Jenni's Journal
The Diary of a Therapy Dog
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I had a very special, wonderful experience with one patient I visited today. There was a lady, about 40, that had been moved to the Hospice floor after suffering a major stroke. She had been taken off life support except for a breathing machine that made weird swishing noises as it breathed in and out for her. Since the lady was a dog trainer, the nurses had called the Volunteer Office and asked that all Pet Therapy dogs that came to the hospital to be sure to visit her to see if our presence would help bring her out of her coma. A nurse saw me walking down the hall and came and got Mom to follow her. We went into this lady’s room; the nurse reached down and picked me up (all 65 pounds of me) and put me on the bed close to the patient. The nurse took the patient’s left hand and placed it gently on my head and began moving it back and forth over my head. THE PATIENT POPPED OPEN HER EYES! Mom quickly stuffed a doggy treat in the patients hand so, that to get to the treat, I had to nuzzle in between her fingers and lick her hand to get at it. When I did this, the patient moved her mouth as if she were trying to talk. The nurse burst into tears and said to Mom that this was the first response the patient had shown since she had been admitted to the hospital. The nurse ran out of the room to tell the other nurses at the nurses’ station. They also cried. A doctor and the hospital chaplain saw this, and when told about the patient, they immediately ran into the room to see for themselves. I knew something wonderful had happened but had no idea what. I didn’t know I had been the catalyst for a miraculous recovery.
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About the Book
This book chronicles the visits and miracles that Jenni, a Labrador Retriever, was a part of in her thousands of visits as a Pet Therapy volunteer to seriously ill and critical patients in hospitals and hospices across the country. The book, written from Jenni’s point of view, tells funny stories such as, when a patient ate her dog treat instead of giving it to her, and miraculous stories such as, when her visit brought a patient, who had been taken off life-support, out of a long coma. This book will make you chuckle and will touch your heart.
About the Author
LINDA DUNN was Jenni’s owner, chauffeur, and handler. She and Jenni visited as a Pet Therapy team in hospitals in Colorado, Florida, and Washington. Linda has trained hospitals in several states to implement their own Pet Therapy programs. Articles about she and Jenni have appeared in many major newspapers and publications. They have appeared on local and national television programs and appeared in documentaries about them for The Latham Foundation and for Japanese television. Linda and Jenni served thousands of hours in hospitals and hospices in their eight years as Pet Therapy volunteers.