As many of you know Jamie and I are crazy about Scrubs. Sometimes it is almost scary. If we had hidden cameras in our house that recorded the way we spoke to him, loved him, babied him or played with him--I am pretty sure 99% of you would really question being my friend. Yes, we love our puppy dog.
Yesterday, Scrubs had a big morning. We drove to Blank Children's Hospital for his "run-through" for pet therapy. Jamie and I were both a little nervous as anyone who has met Scrubs for the first time can sometimes be overwhelmed by his hyperness---when in all actuality, he just wants you to give him attention. Therefore, Jamie and I arrived 30 minutes early to have Scrubs get acquainted with the hospital. We walked the hallways. We let him tinkle outside. We put him on the elevators.
When our trainer arrived she instantly fell in love with Scrubs. (Trying not to brag). We made our way to the main floor where all the kids stay at Blank Childrens. We knew we would be unable to visit the NICU, PICU, Surgery and Maternity wards. Therefore, much of what we were about to see were kids who were receiving cancer treatments, rare disorders, etc. Our first therapy dog visit was with a 12 year old female. She was incredibly weak and didn't move much but she instantly wanted Scrubs on top of her bed. Scrubs situated himself very calmly and laid next to her. He didn't freak out. He didn't whine. He didn't attack her face with kisses. He was very gentle.
One thing the trainer taught us was many of the kids' attention span won't last long so a visit could last anywhere between 1 minute to 10 minutes to 30 minutes. It just depends on the patient. For this young girl, we visited for about 10 minutes.
We then moved on---we saw a non-verbal child, a child receiving cancer and many others where we didn't know what was wrong. We stopped at the "play room" where we found a little boy suffering from Lukemia who wanted to play blocks with us and run after Scrubs. This little boy has spent more days of his life in the hospital than he has in his own home. If you were there observing this, you would've never guessed this little boy was unhappy, in pain or feeling trapped by the hospital walls. He was so full of life!
Once we stopped at practically every room---we made our way down to Younkers Rehabilitation Center. Because it was a weekend, there weren't alot of patients who wanted visitors. However, we did introduce Scrubs to alot of the hospital staff, physical therapists and one lucky lady who was wheel-chair bound and loved how black Scrubs was!
I promise you---I could go on and on---but it is hard to describe the joy that Jamie, Scrubs and I experienced when visiting these patients. It was extraordinary to see that glimmer of happiness light up in their faces. For a split second watching Scrubs bring comfort or love to their hearts was so rewarding---far more rewarding than anything I thought I would experience.
So yes, we are very proud puppy owners. We head back to the hospital on Wednesday evening for another two hours. We are hoping to re-visit the kids we saw yesterday and meet new faces!!!
Love always,
The SeidlSprouts-----Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!!
Yesterday, Scrubs had a big morning. We drove to Blank Children's Hospital for his "run-through" for pet therapy. Jamie and I were both a little nervous as anyone who has met Scrubs for the first time can sometimes be overwhelmed by his hyperness---when in all actuality, he just wants you to give him attention. Therefore, Jamie and I arrived 30 minutes early to have Scrubs get acquainted with the hospital. We walked the hallways. We let him tinkle outside. We put him on the elevators.
When our trainer arrived she instantly fell in love with Scrubs. (Trying not to brag). We made our way to the main floor where all the kids stay at Blank Childrens. We knew we would be unable to visit the NICU, PICU, Surgery and Maternity wards. Therefore, much of what we were about to see were kids who were receiving cancer treatments, rare disorders, etc. Our first therapy dog visit was with a 12 year old female. She was incredibly weak and didn't move much but she instantly wanted Scrubs on top of her bed. Scrubs situated himself very calmly and laid next to her. He didn't freak out. He didn't whine. He didn't attack her face with kisses. He was very gentle.
One thing the trainer taught us was many of the kids' attention span won't last long so a visit could last anywhere between 1 minute to 10 minutes to 30 minutes. It just depends on the patient. For this young girl, we visited for about 10 minutes.
We then moved on---we saw a non-verbal child, a child receiving cancer and many others where we didn't know what was wrong. We stopped at the "play room" where we found a little boy suffering from Lukemia who wanted to play blocks with us and run after Scrubs. This little boy has spent more days of his life in the hospital than he has in his own home. If you were there observing this, you would've never guessed this little boy was unhappy, in pain or feeling trapped by the hospital walls. He was so full of life!
Once we stopped at practically every room---we made our way down to Younkers Rehabilitation Center. Because it was a weekend, there weren't alot of patients who wanted visitors. However, we did introduce Scrubs to alot of the hospital staff, physical therapists and one lucky lady who was wheel-chair bound and loved how black Scrubs was!
I promise you---I could go on and on---but it is hard to describe the joy that Jamie, Scrubs and I experienced when visiting these patients. It was extraordinary to see that glimmer of happiness light up in their faces. For a split second watching Scrubs bring comfort or love to their hearts was so rewarding---far more rewarding than anything I thought I would experience.
So yes, we are very proud puppy owners. We head back to the hospital on Wednesday evening for another two hours. We are hoping to re-visit the kids we saw yesterday and meet new faces!!!
Love always,
The SeidlSprouts-----Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!!