Therapy Dogs and Rabies Treatments
With a therapy dog at a hospital you quickly notice the patients that are there for rabies treatments. After recently being attached by an unknown animal, they don’t like the surprise of a dog in the hospital.
There are a few that are different. Recently one told the staff that they were looking forward to my visit. They petted Chance and had a nice visit. They had brought company with them, and they too enjoyed Chance. Then the nurses handed out some dog treat, as usual, and right on cue, Chance’s “lab-ervore” took over. I always expect it and I am always in control of him, but he starts darting around trying to find all the treats. He wound up getting a bit too close to this patient and I’m sure it triggered some flash backs.
After a few moments, and a lot of comforting, everything was OK. They even went back to petting Chance like before. This event was a tricky situation, but with Chance’s overall good behavior and training I think he helped make sure this person stays an animal lover.