A 15-pound Lhasa Apso named Mabel is bringing comfort to patients at Providence Hospital through the hospital’s Pet Assisted Wellness Services, or PAWS, program.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A 15-pound Lhasa Apso named Mabel is bringing comfort to patients at Providence Hospital through the hospital’s Pet Assisted Wellness Services, or PAWS , program.“It feels like a wonderful gift.
People will often come up to us when we’re volunteering and say, ‘thank you. You made my day.’ I really needed that,” Evanson said. “All I can say back is thank you, because it’s our absolute pleasure to do it.” Tracy O’Connor, senior manager of volunteer services at Providence, said the therapy dog visits make a difference. “You see the impact every day. Just walking down the halls with a team, you see just a smile on somebody’s face,” O’Connor said. “And that’s really what it’s about — that meaningful, that human-animal connection.”Before patients can interact with Mabel, they must use hand sanitizer. The infection prevention measure protects both patients and the therapy dog. “I think in general, pets can bring so much calm, peace, and joy without saying anything, just being present,” Evanson said. “And that’s really powerful, especially in a medical setting when people are going through illness, recovery.”On one recent visit, Mabel met 5-year-old Naomi Hawkes, who had been missing her two dogs at home. “She was just crying about them yesterday, so your timing is amazing,” said Karin Hawkes, Naomi’s mom. Naomi’s A-L-L leukemia brought her and her mom to the hospital for more than a week prior to Mabel’s visit. “Oh, it was so neat to see her happy, smiling about something,” Hawkes said. “She has a procedure, so we haven’t had breakfast today, and so it was great to have a distraction, right?”Naomi’s favorite part about Mabel was that “she’s so soft.” “If Mabel could talk human, what she would tell you is, keep your chin up. Take one day at a time. That’s awesome. And you are not alone,” Evanson said. She may not know it, but Mabel is just doing what dogs to best... and that’s bringing a smile when it’s needed most. The phone number for people who are interested in volunteering for PAWS or other programs is 212-3100.Man found safe, two people charged with kidnapping ‘I wish I had an answer:’ Mat-Su Borough stops pumping as 3rd day of flooding continues in neighborhood‘He just kind of smirked’: Convicted killer Brian Smith wrote a missing woman’s family from prison
PAWS Puppy Pet Assistance Therapy Therapy Pet Volunteer Providence Hospital Community Youth
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