Our friends at the Today Show are reporting on therapy dogs being used to comfort children at children’s hospitals across the country while the kids get their COVID-19 shots.
“It was the perfect distraction,” Micaela Inglese, volunteer coordinator at John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y., told TODAY Parents. “Dog therapy … really helps ease the nerves of the children that come.”
Pet therapy programs have been used to comfort kids at vaccine clinics around the country, including in Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Texas and Colorado. At some locations they give out trading cards showing the dog’s picture and telling what his/her favorite snack is and other fun information about the canine.
The dogs’ flexibility allows the child to take some control of a situation where they might otherwise feel helpless. The kids can choose whether the dog sits next to them, lays down nearby, or lays across their laps.
Proving once again why dogs are man’s (and kids’) best friends!
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!