To describe the epitome of a
therapy dog team, one dog and one handler come to mind, Snickers and her handler, Trudy Howard.
This therapy dog team has devoted countless hours to an ever evolving,
important, and fast growing element of patient care, the therapy dog.
Snickers who will be 14 years old
is retiring due to health reasons. She has been a therapy dog for 12 years. Snickers was one of
the first dogs to be certified to visit Holmes Regional
Hospital. Snickers’ visits not only included the
hospital, but also many nursing homes and special programs such as Bright Star,
developed for grieving children; Putting the Pieces Back Together, developed
for children with a relative who has been diagnosed with cancer and the
Melbourne Head Start Program. Snickers’
sweet disposition and friendliness made her a favorite among both the children and the elderly.
Snickers has
brought more smiles to the faces of her visitors than any treatment a doctor
could ever prescribe. She gave unconditional
love to patients when they needed it most.
There is no doubt that Snicker’s love healed many people.
What a special gift Snickers and Trudy
have been to Therapy Dogs. We will miss
them at our visits.
(Snickers was adopted from the
South Brevard Humane Society in Melbourne,
Florida)
Written by Brigitte Van Tassel