Dog Trained To Comfort Nervous Patients Takes Internet By Storm
Now how many of us happily walk inside a doctor’s office and begin explaining our problems? Probably none. Here’s a fact – about 3% of the entire world’s population avoid doctor visits simply because they don’t know what to expect! When you say it like that, the 3% doesn’t look like much, but when you consider that the world’s population was estimated at approximately 7.8 billion as of April 2019 according to Wikipedia, that mere 3% converts to a whopping two hundred thirty-four million people! That 3% probably never saw this coming, but a comfort dog can help calm them down! We’ll get to that in a bit!
If you think only humans get stressed when it’s time to visit doctors, think again, pets experience that stress too when it’s time to visit the vet. Think about it, how many of us feel “at home” at the hospital? No matter how kind and friendly the hospital staff is, it just doesn’t feel right. Whether you spend a few minutes, hours or days at the hospital, the day you go back home is probably the happiest day of your life, it just works like that. Similarly, pets also don’t like visiting the vet as they associate that place with weird smells, strangers, pain and, worse, fear of the unknown.
According to Mayo Clinic, therapy pets have become the talk of the town in recent years as more and more experts confirm how these animals, mostly dogs, help people recover or help them deal with various health complications. Think about it. Assume you’re at the hospital for tests, but you have a fear of needles and injections. Now before the nurse pricks you, a charming dog walks up to you, gives you that million-dollar smile, and requests to be pet! It would be impossible for you to focus on the needle because that furry comfort dog has your complete attention. As a human, you’re naturally inclined to engage with a pet that walks up to you for belly rubs and pets!
According to Wikipedia when therapy dogs walked up to different patients in hospitals, these patients reported feeling more relaxed and less stressed out. In fact, I personally know many children who have overcome their fear of doctors after meeting and briefly playing with therapy dogs at some hospitals. These children look forward to their next appointment just so they could meet their furry friend again! Now, if comfort pets have such a positive effect on humans, can they help calm scared pets who’re not looking forward to their vet visits? Yes, of course! Since pet therapy has many benefits, an unknown vet employed the services of a comfort dog who was tasked with soothing sick, scared and nervous pets.
Although we don’t know the name of the vet, the clinic or the dog, we do have a heartwarming picture that shows how this hero pup comforts patients who visit him. This image was originally uploaded on Reddit by a user named u/Obito_GF, and it quickly became an internet sensation, for all the right reasons. While some think that humans are not good enough to deserve the love of dogs, others can’t wait for all hospitals to house comfort dogs so they could be at peace too! Here, at JojoStories, we believe that heroes come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and species, and this dog deserves all the love, attention and appreciation this world can offer!
Do you think hospitals should hire the services of comfort dogs? Let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to share this article with your friends!
