The nursing staff asked me to go to a room where a patient had been crying for several days. My 1 year old Golden Retriever, Cooper, and I went to the room. As soon as the patient saw Cooper she stopped crying and put her hands out to pet him. Cooper went over to the lady letting her pet him and then he carefully got into bed with the patient to give more therapy. We stayed in that room for about 20 minutes where she continued to smile and then thanked us for coming to see her. I wished her a Merry Christmas and hoped she would feel better real soon. Two weeks later we returned to find out that the patient had been released to go home. A very memorable experience!!!

Written by Douglas Earnhart