Pet Therapy Dog
Bodhi of the Rockies
Bodhi started working in the parking lot before we got into the building! He draws a crowd where ever he goes.
It starts in the parking lot
The maintenance guys in the parking lot enjoyed petting Bodhi and even said “we love you Bodhi” when we walked away. And then a woman in the parking lot requested we visit her husband upstairs, which we did.
Bodhi and I were trained by another volunteer trainer and a nurse intern came with us too. So many nurses again loved seeing him, and we visited a few staff areas in back offices including the transport team and medical records (they have dog treats…we’ll be visiting them often!).
Enjoying the Love
Bodhi is a little hesitant to go up to patients in bed. It’s harder than if he meets someone out in the hall who can bend down to pet him. And so many smells in the rooms! But overall, he again rocked it and the patients enjoyed petting him. He just stands there with his tail (and butt!) wagging, very calm, enjoying the love.
Bodhi is getting used to riding in elevators, even when staff bring in big carts. He doesn’t love it, but lays down and waits for the weird movement to stop. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the staff pet him in the elevators too!
We got to visit a patient in ICU last week, an area where dogs have not previously been assigned. The nurses really loved having Bodhi up there and put in a special request to have the ICU put on the list of areas that the dog teams visit. So we’ll be visiting those hard-working nurses in that stressful area more often, spreading the love.
Our trainer gave him rave reviews and we’re approved to be on the team…go Bodhi!