Pet Therapy Dog
Bodhi of the Rockies
Family and patients were very thankful that we volunteered to visit them on Christmas. I was honored to be there with him.
I usually go home to Wisconsin to be with family over Christmas, but this year remained in Colorado. I didn’t have plans on Christmas Day so decided to take Bodhi to cheer up patients who were unfortunately spending Christmas in the hospital.
I’m glad I did, it was a magical day.
The hospital was fairly empty, no administrative staff, less nurses than usual, no outpatient surgeries, empty waiting rooms, even a lot of empty patient rooms.
We visited more patients than we ever have, on all three floors. The small staff of nurses were really appreciative of Bodhi’s visit and gladly gave him the attention he loves. I’m sure they’d rather be home with their families. The nurses are so caring. I hope they know that they are appreciated and that they make a difference.
Family love
Many family members were with patients on this Christmas Day, and it was fun to see so many people. Bodhi of course loved receiving even more attention from more people. Some patients were alone and had family members who visited earlier that day. Some people didn’t have any visitors that day, and they were especially grateful to see Bodhi. We handed out candy bars with Bodhi’s photo on it too, and they liked their little gift.
Bodhi especially connected with a teenage boy that day. His mom and brother were in the room too, and I met another brother and aunt in the hall, all of them nice young men and a nice family. One brother’s middle name was Bode, we all thought that was cool. Bodhi sometimes hesitates going to see patients in their bed, but he went up to this boy and stayed there for about 5 minutes while the boy petted him, all the while looking at and connecting with the boy. He has never stayed with a patient that long before. I could see Bodhi work his magic on this boy who would rather not be in a hospital on Christmas, giving him love and support.
We all felt the love in the room that Christmas day.