SAN DIEGO — The pitter-patter of paws is not always something you expect to hear inside a hospital.
However, at the pediatric unit at Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center, a few puppy-paws are a warm welcome.
“You can train a dog to do almost anything, but you can’t train them to be calm, gentle, sweet and that’s him," said Carol Stevens, a pet therapy volunteer, describing her poodle "Georgie-Porgie."
Steven retired from a sales position at Kaiser in 2008 and has been volunteering her time bringing her therapy dog to the hospitals ever since.
"You would be amazed [by] the people who laugh, and giggle, and smile who perhaps haven't done that for a few days because of where they are, and if I can do that in the life of someone, why wouldn't you do that?" said Stevens.
Thursday morning was a busy one at the hospital's pediatric unit.
Several therapy dogs made their way from one room to another, greeting patients and staff to put a smile on their faces.
"It was great to have visitors, especially furry visitors," said one patient's mother. Her son has been in the hospital for close to a week.
According to John Hopkins Medicine:
"Research has shown that simply petting a dog lowers the stress hormone cortisol, while the social interaction between people and their dogs actually increases levels of the feel-good hormone oxytocin"
