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Canine Caviar
A resident therapy dog helps children living with chronic illness
Story by Jodi Helmer
Photos by Sarah Ause
Tracy Wilcox used to dread telling her nine-year-old daughter, Breana, that it was time to pack her bags and return to the hospital for medical treatments. "She would burst into tears when I told her we had to go back to the hospital," Tracy recalls. "It would break my heart."
Breana was used to hopping up on the examination table and being stuck with needles. She was just three when she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that causes chronic fevers and pain, and hospital visits had become second nature for the pint-sized patient. For Breana, the hardest part of treatment was traveling a thousand miles from her Massachusetts home to receive care at the world-class National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. "We do it because it's the best shot Breana has for getting better," Tracy explains.
For the past seven years, mother and daughter have boarded a plane from Massachusetts to Maryland every few months. Sometimes, they're gone just 24 hours. Other times, Breana spends an entire week in and out of medical appointments at NIH. While Breana is receiving care at NIH, the pair stays at The Children's Inn, a nonprofit residence on the hospital campus where families receive free room and board during treatment.
Even though The Children's Inn has a big-screen TV, stacks of storybooks, colorful artwork and stuffed toys, Breana was often homesick. It wasn't just because she missed her friends or wanted to avoid painful treatments: Breana hated being away from her black Labrador retriever, Midnight. "Breana would be clinging tight to Midnight because she didn't want to go," Tracy says.
In 2008, during a stressful trip to NIH that included flight delays and a missed shuttle, Breana burst into tears and was inconsolable. Tracy shared a piece of news that cheered Breana up in an instant: There was a dog waiting to greet her at The Children's Inn.
"The minute I told her about Vi, she instantly stopped crying, and the world was OK," Tracy recalls. "She was already calling for Vi the minute we walked in the door."
Vi is a yellow Labrador retriever who was trained as a guide dog for the blind. After five years of service with two different families, Vi received her pink slip because she was too distracted to be an effective service dog. But retirement wasn't in the cards for Vi. In 2008 she took on a second career as the tail-wagging greeter and firstrate confidante at The Children's Inn.
In other pet therapy programs, children are only allowed to visit with dogs for short periods at designated times. At The Children's Inn, Vi is a full-time staff member. Her main role is to help comfort the patients.
"Our mission is to reduce stress and promote healing; while NIH is taking care of the children's medical needs, we're taking care of their heart, soul and spirit," explains Jennie Lucca, director of facilities and resident services at The Children's Inn. "We had a visiting therapy dog, but being able to provide families with constant access to a highly trained dog that is social enough to interact with kids has been a blessing.
"Vi is an incredibly patient and kind dog that provides unconditional love to the children who are dealing with intense medical treatments," she adds. "The feedback we've gotten since Vi has come to [The Children's Inn] has been overwhelmingly positive, especially among children and families who've left dogs at home."
Read the rest of this story in the May/June magazine...
