NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A therapy dog at TriStar Skyline Medical Center is bringing hope to the hospital on International Dog Day.
"I think it’s awesome, especially for the kids that we have in the burn unit, being able to have a dog, makes them feel a lot more comfortable," burn technician Angel Adams-Dill said.
Adams-Dill said Sky helps boost morale too.
"It is the best thing ever, makes my work day," she said.
Sky is also a hit with patients like Pat Reid too.
“Thank you, baby," Reid said.
Happy Friday! Meet Sky. He’s the resident therapy dog who has been quite the hit with patients at TriStar Skyline Medical Center @nc5 pic.twitter.com/VrvMS1OQ36
— Alexandra Koehn (@NC5_AKoehn) August 26, 2022
Sky got to enjoy a little break before making rounds in the trauma ICU. In addition, he has toys inside an office.
According to the hospital's CEO, he got the idea when he brought his retired therapy dog, Malibu, to work during the pandemic on Thanksgiving. He said a young boy with a head injury was non-verbal until he brought the dog into the room. Then, the patient asked a question about Malibu's paws. This sparked the idea of a therapy dog program.
“Animals have a special way of connecting with warmth and healing," Dustin Greene said.
Nurse Andrea Palmer said she's seen the healing power of animals too.
"Both of them just lit up, their faces lit up, and there was just a completely different sense, it wasn’t a feeling of despair, it was a feeling of hope," Palmer said.
In his free time, Sky likes chewing on ice chips given to him by nurses and doctors.
"Sometimes you see somebody that’s really depressed, and so that little bit of happiness is what they need to kind of take that turn for the better," Palmer said.
