Powerful Pooch

HERE’S A NEW T THERAPIST IN THE ALLIED THERAPY DEPARTMENT AT SHODAIR CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL. SHE ANSWERS TO “CUDDLE QUEEN” AND “FLUFFY BUTT,” AND HAS A SOFT SPOT FOR CHEETOS. SHE RELISHES ROLLING IN MUD PUDDLES. ALSO, SHE SNORES— LOUDLY.

Her name is Aubrey and she is Shodair’s newest four-legged, furry employee. Trained in Georgia at the non-profit Canine Assistants, the facility dog joined the team in October 2021. Aubrey makes about 100 visits to patients each week and she’s already made a huge positive impact.

“Aubrey’s superpower is knowing who needs her when,” said handler Lindsay Meverden, a recreational therapist. “As her sidekick, I can’t look at somebody and instantly know what they’re feeling, but she does. There could be a room full of 50 people and if I let her off her leash, she would go to who needed her most in that moment.”

Meverden has seen dozens of these moments in the six months Aubrey has been with Shodair. In one instance, a patient was upset and banging her head on a wall. Meverden watched the teenager from a safe distance while Aubrey sat by her side. The girl’s hands were balled into fists, and she appeared ready to lash out at others or hurt herself further.

Meverden told the patient Aubrey could visit with her once she was making safe and healthy choices. The patient agreed. A minute later,

Aubrey approached the young girl and crawled into her lap.

“I watched her hands unclench,” Meverden said. “She leaned into Aubrey and Aubrey leaned into her.”

The patient calmed and was able to rejoin the day’s activities. Aubrey had helped keep another kid safe.

It’s like Aubrey was born to help Shodair’s young patients, and in a way, she was. The Poodle-Golden Retriever-Labrador mix started her unique education at just 6 weeks old. (Her first outing was to a Georgia Walmart—she rode in a baby carrier.)

“Much like our kids, she was taught appropriate behavior in a hospital setting,” Meverden said. “She learned how to walk in the hallway next to her handler and be gentle around IV tubing. She is not trained on commands. She is educated on appropriate behavior and to utilize her instincts in certain situations.”

For instance, if a child is getting upset or having a meltdown, Aubrey will watch from a safe distance by her handler’s side and wait until it’s appropriate to intervene. How does Aubrey know who to approach and when it’s appropriate? Meverden explained that Aubrey uses those exquisitely sensitive canine senses of smell and hearing. She can sniff out stress hormone spikes and hear heart rates.

“She’s in tune,” Meverden said. “She’s empathetic. She uses all her senses to reach out to patients.”

But when she’s not helping patients, Aubrey is your typical canine with a healthy work-life balance that includes toys, walkie talkies and rolling in anything stinky. In the morning, Aubrey runs zoomies in her backyard. That’s her pre-work routine, Meverden said.

But then it’s all business.

“When she puts her vest on, it’s like when we put our badges on,” Meverden said. “She always presents as calm, cool and collected.” (It’s not all business though. Aubrey has been known to take a nap or two in the Allied Therapy department office during her workday. If she could talk, she’d probably say she’s practicing self-care.)

From de-escalating emotionally dysregulated patients to playing soccer with the kids and making them laugh, it’s all in a day’s work for this good girl. And the hope is that in the future there will be more good pups bringing smiles to the kids who need it.

“We hope to be able to grow the program to provide more consistent access to facility dogs across the entire hospital, as well as in the community,” said recreational therapist and handler Bridgette Wiegand.

There could be a room full of 50 people and if I let her off her leash, she would go to who needed her most in that moment.

By Erinn Unger, Recreational Therapist