Animal Advocate: Bear the Therapy Dog

W R I T T E N B Y F E R N W O O D E N , INTERN, LOWCOUNTRY DOG MAGAZINE

This month’s Lowcountry Dog Magazine’s Animal Advocate is ...

Our Animal Advocate for February 2020 is a bit different from our heroes in past issues; he is a tad more cuddly and has far more fur. It is Bear the Therapy Dog, speaking to us via his animal translator and owner, Kyle Kelly. As an only furchild, Bear not only holds the love of his father but all of his colleagues and patients at the Medical University Of South Carolina Hospitals. Bear is a seven-year-old Bernese mountain dog, and as a breed who needs a job in it’s life, he found his passion for helping people feel better. He has been certified as a therapy dog since he was five years old, as “he was too puppy in the head” to be verified earlier in his career. He will be celebrating two years with MUSC this coming April, a place he calls his “second home.” Bear’s journey to becoming a therapy dog began long before his training classes through the national organization Alliance Therapy Dogs. He noticed how much he loved to make people smile through his owner, Kyle.

Kyle is the owner of Charleston’s favorite Christmas sweater store, Uncle Kyle’s Sweater Emporium, where people from all over would come not only for a one-of-a-kind sweater but to see the big cuddly dog, nicknamed Bear the Love Sponge, with no association to the radio legend Bubba. Through Kyle’s store, Bear came to realize his fondness for seeing people smiling on good and bad days. Bear was chosen to be our animal advocate for this issue after the magazine heard about his commitment to service, celebrating 400-plus hours of therapeutic actions at MUSC.

To become a therapy dog as well as work at an institution such as a hospital, one must be certified. Bear’s certification comes from the Alliance Therapy Dog organization in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. He notes becoming a therapy dog is a lengthy process and encourages other furry friends who strive to become one to “stick with it.” He wants them to understand “it is a commitment to both humans and dogs. If your dog has the right personality and the human can make time for it, it will be worth it in the end.” Becoming a therapy dog gives Bear a sense of purpose, insisting it changed him for the better and it is the experiences that make the job worth it. Whether it be visiting a legendary military officer and thanking him for his service or helping comfort day and night staff from long and sometimes painstaking shifts or even assisting children to take away the fear of shots by being there to offer a hug, Bear has seen it all in his 400-plus hours of “work.”

When asked what his favorite memory was from the hospital he smiled and Kyle told me there were too many to choose from, but one did stand out. A sweet older woman waiting for a heart transplant became a favorite of Bear’s. Each week that he would come to visit, he noticed she became weaker and weaker and was eventually bedridden. One Monday morning while doing his routine visit, he saw his sweet older friend’s room was empty. The nurse told him she was gone, but Bear knows the phrase “someone is gone” has two meanings in the hospital… His friend was finally getting the transplant she so desperately needed! Two days later he and Kyle went to visit her in the ICU and though still weak and heavily medicated, she gave them two thumbs up! It meant the world to her that Bear came not only to say hi but also visit. Therapy dogs make a world of a difference in a hospital setting. Bear wants people to understand that humans a lot smarter than him have conducted lots of studies and research verifying the value therapy dogs have in a medical setting. Kyle tells us that from the point of view of a patient, a hospital visit can be overwhelming. Whether it be the separation from home, financial burdens adding up, children left for treatment because their parents have to return to work to pay for it, or being in pain, there is a level of comfort only therapy dogs can provide. Alongside the award-winning staff at MUSC, it is the four-legged non-medical love that brightens up a child’s and parent’s day in a distressing hospital environment.

Bear celebrated his 400-plus hours of “work” at a Health Care Hero’s banquet and took home top honor, so his human Kyle also cooked up some steaks on the grill for him. Bear would like to thank Cathy Bennet, the MUSC Pet Therapy Coordinator, and his owner Kyle for making him follow through with his training to become part of the Alliance Therapy Dog family. You can follow Kyle and Bear’s adventures on their Instagram, @doingbearthings, where they love to share stories and answer questions. If you ever do find yourself in the hospital, remember that there are animals just like Bear there to comfort you. On behalf of Lowcountry Dog Magazine, thank you Bear and Kyle for your service. Some heroes wear capes. Bear just happens to wear a bandana. ■

Do you know an animal advocate that deserves to be featured here? Reach out to contact@lowcountrydog.com