Pawsitive partners visit Floyd County Medical Center

By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

Hope, a 2-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, wasn’t trained with hospital visits in mind.

Two years ago, she came to foster family and handler Guy Carpenter through the Waverly organization Retrieving Freedom Inc., which trains service dogs for veterans, individuals with diabetes or children with autism.

“We take and train them until they’re 2 years old, and then they go back for more training after that,” said Carpenter, who has worked with RFI for three years.

When RFI decided to start breeding its own dogs for the program, Hope was chosen as a future momma — and now can’t be sent as an RFI recipient’s dog.

So Carpenter started thinking about how best to use Hope’s training when she’s not nursing puppies. Soon, Carpenter and Hope received her therapy dog certification through Pet Partners.

“She’s not used to seeing other people quite so much because when she goes out she stays attentive on me,” Carpenter said. “A service dog just goes to one person, whereas a therapy dog goes to everybody.”

Now, when Hope trots into the Floyd County Medical Center, all eyes are on her.

“She enjoys it, I think,” Carpenter said of the extra attention.

Hospital staff go door-to-door every Thursday morning to ask patients if they’d like Hope to stop by.

For the last three months, she’s visited about six patients on average each week, plus the staff, who enjoy it just as much as the patients do, said Chief Nursing Officer Viva Boerschel.

“Guy visited us and asked if we’d be interested in having Hope come, and of course we really were,” Boerschel said.

A Christmas bell on Hope’s collar announced her arrival Thursday afternoon as she first greeted nursing staff, then went door-to-door meeting with patients in the hospital rooms.

“(Patients) really enjoy the dog, because a lot of them have pets at home and they miss their home pets. This makes them happy,” said Julie Hegtvedt, nurse supervisor.

As Charles Schultz said: Happiness is a warm puppy.

“She’s a really nice dog,” Carpenter said.

#FLOYDCOUNTYGIVES

Do you know an individual or group donating time and talents to their community? Is there a story of giving that hasn’t been shared?

Contact reporter Kate Hayden through November and December by email or Twitter (@xkatehayden) with suggestions. Let’s share the good news of what our friends and neighbors are doing this year!