A shift report by Brio the Labradoodle, intrepid therapy dog
(with writing help from mum, Kit Pearson)
I have recently begun visiting people at hospice with my mums Kit and Katherine. Here are my impressions so far.
When we come off the elevator there are often several people just standing around waiting to pat and admire me – I like that. We go into a small room to check in. There’s a smaller room off it that smells of another dog and, most important, biscuits! But so far no one has given me any. Mum says I’m not supposed to have biscuits while I’m working – I don’t think that’s fair.
Then we begin our rounds. Some days we visit five or six people, but on other days just a few want to see a dog. The first time we went I was quite confused. Some of the people were sitting in chairs and were glad to see me. But most of them were just lying in bed, which I wasn’t used to. Why didn’t they make as much of a fuss over me as most people do? On that first day, when my mum held me up to the bed, I didn’t know what to do. I got so nervous I just gazed out the window. Mum had to turn my head to make me look at the person.
The next time we went, however, I realized that these people were just as glad to see me as the more active ones. I could tell by their faces that they liked dogs and liked having me there. I could tell that they needed me. So I looked back into their eyes and was proud to make them respond. Some of them patted me or pressed their hands around my face. Some talked a bit with Mum about dogs they used to own.
Now I look forward to entering each room, seeing who is there, and connecting with the love for dogs I can feel coming from them. The rooms are so peaceful and quiet that I feel like curling up beside the person and sleeping with them, but Mum won’t let me.
I really like going to hospice now – except I wish I was allowed to have biscuits.