therapy dogs and service dogs.
 
When I was in a large Toronto Hospital, I asked if our Charley could visit.....I was in a private room and they said no dogs. :(

I don't think therapy dogs or any other dogs are allowed in Active Treatment hospitals around here.

They are allowed in the Veterans' Wing of my local hospital, our Charley went over once every other week, to cheer up the dog-loving vets. :)
 
Hey that's a good reason to move to Minnesota! :) I don't think anything but seeing eye or therapy dogs are allowed in our hospitals.
 
That's wonderful! TDI (Therapy Dog International) provides the insurance coverage in case something happens during a visit. But if you're visiting a friend or family member, I can see how the hospital would allow you to bring a dog that already knows them.

If I'm ever hospitalized, I'm going to ask for my dogs to visit me!!

Thanks for telling us.:)
 
Some years ago when my husbands grandfather was very ill and in a specialised geriatric ward we too were encouraged to bring our dogs in to visit, there were many older people on that ward who had left their little dogs at home or with family who were missing their daily dog fix. I remember one old lady in particular, Milly, she was 89 and really missing her Cavalier, when I turned up with one of mine and let her cuddle him she was crying she was so happy!
The nursing staff were very positive about how dogs can buoy up ill people and we took to taking several of the dogs in each visit, My hubby, my Ma-in-Law and myself would go round the wards with our dogs and I know the folks really looked forward to those visits each day.
Sadly the hospital is now closed, NHS cut backs and there are some very swanky houses built on the grounds now, such a shame, my hubby's gran is still going strong though at 91 and we often take the dogs to visit her and all her friends in her nursing home, again with much success, several of them have a good old moan if my Ma-in-Law turns up minus her Cavalier Daisy! (Daisy is Darcy's older half sister!)
 
ella has been in hospital 27 times,never seen or heard of that here,i wish they would,it certainly would of cheered her up.thay are so worried about the germs that an animal would bring in ,but hey never mind the fact that the wards are carrying super bugs that they are failing to control.strange thinking.
 
We have been visiting an Assisted Living Center to see a resident who was our neighbor and who loves our dogs. When she first moved I called and inquired of the staff whether there was someplace outside where she could visit with Buddy and Hadley. They asked me if the dogs were up to date on their shots and if they were well-behaved and then said they could come on in. We now generally visit in our former neighbor's room for 15 or 20 minutes and then spend another 20 or 30 minutes in the common lounge area with any of the other residents who want to visit with them. From home to home again it is only about an hour and fifteen minutes of our time and brings a lot of pleasure to a lot of folks, us included. I do plan to get both dogs tested and approved through either TDI or Delta Society so we can so more places, but for now this is a nice introduction to therapy work. Also goes to show it never hurts to ask.
 
I am not excactly sure what a therapy dog is but in Israel, some breeds like the Cairn Terrier are used to help children with cancer and they allow themin the hospitol.

Since these dogs are hypo-allergenic, they are safer for such enviroments.


I am actually trying to get invloved in order to promote such projects helping needing people with dogs.

Any ideas?
 
that's really cool!!! "fur therapy" can be so helpful to people who are animal lovers and are separated from their animals due to illness or age.
 
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